อธิษฐานธรรม 4 ได้แก่ ปัญญา สัจจะ จาคะ และอุปสมะ เป็นหลักธรรมที่ต้องอาศัยกันเป็นลำดับ คือปัญญานำไปสู่สัจจะ สัจจะนำไปสู่จาคะคือการสละมลทิน และจาคะนำไปสู่อุปสมะคือความสงบใจที่แท้จริงThe four grounds of resolve are wisdom, truth, relinquishment, and calm. They build on one another in sequence: wisdom leads to truth, truth leads to relinquishment of inner defilement, and relinquishment in turn leads to genuine inner calm.
Someone asked the teacher to explain the four grounds of resolve (adhiṭṭhāna-).
The teacher explained that these are four principles that form a foundation — qualities that build one's standing in life: wisdom (paññā), truth (sacca), relinquishment (cāga), and calm (upasama).
**Wisdom** is comprehensive understanding in line with reality. Our problems arise from not knowing, or from knowing wrongly. Wisdom is the opposite: understanding things exactly as they are, so as to resolve problems. Wisdom depends on a guide — whether a teacher or a text — and develops in stages, from wisdom gained through learning, to wisdom gained through reflection, to wisdom gained through meditation, from which one can go on to connect with the inner guide.
**Truth** is the reality present in each passing moment. Wisdom leads us toward truth, since we need a foundation of wisdom before we can access the reality of each moment. Cultivating means abiding in this truth, moment by moment. Once we can access this state, time itself seems to stretch — everything we do becomes gentler and more refined, with no need to rush. This state of truth is precisely what allows us to connect with the Triple Gem and with Nibbāna.
**Relinquishment** is the letting go of the defilements that ferment and lock the mind. Relinquishment is not the same as giving (dāna). Giving is offering material things outward; relinquishment is releasing defilement from within. These defilements are like a sticky black tar, difficult to shake off — relinquishment requires a deliberate decision to cut them loose. The more defilement we release through relinquishment, the wider the channel through which merit flows; the more defilement remains, the narrower that channel becomes.
**Calm** is being undisturbed by whatever triggers pleasure or displeasure. Calm doesn't mean sitting quietly alone — it means a mind unshaken by triggers, both external and internal. Achieving this calm depends on the of equanimity (tatramajjhattatā), which keeps the mind balanced and unmoved. Without inner calm from internal triggers, even retreating to a forest or mountain won't bring real peace.
The teacher added that most people can give away material possessions readily, but struggle to relinquish emotional attachment — because no one has taught them the real cost of holding onto unwholesome emotion. Craving, too, must be cut through relinquishment, since craving is a form of desire uses to drive us, coarsening the mind and compressing our sense of time into constant urgency. Relinquishment and calm are thus closely linked: once the defilement that scatters the mind is released, calm naturally follows. All four qualities need to be cultivated together in daily life, gradually drawing in the flow of merit and making the path to realization easier to walk.