พระอาจารย์สุรพงค์สอนหลักกำหนดรู้กาย เวทนา จิต และธรรม พร้อมชี้ให้เห็นว่าการนึกถึงศูนย์กลางกายฐานที่ 7 ไม่จำเป็นต้องทำเฉพาะตอนหลับตาปฏิบัติเท่านั้น แม้แต่ขณะนั่งรอลูกค้าระหว่างทำธุรกิจก็นึกถึงเส้นสองเส้นตัดกันกลางกายได้ แล้วกลับมาฝึกฝนอย่างจริงจังอีกครั้งทุกเย็นหลังเลิกงาน จนจบด้วยการแผ่เมตตาและอุทิศส่วนบุญPhra Ajarn Suraphong teaches the practice of noting body, feeling, mind, and mental objects, then shows how recalling the seventh base at the center of the body isn't reserved for formal sitting alone — even the quiet moment of waiting for a customer during business hours can become practice. He describes returning to full formal practice every evening after work, closing with loving-kindness and merit dedication.
Phra Ajarn repeats a point he says he must state every time we come to practice: every life is under the control of three natural systems. Left ignorant of this, we drift into the wrong system — one — which does nothing but destroy the resources we already have and bring endless trouble. Wholesomeness and unwholesomeness are natural enemies; when wholesomeness is in charge, unwholesomeness struggles to get a foothold. To live well we must properly understand how to dwell in this world of natural forces.
The Buddha's Teaching: Note Body, Feeling, Mind, and Mental Objects
Over 2,000 years ago the Buddha told the monks: "Monks, you should clearly note the body, feelings, mind, and mental objects, so as to remove covetousness and grief regarding the world." We need to memorize this line, Phra Ajarn says, because it is the key principle that turns an ordinary person into a virtuous one, a virtuous one into a noble-minded one, and a noble-minded one into a truly Awakened being. Right can be trained with eyes open or closed, in any activity — working, resting, even cleaning the house. Wherever you place your attention, the mind goes there; you can note the body, or note feeling, mind, or mental phenomena within the mind itself.
Three Levels of Feeling Reveal Who Is in Charge
Feeling is what we sense — pleasant, unpleasant, or neither. It is the outermost layer of the mind. Whichever natural force has taken up residence shows its character through this feeling. When wholesomeness is host, we feel comfortable and at ease. But whenever the mind falls into a state that is hard to bear, that shows unwholesomeness is in charge. All we need to do is note that state. When suffering arises, simply note the state of having to endure and finding it hard; don't struggle against it. The moment we note it, the sphere of knowing — mindfulness — arises, and it draws in pure energy that purifies the defilements on its own.
Neutral-but-Strange (Abyakata) versus True Equanimity
When the neutral, indeterminate quality (abyakata) takes hold instead, it feels oddly blank — not quite good, not quite bad. This differs from true equanimity (upekkha), a balanced state free of liking or disliking, firmly settled and not leaning toward pleasure. While that odd blankness is present, keep the mind anchored on a familiar meditation object or mantra. Doing so raises mindfulness, which draws pure energy called merit continuously into the brightness of that awareness, producing a continuous sense of release from one dimension into a subtler one — even before we consciously notice it.
The Seat of the Mind: The Seventh Base at the Center of the Body
Our teachers instruct us to fix attention at , two finger-widths above the navel — the seat of the mind. Picture two lines: one stretched taut from right hip to left hip, the other running from the navel up to the spine. Where they cross is the center point. Rest two fingers stacked there, and place a crystal sphere at that crossing point. Recall it again and again, and clarity gradually emerges on its own. The less familiar it is, the hazier it seems — so make it familiar by doing it every day: morning, afternoon, evening, night. Phra Ajarn compares it to starting a car: the moment the engine turns over, recall those two crossing lines immediately.
Reciting "Samma Arahang" and Praying for Success in Work
Having settled on the crossing point, invite and picture a Buddha image seated in the middle of the sphere. This center is where our center meets his. Pray for safe travel and for one's business and duties to flourish, asking for the blessing of the One who has practiced well, practiced rightly, practiced so as to be far from all defilements, to help work succeed beyond expectation. Phra Ajarn says we must prove this for ourselves through practice.
A Real-Life Example: Even While Waiting for a Customer
Phra Ajarn gives a concrete, everyday illustration. While waiting for a customer — arriving early rather than making the customer wait for us — in that waiting time we can recall the two lines: taut from right hip to left hip, and from navel up to spine, crossing at the center. Rest two fingers there, place the crystal Buddha image at the center, settle the mind there, and pray for business and duties to succeed beyond expectation. Then, when we actually speak with the customer, if we've done this often enough, a voice like our own thoughts arises, suggesting what to say — and everything tends to work out well.
Returning to Full Practice Every Evening
Daytime practice is only a starting point. Phra Ajarn teaches that we must keep practicing every evening, every night, every early evening — after returning home from work, bathing and washing up, we sit to practice properly, breathing in a way that harmonizes with system. We recite "," the name given to the perfected body, meaning "the One who has practiced well, practiced rightly, practiced so as to be far from all defiling things." Repeating this name, that Being appears in the center of the belly, bringing the elements of our being together to be refined, purified of defilement.
Merging Body and Mind into the Crystal Dhamma Body
Adopt the feeling that we are the Buddha image, and the Buddha image is us — from head to toe, our whole body becomes a crystal Dhamma body, radiant, clear, cool, clean, and pure, exquisitely soft and gentle. This perception need not be complete at once; if you can only sense 1% or 5%, take that as your starting point and let it gradually develop. Then merge your mind with his mind by knowing what he is doing: entering ceson-attainment, gathering the mind to stop, to be still. Note "stopped within stopped, still within still, soft, light, at ease." If the mind feels stiff from trying too hard, adjust toward softness and ease instead.
Radiating Loving-Kindness Across the World and Universe
When the sphere of appears bright within, set the wish: may all beings be free from suffering and find . May those with much suffering have less; may those with little suffering be freed of it entirely. May those with little happiness have more; may those already happy be happier still. Then expand that heart of loving-kindness to cover our home, the neighborhood, the district, the province, the whole country, neighboring countries, and the entire world, until the world becomes a radiant, cool, clear crystal orb. May earthbound spirits, wandering spirits, sky spirits, celestial beings of every heaven, Brahma gods, formless Brahma gods, and even beings in hell or as hungry ghosts be free from suffering and find happiness. Then extend it further still, to cover countless stars and on into the boundless universe.
Settling in the Triple Gem and Dedicating Merit
Gather the mind to stop and be still within the stream of merit still pouring through the brightness of loving-kindness, and dedicate this merit to all people and beings, including our own relatives. Settle the mind in the Triple Gem — the jewel of the Buddha, the jewel of the Dhamma, the jewel of the Sangha — then settle in the utterly refined Dhamma body of our revered teachers, Luang Pu, Luang Phor, and the great preceptor. As we recall them, both we and they appear radiant within Nirvana, the abode of every Buddha, every Silent Buddha, and every Arahant. They draw in the accumulating merit to amplify it, clear away our karmic obstacles, and connect us to streams of merit and fortune.
Closing Dedication and Chant
Phra Ajarn leads a dedication prayer, asking that the blessings and power of Nirvana, together with the of Luang Pu, Luang Phor, and the great preceptor, combine with whatever merit we have sincerely accumulated since our very first life until now — to refine our body, speech, mind, and the elements of our being until they are radiant, clear, clean, and pure; free from calamity, sin, karmic debt, and every obstacle in life; free from greed, hatred, delusion, lust, and — granting us the Dhamma-eye and full attainment of the three s, the eight higher knowledges, the six supernormal powers, the four kinds of analytical , the eight liberations, and the fifteen conducts, together with strong health, a long life, and inexhaustible resolve to build perfections toward Nirvana. When this life ends, may we be born in the Dusita heaven, and when we return to build perfections in the human world, may we be born into a family of right view. The session closes with the Pali chant "Sabbe Buddha..." invoking the protective power of the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha.