ศีลปกป้องเฉพาะตัวผู้รักษา แต่เมตตาธรรมแผ่ความสว่างขจัดความขัดเคือง (ปฏิฆะ) ในใจของผู้อื่นและสรรพสัตว์ไปพร้อมกัน ช่วยให้ฝ่ายกุศลของผู้อื่นมีกำลังเอาชนะอกุศลได้ จึงมีอานิสงส์มากกว่าการรักษาศีลเฉยๆPrecepts protect only the person who keeps them, but loving-kindness radiates light that clears away resentment in the minds of others and other beings at the same time — giving their own wholesome side the strength to overcome unwholesomeness. That is why it carries greater merit than precepts alone.
Someone asked the teacher why sending carries more merit than keeping the five precepts.
Why Loving-Kindness Outweighs Precepts in Merit
The teacher explained that keeping the five precepts means offering safety to people and beings, and it draws in pure energy that raises proportion within the person who keeps them, giving them more strength to resist unwholesome influence. Once that proportion grows enough, one can move on to the eight precepts. But all of this still protects only the person keeping .
Loving-kindness works differently. When it's sent outward, its light clears away "patigha" — resentment — from the minds of others and other beings too, giving their own wholesome side enough strength to overcome unwholesome and neutral influence and take charge of their mind, at least for that moment. Once their wholesome side is in charge, it too draws in pure energy to refine their inner elements. Loving-kindness therefore benefits both ourselves and others at once, unlike precepts, which protect only the one who keeps them.
The teacher cited an example from the scriptures: a bodhisattva who cultivated loving-kindness in a great forest caused even the fiercest animals there to stop harming one another, because the wholesome influence radiating from that loving-kindness held them back. But once outside that radius, the animals' natural proportions reasserted themselves, and they returned to preying on each other.
The Buddha himself compared it this way: the merit from cultivating loving-kindness for even the span of a finger snap outweighs the merit of a grand seven-day, seven-night almsgiving. This is because loving-kindness requires the giver to already carry a substantial wholesome proportion, and it must rest on genuine truthfulness and firm resolve.
What to Do When Facing Conflict During a Retreat
Someone described clashing badly with a fellow retreatant on the first day of a two-week practice period. Even after trying to stay mindful and sending loving-kindness to forgive, the other person still seemed resentful — what should be done? The teacher explained: when our own wholesome proportion isn't yet strong enough, unwholesome forces seize the chance to use a rival as a tool to provoke both sides, often building on unresolved conflict carried over from past lives. The remedy is to find an opportunity for mutual forgiveness — perhaps through a mediator the other person respects. If a direct meeting isn't yet possible, keep sending loving-kindness sincerely and continuously, since it strengthens the other person's own wholesome side and helps restrain their unhelpful behavior, until eventually both sides are able to forgive each other naturally.
What Is Meditation on Foulness?
Someone asked what "asubha" meditation — meditation on the unattractive — actually is. The teacher explained it uses unattractive objects, such as a corpse, for someone whose mind is absorbed in attachment to beauty — in sights, tastes, smells, or sounds. Bringing to mind an unpleasant, frightening image helps cut through the clinging pleasure of lust. That said, this practice should leave the mind clearer, not more clouded or distressed. If practiced incorrectly and it leaves someone so shaken they're afraid to return to practice altogether, that reflects a misunderstanding in how it was applied — not a flaw in the practice itself.