ปลิโพธคือความกังวลใจเล็ก ๆ น้อย ๆ เรื่องที่อยู่ ครอบครัว หรือการงาน ที่แทรกเข้ามาระหว่างปฏิบัติธรรม ช่วงแรกที่ผุดขึ้นมาเป็นเรื่องสุดวิสัยห้ามไม่ได้ แต่สิ่งที่ควบคุมได้คือการไม่ยอมรับและไม่สืบต่อความคิดนั้นPalibodha are the small daily worries — about housing, family, or work — that intrude during meditation practice. The first flicker of such a thought is beyond our control and cannot be helped, but what we can control is whether we accept it and continue dwelling on it.
Someone asked how to clear or reduce palibodha — the small everyday worries that arise during periods of practice.
Palibodha means "a thing that causes worry" — whether about housing, family, close friends, education, or even travel, all of these count as palibodha. Anyone preoccupied with such worries during practice will find it hard to calm the mind or settle into concentration. We should always be mindful that at this moment we are engaged in an essential task of life, and train the mind well so that nothing else intrudes on our practice. When nothing else is allowed to intrude, practice progresses and wishes are fulfilled in remarkable ways.
The Meditation Room Is Its Own Realm; Mind and Mental Factors Are the Actors
While we sit in the meditation room, that space itself counts as a realm — like a stage, a single dimension in which performers play their roles. The only two roles at play are mind (citta) and s (). There are 121 types of consciousness in total, spanning wholesome and unwholesome states, down to the consciousness of hell-beings, asuras, and animals — states lower than the human level. To drag one's elements downward, these lower states of mind and mental factors get drawn in, since the thinking of such beings is invariably irrational, saturated with greed, hatred, delusion, lust, and .
Even Within the Wholesome System, the Unwholesome Still Tries to Seize Control
Even though the period of practice is a time when system is established, with the Triple Gem and nibbana holding sway, and the neutral still try continually to seize control as "master of the house." When they succeed, the thoughts and feelings belonging to that state appear in our mind — because the mind is our instrument of knowing; whatever the mind feels, we feel. That first flicker of a worrying thought is beyond our control and cannot be prevented, since it is a subtle process that can seize control before we're even aware of it.
What We Can Control Is Whether We Accept and Continue the Thought
What we can control is the choice not to accept that worrying thought. If we notice it and resolve not to dwell on it further, not to continue following it, we avoid wasting our valuable, limited practice time on matters that don't deserve it. The time that should go toward drawing in pure energy along with refined treasures, purifying ourselves from one dimension into a subtler one, isn't squandered. Our founder always reminded us: don't accept the thought that seizes control in that first instant — cut it off and don't continue, staying continuously aware without lapsing.
Free of Distraction, Practice Progresses in Remarkable Ways
When we recognize dhamma practice as an essential duty of life and train the mind well so nothing else intrudes, the proportion of the wholesome in us grows, its power increases, and it becomes harder for the unwholesome to seize control. Merit brings us into subtler dimensions; the pure elements of merit drawn in become purer still, our refined treasures grow greater and more valuable, and many good things come about — all while we remain continuously, unwaveringly aware.