คำสอน · พระอาจารย์สุรพงค์Teaching · Pra Ajarn Suraphong
ใจเป็นธาตุสำเร็จหมายความว่าอย่างไร และฝึกปฏิบัติพื้นฐานอย่างไรWhat Does It Mean That the Mind Is the Element That Fulfills, and How Do We Practice the Basics?
พระอาจารย์อธิบายว่าเมื่อธรรมชาติฝ่ายใดสิงเป็นเจ้าเรือน ความคิดของฝ่ายนั้นจะปรากฏขึ้นในใจให้เรายอมรับ หากยอมรับก็จะปรุงให้สำเร็จตามนั้น การฝึกจึงต้องกำหนดรู้อยู่เสมอไม่เผลอ เพื่อเชื่อมกับผู้รู้ภายในฝ่ายกุศลPra Ajarn explains that whichever nature takes possession of the mind, its thoughts appear there for us to accept — and once accepted, it shapes reality to match. The practice, then, is to keep constant, unwavering awareness, so we stay connected to the wholesome knower within.
Someone asked: what does it mean that the mind is the element that fulfills wishes? How is fulfillment achieved through the mind, and what is the basic practice for training it?
The mind being the element of fulfillment means: if we think badly, the demerit side shapes reality to match. Whichever nature takes possession of the mind overlays it with its own mind and s, and its thoughts then appear in our mind for us to accept. The mind is our instrument of knowing — whatever the mind knows, we know. If we accept it, that nature shapes things to fulfill accordingly. The same is true of : once it takes the ruling position, the wholesome's thoughts appear in the mind — this is the blueprint of fulfillment. It all depends on which nature's thoughts we accept, wholesome or unwholesome; whichever we accept is shaped into fulfillment.
If we accept feelings and thoughts that are wrong — all manner of negative thinking — shapes reality to match. For instance, when defilement is present, the unwholesome takes hold and tells us life is terrible, the economy is bad, everything we do runs into trouble, repeating the same refrain over and over — and if we accept it, the unwholesome shapes things accordingly. But if our mind thinks rightly and well, sees things as they truly are, and accepts the situation first without complaint, the wholesome can likewise shape things to fulfill what we genuinely wish for. Bad things that happen — accidents, illness, business losses, or living in poor surroundings — are all the fruit of kamma-result that had to unfold that way. We must accept this reality first so we don't fall into complaint, because complaining is itself the unwholesome guiding us to waste time on it. Whatever cause we created in the past, we naturally reap that fruit now — accept this first, and only then consider how to fix it.
The remedy is to abide in the wholesome system, maintaining constant, unwavering awareness. We must set this awareness because the sphere of knowing connects us to the knower within; without it, there's no way to connect with the knower and empowered one. If we substitute thinking for awareness, thinking is simply searching through memory for information — and the unwholesome or the neutral can supply that information too, without our knowing whether it's actually suitable. So we simply set awareness in order to connect with the knower within — like tuning a radio or phone signal so the knower can connect and provide correct information. Setting awareness means establishing the sphere of ; once that sphere of knowing and mindfulness is established, it draws in pure energy — merit — flowing into the brightness at the center of that awareness. Merit then clears away the defilement, the source of every problem and obstacle. As defilement lightens, the difficulty and suffering lighten along with it.
We must give this process time to refine and correct, by staying still, maintaining constant, unwavering awareness — don't keep changing the channel, or it can't tune in properly. This is what it means for the mind to be the element of fulfillment: abiding with the unwholesome, it shapes fulfillment out of the negative thoughts we accept; but with a positive mind, thinking rightly and well, seeing things as they truly are, and maintaining awareness, the wholesome can likewise shape fulfillment according to what we genuinely wish for. We train through constant, unwavering awareness of body, feeling, mind, and , to eliminate craving and grief regarding the world. This single sentence alone is enough to change a life — enough to purify and free us from an unfortunate life and bring us to one that is excellent and truly wondrous.