เมื่อไม่เจริญภาวนา บุญจึงไม่ไหลผ่านมาชำระมลทินในใจ อกุศลจึงสิงใจได้ง่ายและชักจูงให้ฟุ้งซ่าน เบื่อหน่าย และตกต่ำ แต่การเจริญภาวนาสม่ำเสมอจะค่อยๆ ชำระมลทินให้เบาบางลง เหมือนตะกอนในน้ำที่ค่อยๆ ตกผลึกเมื่อปล่อยนิ่งไว้Without meditation, no merit flows in to cleanse the mind's impurities, so unwholesome states move in easily and drive restlessness, boredom, and decline. Regular meditation gradually clears those impurities, the way silt in water settles once left undisturbed.
Someone asked why the mind of a person who doesn't meditate becomes restless and weak.
The teacher explained that each of us carries built-in tools: the sphere of , of concentration, of wisdom, of liberation, and of the -and-vision of liberation. These tools purify our inner elements whether we're aware of it or not. When we learn to use them — for instance, undertaking precepts to protect ourselves and others — the sphere of virtue brightens as a stream of merit flows through it, warning us before we act carelessly in body or speech.
The sphere of concentration, though, is what clears im from the mind. Without meditation, no merit flows in to refine that impurity, and it breeds go unchecked. Unwholesome states, which are always looking for an opening, seize the chance. Once they take hold, they draw in a dark, oppressive kind of energy — a "sphere of demerit" that carries ruin within it, aimed at destroying our possessions, our good qualities, and our path to liberation.
Once that impurity settles in, it does what impurity does: it makes the mind crave and delight in sense pleasures, and when it delights too strongly, it scatters into restlessness; when thwarted, it curdles into irritation. Either way the mind grows dull, confused, drowsy, and weak, dragged down by greed, aversion, delusion, lust, boredom, and gloom. Once boredom sets in, an inner voice nudges us toward stimulation — alcohol, drugs, bad company — and life grows complicated.
Meditation works the other way. When we establish clear awareness, wholesome draws in pure energy that clears impurity — not all at once, but gradually, the way silt in a glass of water settles once you stop stirring it and let it sit. Keep stirring — keep neglecting the practice — and the water stays cloudy.
Establishing awareness isn't inherently hard; the trick is building small reminders into daily life — a mark by a door, a habit at a certain spot — so that whenever we notice one, we pause and become aware, of the body, feelings, mind, or mental objects, whichever comes easiest. With repetition, mindfulness arises more and more readily, and wholesome states always arise together with it, since mindfulness itself is a wholesome . This kind of meditation can be practiced with eyes open or closed, in any activity — washing your face, brushing your teeth, bathing, eating, or driving.