Practicing Dhamma and Dwelling With the Wholesome Nature

Practicing Dhamma is deeply necessary for every life, because we live under the influence of three kinds of natural forces. Only the wholesome nature can give us benefit, knowledge, understanding, correctness, goodness, happiness, and the fulfillment of our wishes. Every other nature gives no benefit at all — and if that nature is unwholesome, it brings us much suffering and harm. So we must learn, understand, and train ourselves to dwell with the wholesome nature. In dwelling with the wholesome nature, the Buddha taught: "Monks, you should clearly know body, feeling, mind, and mental objects, in order to remove craving-attachment and aversion toward the world."

Wherever You Determine, the Heart Is Placed There

The Buddha taught us to determine and know. Dwelling with the wholesome nature begins with determining — determining in order to go in and know. Wherever we determine, the heart is placed there; this is called paying attention. Determine at the feet, and the heart is placed at the feet — the consciousness that perceives resides there. Determine at the breath, at the nostrils, and the heart is placed at the nostrils. Once we go in to know, the orb of knowing, the orb of mindfulness, arises at the center of the heart — this is called intention. Once intention arises, the drawing-in of pure energy, called merit, is continuously drawn into the brightness of that orb of mindfulness. This pure energy, wherever it flows, refines that place to be clean and pure, dissolving the defilements that cause problems and obstacles, until they vanish. The more defilement thins, the more problems and obstacles thin; and once defilement is gone, nothing remains to bind us to the coarse dimension, and purity and liberation arise continuously.

Determining and Knowing in Four Domains: Body, Feeling, Mind, Mental Objects

The Buddha taught us to determine and know at the body, at feeling, at mind, and at mental objects — four domains. In the body, this relies on the nervous system for perception; consciousness, mindfulness, and the nerve cells work together. If any part has a problem, merit cannot be drawn in there, and that function simply stops. Feeling is the sensation arising from the heart perceiving the quality of whichever nature has become the "household-holder." If that nature is wholesome, we perceive happiness and comfort. If unwholesome, the heart perceives suffering — a state that must be endured, and is hard to endure. If the nature is neutral (abyakata), the heart perceives blankness — neither pleasure nor pain.

Mind, Mental Objects, and How Each Force Draws In Its Own Energy

Mind is thought and reflection. When any nature possesses us, it brings its own mental factors along. If that nature is wholesome, it brings wholesome mental factors, letting us recall meditation methods we have learned and used before. But if the unwholesome nature holds the household, it brings unwholesome mental factors — greed, hatred, delusion, lust — circling around negative thoughts. If the nature is neutral, the thoughts are neither meritorious nor sinful. Whichever nature possesses us draws in the energy of its own kind: a wholesome nature draws in merit to drive the wholesome system; an unwholesome nature draws in sin to drive its own system, degrading our elements. The meritorious nature drives the wholesome system, refining and improving our elements, purifying them, and elevating them to be noble and good.

The Purpose: Removing Craving and Aversion, Abiding in Equanimity

The purpose of determining and knowing, as the Buddha taught, is to remove craving-attachment and aversion toward the world entirely. Craving-attachment (abhijjha) is delight or gladness that leads to greed; aversion (domanassa) is displeasure and sorrow that leads to hatred and anger. The Buddha therefore taught us to determine and know in order to step out of delight and aversion, and abide instead in equanimity (upekkha-dhamma), or the "neutrality mental factor" (majjhattata-cetasika) — a mental factor that keeps our heart balanced, not swinging toward gladness or sorrow. The heart is composed to be neutral, balanced, neither pleased nor displeased. Our entire daily life, from morning until evening, comes down to just this: determine and know body, feeling, mind, and mental objects, to remove delight and aversion toward forms, tastes, smells, sounds, and touches.

The Conclusion of Life: The Principle Is Just This Much

In training this way every day, the first thing we need to know is the conclusion of life: the method is to determine and know body, feeling, mind, and mental objects, to keep the heart neutral, not delighting or being averse to whatever stimulates us. The principle is just this much. If we remember this principle, we arrive at the conclusion of life, and all difficulty vanishes. We don't need to do much else — morning, noon, evening, night — simply determine and know body, feeling, mind, and mental objects to remove delight and aversion toward the world. Keep doing just this.

Ceto-vimutti: Liberation Through Calm

What we gain from this practice is ceto-vimutti and pañña-vimutti. If we desire calm, determining and knowing body, feeling, mind, and mental objects — or cultivating right mindfulness — leads to calm, and we attain calm. Calm from what? Calm from the defilement of the hindrances, and from their results — all manner of difficulty, confusion, and turmoil. When the heart is pure, happiness arises. As defilement thins and vanishes, the happiness born of purity lets us taste the true flavor of happiness.

Pañña-vimutti: Liberation Through Understanding

But if what we want is knowledge and understanding, determining and knowing body, feeling, mind, and mental objects lets us know and understand the nature that governs our life, perceiving the mechanism of how it works. The merit flowing in from this determining and knowing dissolves the obscuring elements born of ignorance, until they are gone. The knowledge that had been obscured then appears, and the knowing beings responsible for that knowledge convey it to us, so we come to know and understand.

Two Complementary Paths: Calm From Samatha, Knowledge From Vipassana

Whenever we want calm, we simply determine and know the object of our meditation practice; the drawing-in of pure energy, merit, refines away all the disturbances — the hindrances — until they thin and vanish. Once the defilement with its many moods is gone, we perceive the object of our meditation clearly; the merit flowing in refines that object to be clean and pure, and the heart perceives the purity of that state — stillness and calm arise. Life comes down to just this: sometimes we want calm, sometimes we want knowledge and understanding. Samatha can give calm and happiness; vipassana can give calm and happiness too. Learn to dwell sometimes in samatha, sometimes in vipassana — simply staying aware continuously, without forgetting.

Knowing the Body, the Breath, the Center of the Body, the Meditation Image

Know what we are knowing. Whatever we determine, we know that. We may determine bodily awareness, the breath, the center of the body, our recitation, our meditation image, staying with the Buddha image, or staying with any meditation practice of our own — whatever we determine, we know that, pleasantly and continuously, perceiving with a relaxed and comfortable heart. The role of the human body is simply to determine and know, staying aware continuously without forgetting. When we determine and know, the orb of knowing arises, and it functions to draw pure energy into the brightness of that orb of knowing, that orb of mindfulness. The pure energy flowing in then has the role of driving the wholesome system, to dissolve the defilements that cause problems and obstacles. Each part has its own role; we need only fulfill our own role and dwell within it.

One Principle for the Whole Day, From Waking to Sleep

In daily life, from waking in the morning through midday, afternoon, evening, and night, we simply dwell with this one principle: determine and know body, feeling, mind, and mental objects, to remove craving-attachment and aversion toward the world. The stream of merit, together with fine possessions and completed blueprints, is drawn in continuously to the brightness of the orb of knowing, driving the wholesome system, refining the elements within us to be clean and pure, liberating us continuously from one dimension into the next. Our standing rises continuously, morning through night, dissolving the defilement of karmic retribution until it is gone. Our standing changes; purity and liberation increase the proportion of wholesomeness within us, and life becomes easier and more comfortable to live. This is the conclusion of life — the guiding principle for living each day.

Radiating Loving-Kindness Across the World and the Universe

Beyond benefiting ourselves, we go on to benefit people and all beings by cultivating loving-kindness. Simply by sincerely wishing well for the people of the world and all beings, the orb of loving-kindness arises, shining and refining every particle of the atmosphere, people, beings, and things to be bright, clear, and pure. We determine loving-kindness to arise in the heart and expand our sincere love and goodwill, covering our home, and continuing on to the village, sub-district, district, province, our country, other countries, and covering the entire world, continuing on to ten thousand world-systems, a hundred thousand koti of endless universes — benefiting people, beings, and things, including earthbound devas, sky devas, celestial beings of every heavenly realm, Brahmas, formless Brahmas, hell-beings, asuras, and animals. Let us train to expand this boundlessly, our heart filled with sincere love and goodwill. The stream of merit continues welling up continuously within the brightness of loving-kindness.

Dedicating Merit and Forgiving Karmic Counterparts

We now dedicate this merit to people and all beings, including our ancestors and relatives. May all beings share in this merit we have sincerely accumulated — our departed ancestors, parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts and uncles, our benefactor teachers, the devas who help and support us, and those who tend and protect all beings. May we forgive one another with all the karmic counterparts (khu kam khu wen) we have ever wronged, and may they too receive this merit in full.

Merging With the Inner Triple Gem and Closing Aspiration

Gather the heart to stop, gather the heart to be still, recollecting the inner Triple Gem. As we recollect them, we appear bright within them, and they appear bright within us — the Buddha Jewel, the Dhamma Jewel, the Sangha Jewel, and the great revered teachers. Rest still within the refined Dhammakaya of the revered Grand Teacher, the revered Father Teacher, and the Lady Teacher. The heart is a substance of accomplishment — determine it however you wish, and it becomes so. We need to purify defilement and merge ourselves with the Triple Gem and the great revered teachers into a single unity. As we reach them, we appear bright within them, and they appear bright within us; both we and they appear bright within the center of Nibbana, within the boundless, countless wise and powerful beings. We remain within them, whether or not we can see them.

Once we dwell within them, we make use of this most auspicious moment to seal our aspiration, paying homage and asking for their blessing, so that our sincere good wishes adhere within this bright orb of merit — that our life, from now on through countless future lives, be transformed with knowledge, happiness, and purity, and the fulfillment of every good and correct wish. We ask for the blessing, radiance, strength, and sacred power of Nibbana throughout all elements and Dhamma, together with the merit of the revered Grand Teacher, Father Teacher, and Lady Teacher, combined with all merit accumulated since our first life, so that body, speech, mind, and every element become bright, cool, clean, and pure; that we be released from calamity, sin, karmic retribution, and every obstacle; that greed, hatred, delusion, lust, ignorance, wrong view, craving, and clinging be extinguished without remainder; that we attain the Dhamma-eye and fully penetrate the Dhammakaya knowledge, complete with the Three Knowledges, the Eight Knowledges, the Six Higher Powers, the Four Analytical Insights, the Eight Liberations, and the Fifteen Conducts; with strong health and long life; born into a right-view family, a crystal family, a Dhammakaya family — closing with the chant that all these good and sincere wishes be fulfilled for us all.