พระอาจารย์สุรพงค์สอนวิธีหาตำแหน่งศูนย์กลางกายฐานที่ 7 อย่างละเอียดด้วยเส้นด้ายสองเส้นที่ตัดกันเป็นกากบาท พร้อมอธิบายธรรมชาติสามฝ่าย—กุศล อกุศล และอัพยากตะ—ที่ผลัดกันครองใจเราอยู่ทุกขณะ ก่อนนำเข้าสู่การนั่งสมาธิเห็นองค์พระธรรมกายแก้ว เจริญเมตตา และอุทิศส่วนบุญตามแบบฉบับของท่านPra Ajarn Suraphong gives a precise, step-by-step method for locating the seventh base — the body's true center — using two imagined threads that cross at the navel-spine and hip-to-hip lines, and explains the three natures (wholesome, unwholesome, and neutral) that alternately take hold of the mind, before leading into seeing the Crystal Dhamma Body, radiating loving-kindness, and dedicating merit.
Let us practice together. This practice is necessary and vitally important for every life, because in every moment — whether asleep, awake, standing, walking, sitting, or lying down — our life is never free from the flow of energy. At times wholesome energy flows through us; at times unwholesome energy flows through us, alternating continuously, day and night. If we cannot direct that flow, our life simply follows whatever karma brings.
Why We Must Abide with Wholesome Dhamma
If we want the energy flowing through us to drive a system that brings , prosperity, rightness and goodness — to bring success and fulfillment into our lives — we need to learn to abide with the system of wholesome . Only system can draw in the energy of merit. When merit flows in, it drives the wholesome system, refining and purifying the elements within us, freeing us and bringing us to a better state — even while we may still feel dim and unclear, whether we're aware of it or not. As long as we abide with what is wholesome, and liberation will arise for us.
On this the Buddha taught: "Monks, you should clearly discern the body, feelings, mind, and dhamma, in order to eliminate craving and aversion toward the world." He taught us to know how to fix our attention, because fixing attention is the starting point — we need a clear base for the mind. Wherever we fix our attention, the mind settles there; that spot becomes the base of the mind. To fix attention means to mark, to specify, to point to a place — wherever we point, we come to know it there. The knowing sphere, which is , arises at that spot, and it continuously draws in the pure energy called merit into the brightness of that sphere of knowing.
The merit that flows in drives the wholesome system, refining the elements within us to be clear and pure, clearing away the defilements that cause trouble and hardship. As those defilements lighten, suffering and hardship lighten too. And when the defilements bound to a particular dimension are exhausted, whatever was holding us to that dimension falls away, and we are freed into a subtler dimension — one with better resources waiting for us. Merit flowing in a subtler dimension is purer, more sacred, more effective at clearing defilement; happiness there is greater; the refined treasures within the sphere of merit are more valuable; and the beings of and power residing in that dimension are subtler too, able to guide and teach us to know even more.
Fixing Attention on Body, Feeling, Mind, and Dhamma
The Buddha taught us to fix attention in four grounds: the body, feelings, the mind, and dhamma. As for the body, we may fix attention anywhere — mindfulness arises right there, and the mind settles there. — whether wholesome, unwholesome, or neutral — can only arise in one place: the mind. Nowhere else. Wholesome dhamma always takes the form of a clear, bright sphere; all 84,000 sections of the Dhamma appear as bright, clear spheres — this is the nature of what is wholesome. Within each type of dhamma the inner quality differs, and we name it according to that quality — this is called "nāma," the name. "Rūpa," the form, is the clear bright sphere that serves as the vessel. Form and name are always paired — wherever there is name, there is form, because name needs form to reside in.
We can fix attention on the body anywhere — at the feet, and the mind settles at the feet; at the stomach, and the mind settles there — this is called "paying attention." Fix it on the breath, and the mind settles at the nostrils; fix it on bodily awareness, and the mind settles in the body itself. Wherever the mind is placed, when we go in to know it, mindfulness arises there. As we continue to purify that spot, brightness will appear; as we continue to cleanse defilement, that brightness turns into a clear, bright sphere right there.
As for feeling, this is the outermost layer of the mind. When any one of the three natures seizes control of the mind, the mind perceives that nature's quality. If the wholesome takes hold, the mind perceives ease and comfort; if takes hold, the mind perceives suffering — a state that must be endured and is hard to endure. As for the mind — thought and reflection — when the wholesome enters, it brings wholesome s that overlay our own, making our thoughts and feelings good; when the unwholesome enters, it brings unwholesome mental factors that make our thoughts and feelings unwholesome.
The Buddha's purpose in teaching us to discern body, feeling, mind, and dhamma was to eliminate craving and aversion. Craving is delight, gladness — the trigger for greed. Aversion is sorrow — the trigger for anger. He therefore taught us to guard the mind against both delight and displeasure, because delight and displeasure are exactly what the unwholesome uses to lead us into greed and anger.
The Three Natures: Wholesome, Unwholesome, and Neutral (Abyākata)
If — which is subtler still — seizes control of the mind, the mind perceives its quality: neither suffering nor happiness, simply neutral. No happiness or ease at all, and no suffering either. This neutral state of abyākata is different from equanimity (upekkhā). Upekkhā is a wholesome dhamma — a neutrality that can still perceive both happiness and suffering, but which keeps the mind balanced and even, neither delighted nor displeased. Abyākata, by contrast, is a nature that shows nothing at all — it prevents both suffering and happiness from appearing. It simply channels energy neutrally, managing the system without producing either state.
Our teachers have advised us to fix attention at , , because this position is critically important — it points directly toward the path to nibbana. It is where the spheres of Dhamma are held; it is the gate that leads, through the inner spheres of Dhamma, straight to nibbana. It is the true seat of the mind — wherever we arise, cease, sleep, or wake, the mind resides here.
Finding the Seventh Base — the Two-String Method
Pra Ajarn explained the method for locating this position in careful detail: imagine two threads. One is drawn taut from the navel to the spine; the other is drawn taut from the right hip to the left hip. Where these two threads cross forms a cross-point at the center of the body. Place the index and middle fingers together at that cross-point, then move them up two finger-widths. That position is the center of the body, the seventh base. When we settle the mind there, we use a mental sign — a mantra — reciting the name "Sammā Arahaṃ."
Settling the Mind at the Seventh Base with the Recitation
Our great teacher taught us to recite, from a deep and subtle level of consciousness, "Sammā Arahaṃ, Sammā Arahaṃ" — repeating it with the subtlest awareness we can bring. When we recite from that deep, subtle consciousness, the sound of the recitation itself will arise. If we rest the mind still and listen with a refined awareness, we will come to perceive that sound arising from deep within. "Sammā Arahaṃ" is an epithet — a name given according to quality — for the One who has practiced well, practiced rightly, practiced in a way that leads far from all defilement.
Seeing the Crystal Dhamma Body at the Center
When we utter his name, "Sammā Arahaṃ," appears at the center of the mind — the radiant Crystal Dhamma Body, brilliant, clear, cool, clean, and pure. Our great teacher said that when he appears, he does not appear empty-handed — he appears bringing the elements of seeing, memory, thought, and knowing, along with the earth, water, wind, fire, and space elements, and the consciousness element, to refine them until they are clear and pure. Beyond that, he expands and merges as one with our human body, watching over, protecting, and helping us — because he is our true self. His wish is for us to merge with him into a single unity, because that allows him to help us with full effectiveness and the greatest possible result.
Wearing the Feeling of Being the Buddha-Image
Given this, let us merge ourselves with him into one unity by wearing the feeling that "I am the Buddha-image, the Buddha-image is me." Every part of our body becomes the radiant Crystal Dhamma Body — brilliant, clear, cool, clean, pure. The mind is a completing element: whatever we determine, so it becomes. Our head becomes the clear crystal of the Crystal Dhamma Body, crowned with a bright lotus-bud finial; our face becomes his radiant countenance, eyes gently closed, lips softly smiling; our forehead, cheeks, nose, mouth, chin, and neck all become the radiant, clear, cool, clean, pure Crystal Dhamma Body. Our shoulders and arms down to the fingertips become crystal, sparkling and radiant. Our chest, stomach, and back all become the Crystal Dhamma Body, exquisitely soft and gentle. Our hips, thighs, knees, shins, and feet all become the sparkling, radiant Crystal Dhamma Body as well.
Our great teacher once said that attaining this vision of the Dhamma body ranges anywhere from 1% to 100% — we can each reach different degrees depending on our capacity. Whatever degree of perception we can manage, we simply take that much for now, using it as an anchor for the mind to rest on wherever we can perceive it. And even if we cannot see anything at all, that is fine — it is enough simply to feel that he is present.
Stopping Within Stopping, Stillness Within Stillness, Toward Nibbana
Once we have merged our body with his body into one unity, we also merge our mind with his mind into one unity. The Dhamma body dwells within us; he abides in the attainment of ceson, gathering the mind to stop, gathering it to stillness. Whatever he does, we do the same — gathering our mind, stopping, resting still, soft and at ease, at the center of the body. "Stopping within stopping, stillness within stillness" — soft, at ease, clear, cool, clean, pure — going into the center of the center, the center of the Buddha-image, the center of knowing, the center of stopping, the center of stillness, continuously. Buddha-image after Buddha-image arises continuously, and we settle, stopped and still, in the center of each one that arises.
We send the mind directly toward the path to nibbana, into the center of the Buddha-image, the center of ourselves. We settle, stopped and still, in the center of the center, the center of our mind, the center of nibbana, the center of filling the lap of the Buddha-image. We will appear, clear and bright, in the center of nibbana, in the center of the knowers of boundless power, incalculable in number. The mind is a completing element — whatever we determine, so it becomes. Stay always aware, never forgetting. As long as the sphere of knowing — mindfulness — stands, the drawing-in of pure merit continues, flowing without interruption into the brightness of that sphere. Each sphere of merit that flows through is filled with pure, sacred Dhamma elements, possessed of power and force, able to dissolve defilement, suffering, sorrow, and sickness completely — nothing else can do this; only merit can clear such defilement away. Within each sphere of merit are also refined treasures — of form, wealth, , fame, praise, happiness, the path and fruit of nibbana, and the Dhammakaya knowledge — all complete and abundant within it.
While we fix attention and the sphere of mindfulness stands, the river of merit continues flowing without break into the brightness of that sphere. The human role is simply to stay continuously aware, without lapsing; everything else is the work of the wholesome system's own automatic process, refining the elements within us to be radiant, clear, cool, clean, and pure by itself.
Radiating Loving-Kindness to All Beings
After this, we cultivate (), benefiting people and all beings. We simply set the sincere wish: may the people of the world and all beings be free from suffering and find happiness everywhere. Our great teacher advised us to draw upon the heart of a mother — filled with love and genuine goodwill toward her own small child — and let that quality of mind arise within us, since it is a mind capable of holding bright, high-quality loving-kindness.
May the people of the world and all beings be free from suffering and find happiness everywhere. May those with much suffering have less; may those with little suffering be freed from it entirely and find happiness; may those with little happiness find more; and may those who already have much happiness find even more. Having made this wish, we expand the mind filled with loving-kindness, spreading it widely to cover our home and dwelling. Wherever the mind expands, loving-kindness shines there too — spreading to the village, the district, the province, the whole country, neighboring countries, until it covers the entire world, making this world a radiant crystal sphere, clear, cool, clean, and pure. May all beings of every realm — earthbound devas, terrestrial devas, celestial devas, heavenly beings of every level, brahmas and formless brahmas, as well as beings in hell, hungry ghosts, and animals — be free from suffering and find happiness everywhere. Then we expand the mind filled with loving-kindness further still, covering the whole universe, embracing countless stars, extending to ten thousand world-systems, a hundred billion galaxies, infinite universes.
Dedicating Merit to Family and All Beings
We gather the mind to stop, gather it to stillness, within loving-kindness. The river of merit continues to pour into the brightness of that loving-kindness without interruption. We then dedicate this merit to arise for the people of the world and all beings, as well as our ancestors and relatives. May the people of the world and all beings share in the merit we have sincerely accumulated. May our ancestors — parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts and uncles, teachers, and all who have shown us kindness — as well as the devas who protect and help us, and those who have cared for and looked after all beings, and all those we may have wronged as karmic counterparties, forgive one another and share fully in this merit.
Merging with the Triple Gem and the Great Teachers
We gather the mind to stop, gather it to stillness, within the river of merit still pouring continuously into the brightness of the mind. We settle, stopped and still, in the center of the Triple Gem — the center of the Buddha Jewel, the Dhamma Jewel, and the Sangha Jewel — and in the center of our great teachers, the finest inner Dhamma body of our Great Master, of our great teacher (Luang Phor), and of our grandmother teacher (Khun Yay). Then we settle, stopped and still, in the center of nibbana, the center of the knowers of boundless power, incalculable in number. Nibbana is every Buddha, every Silent Buddha, and every Arahant. Though they passed into final nibbana long ago, they continue to benefit people and all beings, holding all beings within their center. Any being who abides in universal goodness will have the river of merit flowing through them continuously; the Triple Gem will appear bright within them, whether they realize it or not, whatever their religion or none at all.
Closing Aspiration
We make use of this auspicious moment to pay respects and ask blessings of nibbana, setting our resolve to be sealed within the bright sphere of merit, so that throughout our entire path of accumulating perfections, our life may be complete with knowledge, happiness, and purity, and with success in everything right and good. May the merit, power, radiance, and absolute authority of nibbana throughout all realms, together with the perfected merit of our great teachers, combine with the merit and perfections we have sincerely accumulated across countless past lives since our very first existence, gathering into sacred, powerful merit that refines our body, speech, mind, and elements — of seeing, memory, thought, and knowing — to be radiant, clear, cool, clean, and pure. May we be freed from calamity, sin, the results of past karma, obstruction, and every hardship in life; may greed, hatred, delusion, lust, , wrong view, craving, and clinging be exhausted without remainder. May we gain the eye that sees the Dhamma, reaching and penetrating fully into the Dhammakaya knowledge; may we have strong health and long life to build merit and perfections throughout our lives; and when the time comes to close our eyes on this world, may we be born in the Tusita heaven, in the realm of the special merit lineage of the Bodhisattas-to-be. And when we return to build perfections in the human world, may we be born into a family of right view, a crystal family, a Dhammakaya family. May all these good aspirations come to fulfillment for us all, from this moment forward, in every life, until we reach the very end of the Dhamma, by the boundless power of the Lord Buddha, every one of them. May it be so in every respect.