พระอาจารย์สุรพงค์ชี้ว่าในผู้คนกว่า 5,000 ล้านคนบนโลก แทบไม่มีใครรู้วิธีฝากใจไว้กับพระรัตนตรัยภายในตัวเอง ท่านนำปฏิบัติตั้งแต่การวางใจที่ศูนย์กลางกายฐานที่ 7 การเอ่ยนามสัมมาอะระหัง การหลอมรวมเป็นองค์พระธรรมกาย ไปจนถึงการแผ่เมตตาและอธิษฐานจิต ซึ่งกลางคันเกิดปัญหาไมโครโฟนขัดข้องจนต้องเริ่มบทอธิษฐานใหม่อีกครั้งPhra Ajarn Suraphong points out that among more than five billion people on earth, almost no one knows how to consciously connect with the inner Triple Gem. He guides the sit from settling the mind at the seventh base, through reciting "Samma Arahang" and merging with the Dhammakaya image, to radiating loving-kindness and dedicating merit — a sit that was genuinely interrupted midway by a microphone failure, requiring the dedication to restart.
Phra Ajarn opens by explaining that meditation practice is essential for every life. When we practice, a stream of merit is drawn into the center of our body and mind, bringing with it refined resources and a "," giving rise to and prosperity. As this merit flows through us, it can wash away every kind of defilement clouding the heart.
He teaches that meditation is central to bringing about "" — liberation through the power of a wholesome mind. We are all under the influence of three natural forces. Whichever one takes hold of the mind draws in its own kind of energy to drive its own system: if it is a wholesome () force, pure energy is drawn in that elevates our inner elements; if unwholesome (), it drags them down; and if neutral/indeterminate (abyakata), it neither helps nor harms — it simply carries us through life aimlessly, the way an animal drifts from day to day. This is why we need to learn to abide within system, to draw in the pure energy called merit.
The Principle of Right Mindfulness: Knowing Body, Feeling, Mind, and Mental Objects
In dwelling within the wholesome system, he cites the Buddha's teaching: "Monks, you should clearly discern body, feeling, mind, and mental objects, in order to dispel covetousness and displeasure toward the world." His own teachers advised placing the mind at at , because this position has been proven to be the most important — it is the gateway that leads straight toward the path to Nirvana. When the mind settles there, that area is kept clean and pure; the mind rests there, and the drawing-in of energy occurs at exactly that spot, which then becomes bright — because "the mind is like a wishing gem: whatever you set it upon, that is what it becomes."
How to Hold the Eyes: Half-Open, Never Fully Closed
He instructs us to keep the eyelids gently lowered, not shut tight, so that just enough light gets through. This keeps us balanced between the outer and inner worlds. If we slip entirely into the inner world without any light to guide us, it becomes pitch dark, and drowsiness lies in wait, ready to leave us dazed, foggy, or asleep. So he has us keep the eyes softly closed, relying on outer light to help the image of the Buddha appear more clearly — because whether within or without, seeing anything at all requires light.
Reciting "Samma Arahang" and the Appearing of the Buddha-Image
He has us recite, with a deep and subtle awareness, ", Samma Arahang." This phrase is a name born of quality — the name of the One Who Has Practiced Well, whose practice leads away from all defilements. When we speak his name, he appears, because form and name are always paired: where a name appears, its form follows. The One Who Has Practiced Well appears at the center of our body and mind. Whether we see him clearly or not doesn't matter — simply speaking his name and feeling his presence is enough.
He does not appear for no reason. He appears bringing with him the elements of seeing, remembering, thinking, and knowing, along with the elements of earth, water, wind, fire, space, and consciousness, refining them to be clear, clean, and pure — dissolving the defilements that cause problems and obstacles in our lives. When he appears, know that he is already working to fix things for us — especially when we give him the opportunity to become the "master of the house" managing our life. He will do everything within his power to remove every defilement for us.
A Startling Statistic: Out of More Than Five Billion People
He points out how rare it is for anyone to send their heart and mind to connect with the One Who Has Practiced Well. The world holds more than 5,000 million people, yet almost no one knows they must do this — must place their heart in his care, must connect with him so he can enter their heart and help them, because he is our true self. This is the significance of a practice that the vast majority of the world's population has never encountered.
Merging into One with the Crystal Dhammakaya Image
Each Buddha-image continuously arises one after another at the center of our body and mind, to help and refine us, then expands to fill our whole body, superimposing itself as one with our human body. What he wishes for is that we merge into a single unity with him, because this makes it far easier for him to help us. We can bring about this merging by taking on the feeling the way an actor inhabits a role — feeling that we are the Buddha-image, and the Buddha-image is us: our whole body a radiant, clear, cool, clean, pure crystal kaya.
He guides us part by part: the head as a clear crystal crowned with a lotus bud, the face as the serene, gently smiling countenance of the crystal Dhammakaya, the eyes, forehead, cheeks, nose, mouth, chin, and neck; the shoulders, arms down to the fingertips; the chest, abdomen, and back; the hips, thighs, knees, calves, and soles of the feet — all of it a soft, tender, radiant crystal Dhammakaya, clear, cool, clean and pure. The image sits upon a lotus throne, surrounded and filled with a sphere of Dhamma, dwelling within that radiant inner sphere.
Stillness Within Stillness, Entering the Center of Center
Once our body has merged with his, he has us merge our mind with his mind too — whatever he does, we do the same. He gathers his mind, stops, and stills it; we gather our mind, stop, and still it too, at the center of the Buddha-image, at the center of our body. Stillness within stillness, softly, at ease, cool and clear, going ever deeper into the center of center, sending the mind straight toward the path to Nirvana. As we do so, it appears, radiant, at the center of Nirvana — the Lord Buddha, every Buddha, every Solitary Buddha, and every Arahant, uncountable as the grains beyond reckoning.
He emphasizes that what the Triple Gem and Nirvana desire is for us to become one unity with them, because once the human body becomes one with the Triple Gem and Nirvana, the forces of evil can do nothing at all — not even a stray thought — because the mind is a wishing gem. Only those within the special circle of merit come to understand this mechanism.
The Power of the Stream of Merit
While we dwell at the center of him, we are safe, at peace, immersed in the continuous, abundant stream of merit — sphere after sphere, radiant. Within each sphere of merit is a pure, sacred, powerful energy able to dissolve every defilement; nothing else can remove these stains except the element of merit itself, because merit is pure energy — when it meets im, it clears it away entirely.
Within the sphere of merit is also happiness, and at its very center lies every kind of refined resource: form, wealth, , retinue, honor, praise, the fruits of the path and Nirvana, and the of the Dhammakaya — all complete and abundant. As merit flows through us, these refined resources flow through us too, and they in turn draw worldly, coarser resources toward us.
Radiating Loving-Kindness: Calling to Mind a Mother's Heart
After cleansing ourselves of defilement, he teaches us to benefit others and all beings with the tool of . His own revered teacher advised bringing to mind the heart of a mother, overflowing with love and genuine goodwill toward her young child, and raising that up as our own — because true loving-kindness requires sincere love and goodwill, not merely a superficial wish.
He leads us in the aspiration: "May all beings who share with us the suffering of birth, aging, sickness, and death be free from suffering and find happiness, every one." Then we expand this loving-kindness outward, filling our home and dwelling.
An Interruption Mid-Sit: The Microphone Fails During the Dedication
While Phra Ajarn was in the midst of radiating loving-kindness, a genuine technical problem occurred in the recording. Another monk's voice can be heard informing him that his microphone had been off since the moment he began leading the , meaning listeners had not heard him during that section. On learning this, Phra Ajarn simply said, "Then let's do the dedication of merit over again, shall we," and began the dedication anew from the start.
Beginning the Dedication Again: Sending the Mind Toward Nirvana
He begins once more: send heart and mind straight toward the path to Nirvana, through the Triple Gem within. Call the Triple Gem to mind, and as we do, we appear radiant within them, and they appear radiant within us; both we and they appear radiant at the center of Nirvana — the realm of the all-knowing, of boundless power, uncountable as the grains beyond reckoning: every Buddha, every Solitary Buddha, and every Arahant.
The Dedication of Merit
Radiant now at the center of him, he leads us to pay homage and make our aspiration, setting the seal of success into this radiant sphere of merit: may the merit, glory, power, and authority of Nirvana, together with the merit and virtue of his own revered teachers, combine with all the merit we have sincerely accumulated since our first existence, becoming sacred, powerful merit that refines our body, speech, and mind — the elements of seeing, remembering, thinking, and knowing, earth, water, wind, fire, space, and consciousness — making them radiant, clear, cool, clean, and pure; freeing us from calamity and sacred sin, from the results of past karma and every obstacle in life; may greed, hatred, delusion, lust, , wrong view, craving, and clinging be extinguished without a trace; may we gain the eye of Dhamma and penetrate the knowledge of the Dhammakaya, enjoy strong health and long life, and continue building merit and perfection throughout this life.
He continues: may we be born into a family of right view, a "crystal family," a Dhammakaya family; and whatever unwholesome deeds we have committed knowingly or unknowingly in the past, from our very first existence onward, may they be forgiven and never bear fruit; may we never commit new wrongdoing in body, speech, or mind; may all the merit we have sincerely gathered combine to bring sacred, powerful results continuously from this moment until the ultimate attainment of Dhamma. He closes with the Pali verses "Sabbe buddhānubhāvena, sabbe dhammānubhāvena, sabbe saṅghānubhāvena," and the word "Sādhu," bringing the sit to a close.