Why This Practice Matters for Every Life

Phra Ajarn opens by explaining that we live under the influence of three natures, each competing to draw its own energy through the center of our body and mind continuously — whether asleep, awake, standing, walking, sitting, or lying down. Both body and mind are channels through which merit, demerit, and neither-merit-nor-demerit all pass. Only the wholesome energy of merit can truly benefit us, which is why we must learn to abide with the wholesome system.

The Buddha's Words: Clearly Determine Body, Feeling, Mind, and Dhamma

The Buddha taught the monastic community: "Monks, you should clearly determine the body, feeling, mind, and mental objects, in order to remove covetousness and grief regarding the world." To abide with wholesome nature, we must determine. If we note at the foot, the sensation of warmth, coolness, softness, or firmness appears there; the mind — a facet of the consciousness element — is placed at that spot, mindfulness arises, and the stream of merit is drawn into the brightness of that orb of mindfulness, seated at the center of the mind.

How to Note and Enter the Inner Dimension

All 84,000 sections of Dhamma — wholesome, unwholesome, or neutral — can only arise at the mind, nowhere else. Wherever we determine, the mind settles there, and merit flows in at that spot. Whether we note the abdomen, the breath, or any other point, the principle is the same: let the orb of knowing arise, and know continuously without lapsing. Once purity reaches a certain level, we can enter the inner dimension at that very point. Mindfulness turns into full clear comprehension, registering the state within that dimension. Merit flows in to clear away ever-finer obscuring elements, until brightness appears as a clear, luminous sphere.

Truth Appears Only in Each Present Moment

Phra Ajarn explains that the state of truth appears only in each present moment, which is always new — unconnected to what has passed (the past) or what has not yet come (the future). Not even the recent past or near future appears. Knowing what arises in each present moment brings us to a truth that grows deeper and subtler over time. The inner knower appears and explains to us how the mechanisms of nature actually work.

The Goal: Removing Covetousness and Grief

Noting body, feeling, mind, and dhamma aims to remove covetousness — the delight that steers us toward greed — and grief — the aversion that steers us toward anger. Both greed and anger ultimately lead to harming ourselves and others. This is because we view the world through eye, ear, nose, tongue, and body, out toward form, taste, smell, sound, and touch — the outer world — while the inner world consists of delight and aversion themselves, called mental objects. The Buddha taught us to hold the mind in equanimity, not swaying toward either delight or aversion.

From Satipatthana 4 to Mahasatipatthana 4

Cultivating right mindfulness requires first laying the foundation of Satipatthana 4 — noting with a fixed base, knowing continuously without lapsing, to remove covetousness and grief entirely. Once this level is mastered, it leads us into Mahasatipatthana 4, which brings us to understand, at a much deeper level, how the three competing natures actually operate and manifest through body, feeling, mind, and dhamma.

Incomplete Vipassana: "Knowing Without Seeing"

Phra Ajarn explains that if we note in order to gain calm, this is samatha. If we note in order to perceive how the mechanisms of nature work, this is vipassana. Samatha and vipassana support each other, but preliminary vipassana is merely "knowing without seeing" — we can tell that some natural process is at work, but we have not yet seen it directly. Though incomplete, this stage is still tremendously beneficial in helping our samatha progress further.

Complete Vipassana: Seeing Through All 18 Bodies

Complete vipassana requires both knowing and seeing. It demands reaching the inner dhamma sphere and developing further until reaching the full chain of 18 bodies — the arahant Dhammakaya — relying on the eye of Dhamma, direct insight (ñāṇadassana), and the radiant knowledge (vijjā) that together form wisdom, connecting with the inner knower. Only this can truly be called complete vipassana.

The Seventh Base and the Slightly Open Eyes

Teachers instruct us to know the seventh base at the center of the body, since it is a crucial position — the gateway leading straight toward Nibbana. Picture two lines crossing like an X at the level of the navel; two finger-widths above that crossing point is the seat of the mind. We are taught to keep the eyes very slightly open, which helps in two ways. First, it helps us see inwardly more clearly, since it is not pitch dark — outside light assists. Second, it helps prevent drowsiness, because keeping the eyes slightly open keeps us positioned between the inner and outer worlds, rather than falling into the dimension where the hindrances lie in wait.

The Sammā Arahaṃ Chant

We are taught to chant with a deep, subtle inner awareness: "Sammā Arahaṃ" — a name given according to quality, denoting the arahant Dhammakaya, our true self. It refers to the one who practices well, rightly, in a way that leads away from all defilements. As we utter this name, this being appears at the center of our mind, since form and name always arise together. This being possesses boundless compassion, brimming with the virtue of wisdom and purity.

A Detailed Merging Into Oneness With the Crystal Image

Once this being appears, it draws in the elements of our seeing, remembering, thinking, and knowing, refining them to clarity and purity, then expands to overlay our entire body, protecting and caring for us because it is our true self. Phra Ajarn compares this to an actor adopting the feeling of a role. We adopt the feeling that we are the one who practices well and rightly, merging into a radiant, cool, clean, pure crystal Dhammakaya — from the crown of the head, the face, the cheeks, both arms, the torso, chest, lower abdomen, back, hips, thighs, knees, and shins down to the tips of the toes, our entire body is this crystal Dhammakaya throughout.

Stopping Within Stopping, Stillness Within Stillness

Once our body has merged with the image as one, we merge our mind with its mind as well. The Dhammakaya dwells with us, cultivating cessation-attainment to heal and purify us toward liberation, by gathering the mind to stop and be still. Stop within stopping, still within stillness, gently relaxed and at ease, clear, cool, clean, and pure, resting at the very center of the crystal image, at the center of its center, as image after image continues to arise, sending the mind straight toward the path to Nibbana.

Wholesomeness Appears in Every Heart, Regardless of Religion

Phra Ajarn explains that Nibbana already holds all beings within its embrace. Any being who abides in universal goodness — even without following Buddhism, or any religion at all — will have the Triple Gem shining bright within them, with the stream of merit drawn in continuously. The Buddhas, the Solitary Buddhas, and all the Arahants, though liberated from the cycle of rebirth, still abide within the Nibbana-realm, continuously caring for and helping all beings without ever ceasing.

Cultivating Loving-Kindness

Phra Ajarn then leads loving-kindness meditation to benefit the world and all beings, drawing on the sincere heart of a mother who loves and wishes well for her young child. May all beings be free from suffering and find happiness everywhere. The mind then expands to cover the home, village, district, province, the whole country, and the boundless universe. Loving-kindness also refines the environment — earth, water, air, forests, mountains, rivers, and seas — making it fit for all beings to dwell in. Whoever benefits the world and the universe may in turn draw upon its resources.

Dedication of Merit and the Closing Chant

We rest the mind still in the stream of merit, in the Triple Gem, and in the utterly refined dhamma bodies of Luang Pu, Luang Phor, and Khun Yai Ajarn, then resolve in prayer to Nibbana for blessing. May we attain the knowledge of the Dhammakaya, enjoy good health, and build merit and perfections throughout this life. May all karmic counterparts forgive one another, and the session closes with the traditional Pali chant of dedication.