การเอาชนะอกุศลต้องอาศัยศีล สมาธิ ปัญญา เป็นเครื่องมือแก้ไขคนละระดับ แต่หัวใจสำคัญที่สุดคือต้องเห็นทุกข์โทษภัยของอกุศลก่อน หากยังยินดีพอใจในโลภะโทสะโมหะอยู่ ดวงวิมุตติก็จะยังทำการหลุดพ้นให้ไม่ได้Overcoming the unwholesome relies on morality, concentration, and wisdom as tools addressing different levels of the problem — but the most essential step is first seeing the danger and harm of the unwholesome. As long as we still delight in greed, aversion, and delusion, the sphere of liberation cannot yet set us free.
Someone asked: what methods can overcome within our own mind? And if we can't yet overcome it outright, how can we at least keep it from succeeding?
Seeing the Danger and Harm of the Unwholesome Comes First
Pra Ajarn explained that the most essential thing is first seeing the danger and harm of the unwholesome. Without seeing its danger and harm, we cannot overcome it, because we're still delighting in it.
Morality, Concentration, and Wisdom: Tools for Different Levels
Morality, concentration, and wisdom are spheres, tools present within every body — morality, concentration, wisdom, liberation, and the and vision of liberation reside within the sphere of each body. We must rely on morality, concentration, and wisdom, putting them to use in overcoming the unwholesome, each addressing a different level of the problem. At the coarse level, morality restrains body and speech; when the unwholesome possesses us, it forces us into wrongdoing through body and speech, and the sphere of morality restrains that coarse cause. Concentration is the tool that purifies mind and s that have turned unwholesome — inner voices and inner feelings rely on the sphere of concentration. Wisdom, meanwhile, lets us see the danger and harm of the unwholesome, and the value and benefit of .
Once We See the Danger, the Sphere of Liberation Can Set Us Free
Once we see the danger and harm of the unwholesome, the sphere of liberation can act to free us. But without seeing that danger and harm, this tool struggles to function, because we still delight in greed, aversion, and delusion — and that delight keeps those habits alive, so the sphere of liberation cannot yet set us free. Mistakes can therefore still occur as long as we remain under the unwholesome's control, since its proportion of power is greater, preventing us from seeing its danger clearly. Some still delight in greed, some in aversion, some in delusion, some in lust. But once we see the danger and harm in each of these areas, the sphere of liberation acts to free us in that specific area. Once freed, we must also come to see the value and benefit of the wholesome, and the knowledge and vision of liberation will bring us to a better life, a more excellent life, a life of wonder.
Even Delight in Aversion Is Possible
Someone then asked: does a person who's actually happy about being angry really exist? Pra Ajarn explained that delighting in aversion is possible precisely because the proportion of the unwholesome is still present — its control over the person isn't yet free, and they still see some value or benefit in it. It's like someone who habitually curses; the attachment there comes from their tendency toward aversion. We ourselves might not delight in aversion, but for someone who still carries much of it, they will still delight in it, whether aware of it or not. As long as the proportion of any given nature remains greater within someone, it can still dictate their behavior. This is entirely normal — as long as we haven't attained arahantship, we all remain under the control of the three natures.