พระอาจารย์อธิบายว่าอกุศลใช้อวิชชาปิดบังความจริงของชีวิต และเบี่ยงเบนความสนใจไปสู่รูปรสกลิ่นเสียงสัมผัส ทำให้คนส่วนใหญ่ไม่รู้เป้าหมายชีวิต ทางแก้คือดำรงอยู่กับธรรมชาติฝ่ายกุศลโดยอาศัยผู้รู้ทั้งภายในและภายนอกคอยชี้นำThe teacher explains that unwholesomeness uses ignorance to conceal life's truth and redirects attention toward sights, tastes, smells, sounds, and touch — which is why most people never discover their life's purpose. The remedy is to dwell in wholesome nature, guided by both an inner and an outer Knower.
Someone asked the teacher why most people don't know their life's purpose — not only in the sense of building spiritual perfections, but purpose in general — even though the same people clearly know their goals in other areas, such as business or study.
Why Most People Don't Know Their Life's Purpose
The teacher explained that if every person in the world knew their life's purpose, the world would certainly achieve peace and harmony. But people don't know it because life is governed by three natures, and unwholesomeness in particular uses as its tool to conceal and obscure the truth from people. If a person wishes to know the truth, unwholesomeness uses the fabrications of mental formations to produce a distorted understanding instead. And if a person persists further in seeking the truth, it fastens consciousness onto delight in sights, tastes, smells, sounds, and touch, through the eye, ear, nose, tongue, and body, keeping the mind occupied with these sense contacts and leaving no room to turn inward and examine the truth of life.
He recounted that when the Buddha attained enlightenment, he spent 49 days contemplating the truths he had realized, and only on the final day fully understood dependent origination — the very mechanism unwholesomeness uses to conceal the truth of life from humans and all beings.
The Remedy: Dwelling in Wholesome Nature Through a Knower
The teacher explained that knowing the truth of life requires a Knower, either within or without. If one has not yet reached the inner Knower, one relies on an outer Knower first. The world's first Knower was the Fully Enlightened Buddha; before his enlightenment, humanity remained in darkness, cycling endlessly through birth and death, unable to escape no matter how much good they did. Once enlightened, he taught that humans are governed by three natures — wholesome, unwholesome, and neutral — and taught the way to dwell in wholesome nature: using wholesome states to draw in pure energy, merit, which drives the system of wholesomeness to purify one's inner elements, increasing the proportion of wholesomeness and diminishing unwholesomeness. Once grounded in truth, a sincere wish becomes easy to fulfill, since truth and aspiration must go together. Conversely, dwelling in unwholesomeness leads one's aspirations toward destroying oneself and others. This is why learning the truth of life is essential — only then can one recognize one's purpose and fulfill it with ease.
Why Buddhists Often Don't Read the Scriptures, Unlike Followers of Other Faiths
In the continuing converon, someone observed that friends of other faiths regularly read their own scriptures and understand them well, while many Buddhists rarely read the Tipitaka. The teacher explained that the unabridged Tipitaka, without commentary to expand on it, is difficult to read, being written largely in technical terminology — unlike other faiths, where teachers regularly guide followers through their scriptures. He noted that condensed, easier editions now exist, including versions written for youth and for the general public, which he felt every household should keep on hand, so that children and family members can study more easily.