พระอาจารย์สุรพงค์ชี้ว่าผลของวิบากกรรมไม่ว่าดีหรือร้ายล้วนมีปริมาณจำกัดเสมอสำหรับแต่ละคน แต่มนุษย์ไม่รู้ว่ามันมีจำกัด อกุศลจึงอาศัยจุดนี้ชี้นำให้เกิดความโลภอยากได้เกินกว่าที่วิบากจะให้ ท่านสอนให้วางใจเป็นกลางด้วยมัชฌัตตุเบกขาเจตสิก แล้วปิดท้ายด้วยการแผ่เมตตาและอุทิศส่วนบุญเต็มรูปแบบPhra Ajarn Suraphong teaches that the results of kamma — good or bad — always come in a fixed, limited amount for each person, but because we don't know where that limit lies, akusala (unwholesome nature) exploits our ignorance to incite excessive greed for more than our vipaka can actually deliver. He teaches holding the mind in balanced equanimity (majjhatta), then closes with a full radiation of loving-kindness and dedication of merit.
Meditation practice matters greatly to every life, because we live under the control of three kinds of nature. Only kind gives any real benefit. When the wholesome system is established, it draws the ever-flowing river of merit, together with refined treasures, to flow into the middle of its brightness, allowing life to abide in ordinary well-being. Merit stands behind , success, and every fulfilled wish in life. Apart from the wholesome nature, no other nature gives any benefit at all — only brings suffering and harm. The Buddha spent twenty incalculable aeons accumulating merit and perfections, precisely because most beings have no idea that three kinds of nature control them.
Determine at Body, Feeling, Mind, and Mental Objects — Three Key Points
He taught: "Monks, you should clearly determine the body, feelings, mind, and mental objects, so as to remove covetousness and grief from the world." This sentence has three key points: (1) we must determine, (2) we determine at body, feelings, mind, and mental objects, (3) the purpose is to remove covetousness and grief. We determine because merit can only flow in where the mind has a base to stand on — that base is the body, feelings, mind, and mental objects, these four grounds. Wherever we determine within these four, merit gets drawn in to purify that spot. The reason it must be these four specifically is that when the three natures come to possess us, they overlay their own body-feeling-mind-mental-object onto ours at these very points — understanding this lets us see how the nature that controls beings actually operates.
The Fruit of Kamma Always Comes in a Fixed Amount
We live under . When kamma ripens, it produces either sfaction or dissatisfaction — wholesome vipaka brings what's pleasing, unwholesome vipaka brings what's displeasing. We can be in the exact same environment, with identical circumstances, yet one person is happy and another suffers. Happiness comes from the fruit of good deeds; suffering is a state that must be endured, and endured with difficulty — the fruit of unwholesome kamma.
**This is the central point of the whole talk**: happiness comes in a fixed quantity. Someone with abundant merit is very happy; someone with little merit is only a little happy. Vipaka is always capped. **But people don't know that it's capped.** And because they don't know it's capped, — the unwholesome — can direct them. It stirs up the wish to have more and more of something pleasing. If we go along with that, a directs us into accepting it, and we become imprisoned within its dimension, drawing sin in with us. The same goes for aversion: akusala assigns blame here and there, making us feel tormented, and when things don't go our way we lash out in speech.
Why Covetousness and Grief Must Be Removed
So he teaches us to determine at body, feelings, mind, and mental objects in order to understand the nature that has come to possess us. When satisfaction arises, hold the mind in equanimity — don't indulge in liking or disliking too much. Something beautiful, know it as beautiful; something delicious, know it as delicious; a pleasant sound, know it as pleasant — know it in moderation and let that be enough. Don't over-indulge in liking or disliking, because if you do, akusala finds its opening and directs you toward greed.
**Here is the reason satisfaction itself must be removed**: vipaka's yield is fixed. Someone with good vipaka gets a fixed result; someone with bad vipaka also gets a fixed result — good vipaka gives just so much happiness, that's all; bad vipaka gives just so much suffering, that's all, according to each person's capacity. But akusala directs us into wrong view. When there's satisfaction, it directs us toward greed — **wanting more of something that can only be given so much, not knowing it's capped, and wanting to grab more than that** — and this is exactly how we get tricked. The same happens with aversion: when displeasure arises, akusala assigns blame — "it's because of that person, because of this person" — and resentment and friction follow.
Holding the Mind in Balance Through Majjhatta
He teaches us to hold the mind in equanimity. The balanced state of mind is the of majjhatta (evenness), which arises together with wholesomeness. When wholesomeness is established, arises, confidence arises, moral shame and moral dread arise, non-greed and non-aversion arise, and majjhatta arises along with them. When we hold the mind evenly, without indulging liking or disliking, not shaken by whatever stimulates us from within or without, the mind becomes balanced. Take pleasure in what's pleasing only in moderation — don't let it swing to an extreme, because an extreme swing means suffering will also swing to an extreme when it comes.
When the mind is balanced and doesn't scatter, concentration arises easily. When the mind rests in balance with the wholesome majjhatta mental factor, it draws in merit to purify and refine, producing of body and mind.
Merit Flows In to Purify the Wholesome Mental Factors
When wholesomeness is sustained continuously, calm of body and mind arises; lightness of body and mind, refinement and gentleness of body and mind, agility of body and mind, along with honesty and fitness for work — all of these are mental factors that arise together with wholesomeness. The merit that's drawn in purifies these factors and lets their qualities emerge clearly. Everything appears on its own, because the tools are already there — they're simply not yet clear enough, because the wholesomeness hasn't been sustained long enough or strongly enough yet.
Just Determine and Stay Continuously Aware
We simply follow the Buddha's instruction for developing : determine and stay continuously aware, without lapsing. Determine on and on — wherever we determine, we know it there; whatever we determine on, we go and know that. What we want is for the sphere of mindfulness to arise — a clear, round, luminous sphere that can only arise in one place: the mind. Wherever the mind is placed, mindfulness arises there. Staying continuously aware without lapsing, this sphere of mindfulness draws in pure energy — merit — to flow continuously into the middle of its brightness. This pure energy drives the wholesome system, refining and correcting the elements, clearing away the defilements that cause problems and obstacles.
When Mindfulness Arises, Ignorance Falls Away
When mindfulness arises, falls away — recollection, once established, dissolves the ignorance of not-knowing. The sphere of mindfulness draws in pure energy. But the moment we lapse, ignorance arises again and mindfulness fades, and the drawing-in of pure energy stops. So we must stay continuously aware, without lapsing, enjoying the awareness — the ever-flowing river of merit will then flow continuously, together with a stream of refined treasures.
Drowsiness and restlessness are normal when defilement is present. But once defilement is gone, have no energy left to disturb us — whether it's the hindrance of sensual desire, restlessness, or ill will. As defilement is purified and lightened continuously, it must eventually run out, because defilement has a fixed, limited quantity. So we simply determine and stay continuously aware, and the hindrances will clear away on their own.
Body-Feeling-Mind-Mental Objects as Tools of Meditation
Each day, after finishing our duties and washing up, we come to develop right mindfulness by determining — to abide with the wholesome nature. We simply stay determined on body, feelings, mind, and mental objects, or on a mantra, a meditation image, or a subject of recollection — all of these are tools of meditation practice, meant to let mindfulness cling to and rely on one object of practice. Once mindfulness is established, it continuously draws in pure energy, merit, which drives the wholesome system, refining and correcting the elements, purifying them, freeing us from one dimension into a subtler one. The proportion of wholesomeness increases while the power of neutral and unwholesome nature diminishes, and life becomes more vibrant, relaxed, fresh, and open.
Loving-Kindness: A Tool for Those with Merit to Help Those with Less
Once we've done good for ourselves, we go on to create benefit for others through (metta). Simply set the intention of goodwill toward the world and all beings, and the sphere of loving-kindness arises. The 84,000 sections of can only arise in one place — the mind. All wholesome s share the same clear, round, luminous form; what differs is the inner quality they carry, named accordingly.
The revered Great Teacher advised drawing on the heart of a mother, brimming with love and goodwill toward her young child, and setting that up as the sphere of loving-kindness — because it is an especially potent, especially luminous quality of loving-kindness, capable of drawing in a great deal of pure energy. Then extend that gaze toward all beings as if they were our own children — because in the endless round of birth and death, without beginning or end, it is said there has never been anyone who was not once our parent or our child.
Radiating Loving-Kindness Across the World and the Cosmos
Expand the mind imbued with loving-kindness to cover your home, then your neighbors, your village, and gradually the whole world, the whole earth, the neighboring countries, all countries, until the whole world is covered, like a world made of crystal — clear, cool, clean, and pure. Make the aspiration: "May the people of the world and all beings be free from suffering and find happiness, everywhere" — including earth-bound devas, sky devas, heavenly beings of every realm, form-brahmas, hell-beings, asuras, and animals. May those with much suffering have less; may those with little suffering be entirely free of it; may those with little happiness have more. Then extend the mind further into the atmosphere of the cosmos, covering tens, hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions of stars, extending to ten thousand world-systems, a hundred thousand koti of universes, infinite universes.
Loving-kindness then radiates into the center of the hearts of people and all beings, dissolving the resentment and friction that are defilement. The wholesome nature can then take up residence as master of the house within the hearts of beings, drawing in pure energy to refine and correct their elements — the power of wholesomeness grows and life becomes easier for everyone. Loving-kindness also nourishes the environment: earth, water, air, sky, mountains, oceans, trees, buildings, and crops, making the surroundings fit to dwell in.
We Are Only the Bearer of the Dhamma, Not the One Who Purifies It
We simply determine the sphere of loving-kindness and hold the feeling of love and goodwill, and the sphere of loving-kindness arises and shows its own qualities. We are not the ones purifying defilement or dissolving resentment ourselves — we are only the ones who determine the state and then hold, or "bear," that state. This is called being a **bearer of the Dhamma** (ทรงธรรม). The Dhamma itself will manifest its own qualities. We are merely its bearer, and we train ourselves to become skilled at bearing it. Whoever brings benefit to the world and the cosmos can rightly make use of the treasures of the world and the cosmos.
Dedicating Merit and Settling Still
Practice loving-kindness often, always. Then gather the mind and settle still within the brightness of loving-kindness; the ever-flowing river of merit continues to well up within that brightness. Dedicate this merit to all people and beings. May all beings share in this merit, be free from suffering, and find happiness — as well as our ancestors, parents, siblings, grandparents, teachers, benefactors, devas who help and protect us, and all those we have ever wronged, our **karmic counterparts** (คู่กรรมคู่เวร) — may we forgive one another and may they too receive a share of this merit.
Gather the mind and settle still in the ever-flowing river of merit welling up in the bright center of the heart. Settle in the center of the Triple Gem — Buddha Jewel, Dhamma Jewel, Sangha Jewel — and within the most refined Dhamma body of the revered Great Teacher, the Great Master, and the Great Lay Teacher, merging ourselves with the Triple Gem and the Great Teachers into one, because they are of boundless kindness to us. Every moment of our lives — sleeping, waking, standing, walking, sitting, lying down — we are protected and cared for by the Triple Gem and the Great Teachers, though we rarely notice.
Aspiration and Closing
Every time we recollect the Triple Gem, we appear radiant within them, and they appear radiant within us; both we and they appear radiant within nibbana, the center of the Knower of unlimited power, uncountable incalculable Buddhas. Taking this auspicious moment, we pay respects and set our aspiration, so that our path of building perfections may be full of , happiness, and , and fulfilled in everything right and good. We ask that all the merit and perfections accumulated since our very first lifetime, through countless lives up to the present, be gathered together into sacred, potent merit of boundless power, dispelling misfortune, sin, the fruits of bad kamma, and all obstacles — greed, hatred, delusion, lust, ignorance, wrong view, craving, and clinging — leaving not a trace, so that we may attain and penetrate the Vijja Dhammakaya, the Three Knowledges, the Eight Higher Knowledges, the Six Abhinna, the Four Analytical Insights, the Eight Liberations, and the Fifteen Conducts in full, together with strong health, long life, and the strength to build perfections throughout life.
The sit closes with the Pali chant: "Sabbe buddha balappatta paccekananca yam balam, arahantananca tejena rakkham bandhami sabbaso. Sabba-buddhanubhavena, sabba-dhammanubhavena, sabba-sanghanubhavena, saddha-sotthi ntu te" — and "Sadhu."