Why We Practice

Meditation practice matters greatly to life, because every life exists under the control of kusala dhamma, akusala dhamma, and abyakata dhamma. Only wholesomeness can bring benefit and beauty, because when wholesome nature is established, it draws in the pure energy of merit to sustain our human form in ordinary well-being. Only merit can bring us happiness, prosperity, knowledge, understanding, and every fulfilled wish that is good. Other, unwholesome natures draw in sin, bringing suffering and harm.

The Buddha taught, in developing right mindfulness: "Monks, you should clearly determine the body, feelings, mind, and mental objects, so as to remove covetousness and grief from the world." This sentence must be memorized — it is a life-changing sentence, capable on its own of turning an ordinary person into a noble one.

Determining Means Marking, Specifying

For example, when we determine at the foot, the mind is placed at the foot; going in to notice there, we come to know the cold, heat, softness, or firmness of the foot touching the ground. Before that, we didn't know it, because we hadn't determined it — but once we determine, we can perceive it. Perception depends on where we determine to notice; wherever the mind is placed, that is where knowing happens. When the mind goes there, the sphere of knowing — mindfulness, a wholesome dhamma — appears at the mind. In truth, no dhamma — wholesome, unwholesome, or neutral — can arise anywhere but the mind.

Every wholesome sphere is clear, round, and luminous. Unwholesome spheres are dark. Neutral spheres are gray. These can be seen with the Dhamma-eye, not with the physical eye. When we determine somewhere, the sphere of knowing — mindfulness, clear, round, luminous — appears at the center of the mind, at that very point. We come to perceive the state of full bodily and mental awareness. At the same time, mindfulness draws pure energy, merit, to flow into the middle of its brightness. This energy drives the wholesome system, refining and correcting the elements within us, purifying them, clearing away all defilements.

Defilement Causes Problems; Our Role Is Only to Determine and Know

Defilement is what causes problems and obstacles, creating difficulty in life, in practice, in work. Where defilement exists, problems exist; when defilement is gone, problems are gone. But purifying defilement requires merit — because we don't even know where defilement is or what it looks like. The role of a human being is therefore only to determine, to let the sphere of knowing — mindfulness — arise, and to maintain that sphere continuously, without lapsing. If we lapse, the sphere of mindfulness fades, and we must re-establish it.

Each part plays a different role: we are the one who determines for wholesome dhamma to arise; that wholesome dhamma draws in pure energy; that pure energy, merit, purifies defilement, making it lighter; once defilement is gone we are freed from one dimension into another — not liberation as an Arahant, but simply moving from a coarser dimension to a subtler one, which carries lighter defilement still. As we continue to build wholesome causes, the merit drawn in at the subtler dimension becomes purer and more potent still.

An Automatic Mechanism, Like Our Own Organs

Everything works as an automatic mechanism, in both body and mind. Our liver, kidneys, and intestines work automatically too — our role is simply to put in good food, clean water, pure air, and the body will digest and nourish itself into ordinary health. But if we put in dirty things — alcohol, intoxicants, impure air — the same automatic system will use what we've fed it to undermine the body. The mind works the same way: we need to feed it good thoughts, wholesome states of mind, and the automatic inner system will use that good input to draw in pure energy that purifies our elements.

Determining at Body, Feeling, Mind, Mental Objects — Through the Breath

The Buddha taught us to determine only at these four grounds: body, feelings, mind, and mental objects. We need to train in all four, but at the start, pick whichever we're best at — wherever the signal is clear and continuous. For example, breathing in, we notice the signal at the wall of the nostril; breathing out, we notice it too; breathing short, we know it; breathing long, we know it. Don't let that signal lapse — if it lapses, mindfulness fades, meaning ignorance has arisen. The moment ignorance arises, we can no longer perceive anything. So we need mindfulness to stay continuously aware, without lapsing, all the time. Mindfulness, a clear, round, luminous sphere, then draws pure energy in continuously to purify defilement. We don't need to concern ourselves with the merit flowing in — it works automatically. Our role as human beings is simply to determine and maintain that state of awareness continuously.

The Law of the Three Characteristics: Wholesome, Unwholesome, and Neutral Take Turns Possessing Us

Our life exists under the law of the three characteristics — the nature of wholesome, unwholesome, and neutral, each utterly distinct. Wholesomeness is a clear, round, luminous sphere, brimming with happiness and purity. Unwholesomeness is the opposite — a dark sphere, bringing hardship and suffering. Neutrality is a gray sphere — giving neither benefit nor harm, neither happiness nor suffering. These three natures continually compete to become master of our hearts; whichever is subtler moves faster and takes the position first. If wholesomeness becomes master, our feeling perceives comfort and happiness. If unwholesomeness becomes master, feeling — the outermost sensor of the mind — perceives the quality of suffering, a state that must be endured, and endured with difficulty. If neutrality becomes master, what appears is neither happiness nor suffering.

There are altogether 89 types of consciousness — some wholesome, some unwholesome, some neutral. Whichever nature becomes master overlays its own consciousness and mental factors onto the consciousness and mental factors of the human body.

The Double Layer of Ghost Possession: The Inner Voice and Feelings Are Not Ours

The thoughts and feelings of whichever consciousness has taken possession appear as an inner voice within our mind, overlaying our own, making us think it's our own thinking. But if that voice and feeling really were ours, why is it that when we try to stop thinking it, or reject it repeatedly, it doesn't go away? If it were truly ours, stopping the thought or feeling should make it disappear — but it doesn't; not only does it not disappear, it lingers stubbornly. That shows the inner voice and feeling are not us — we are not simply thinking it up ourselves; something else has overlaid itself onto us.

He compared this to **being possessed by a ghost** — and elaborated it into a double layer: a ghost possession is itself the nature of the three-sided dhamma element possessing a spirit, and that spirit then possesses a person a second time — first possessing another consciousness, then possessing the human being through it. The thoughts and feelings that appear belong to that "ghost," but even those thoughts and feelings belonging to the "ghost" are themselves the consciousness and mental factors that have overlaid the "ghost" — not truly the ghost's own, either, one layer further removed.

The Buddha taught: "Sabbe sankhara anicca" — all conditioned things are impermanent; "Sabbe dhamma anatta" — all dhammas are without a true self. Sometimes wholesome, sometimes unwholesome, sometimes neutral nature comes to overlay its consciousness and mental factors and possess us, taking turns morning, midday, afternoon, and evening. The thoughts and feelings that appear in our awareness therefore cannot be grasped as "us." The human mind can never be pinned down — we cannot hold onto the notion of a fixed self, a "me" or "him" or "her," because the nature possessing us changes constantly: one thing in the morning, another at midday, another in the afternoon, another in the evening — sometimes good, sometimes bad.

When Akusala Possesses Us, We Don't Even Notice — Until We Fear Ourselves

When wholesomeness possesses us, it's wonderfully good; but whenever unwholesomeness possesses us, it's terribly bad — bad enough that we come to fear our own hearts. When neutrality possesses us, meaninglessness arises — eating, playing, dancing, wandering about aimlessly, spending our days for no benefit, squeezing through resources and money wastefully, buying expensive things that bring no real benefit — expensive cars, expensive bags, expensive clothes, expensive food, expensive housing. This differs from wholesomeness, which invites us toward loving-kindness, generosity, and sharing. Neutrality has no feeling of compassion at all, no putting ourselves in another's shoes — only concern for one's own comfort, though this is still better than unwholesomeness, which brings suffering and harm to oneself and others, because unwholesomeness must draw in the energy of sin, and to do that it must create distress for oneself and others in order to power its own system.

The Teaching to Rahula

**This is exactly where the Buddha taught his son Rahula: "Rahula, whatever you would say or do, do not let it trouble him or trouble you. If it would trouble him or trouble you, do not do it."** Because unwholesomeness constantly directs from within toward creating trouble for oneself and others. We can see this clearly only when we determine at body, feelings, mind, and mental objects — we come to perceive the behavior of the three natures possessing our minds, changing continually like ghost possession. If we don't determine at body, feelings, mind, and mental objects, we won't even know that some nature has possessed our minds, causing our bodily behavior to shift.

Once we determine at body, feelings, mind, and mental objects, we can perceive when the body's behavior turns crude or distorted, and when it's polite and proper. We may be puzzled why sometimes we behave rudely and coarsely, and other times politely — all of it is the behavior of wholesome, unwholesome, or neutral nature. Feeling can perceive which nature has possessed our mind. When we determine at the mind, we perceive the voice of the thoughts of whatever nature has possessed us. When we determine at mental objects, we perceive the emotional tone — the mental factors — of the consciousness that has possessed us. Understanding this, we no longer blame this person or that person; we see straight through to the root cause that controls all beings — the three natures — so we stop accusing, condemning, blaming, or wishing harm on anyone, because every being is directed by an inner voice, compelled by emotion. Understanding this truth, we can let go of grudges against people, understanding that when nature possesses someone, that person doesn't even realize it — just like being possessed by a ghost — so there's no reason to blame the individual.

Why Covetousness and Grief Must Be Removed

Covetousness (abhijjha) is gladness, satisfaction; grief (domanassa) is sadness, dissatisfaction. He teaches us to determine at body, feelings, mind, and mental objects to remove this satisfaction and dissatisfaction, because both are the fruit of the law of kamma. In the same environment, someone receiving the fruit of wholesome vipaka feels great joy; someone receiving less wholesome fruit feels less joy; someone receiving unwholesome vipaka feels displeasure and dissatisfaction. Everything is capped according to the amount of merit or sin that ripens — which is why some people receive abundant gain, honor, and praise, while others, in the same circumstances, receive suffering, loss of gain, loss of honor, and slander — all of it the fruit of the law of kamma.

Without a balanced mind, unwholesomeness directs us toward greed — wanting more and more — but the yield only comes according to the amount of merit that ripens. If we accept that pull, we become imprisoned in its dimension. Displeasure, too, is the fruit of the law of kamma; unwholesomeness assigns blame to this person or that — why did they get it and not me? — simply because merit and sin ripen differently according to what was done in the past.

Holding Equanimity — Like a Pendulum That Doesn't Swing to Extremes

He teaches us to hold equanimity, a balanced mind. Something beautiful, know it as beautiful; something delicious, know it as delicious; something melodious, know it as melodious; something fragrant, know it as fragrant — perceive it, but only in moderation, without swinging to an extreme and getting stuck in the emotion. **Like a pendulum: the higher it swings to one side, the higher it will swing to the other.** The louder the laughter when pleased, the louder the crying will be when the opposite occurs. But if we keep things moderate, gladness stays moderate and sadness, when it comes, stays moderate too.

Equanimity means holding the mind evenly, relying on the majjhatta mental factor, which arises together with wholesomeness, helping outer stimuli fail to shake the mind. Once the mind rests in equanimity, several wholesome mental factors draw pure energy, merit, to flow in, establishing calm of body and calm of mind — no trembling, no excitement or panic. Refinement, lightness of body and mind, and agility of body and mind arise, making body and mind fit for work. A meditator can then attain the first jhana.

Our Mistakes Come from an Unwholesome Director

From childhood to adulthood, our mistakes have all come from unwholesomeness directing us wrongly, as though we thought them up ourselves — "do this, do that" — and mistakes result. We never knew why we made them, but once we've studied the mechanism of the three natures, we understand that mistakes come from the unwholesome director. Sometimes, when wholesomeness directs us, we act correctly and feel glad, wanting to keep being and doing what is right and good.

The World of Elements and the World of Dhamma — Requiring Diligence and Patience

Giving time to wholesomeness requires diligence — determine the sphere of energetic effort (viriya), a clear, round, luminous sphere brimming with perseverance. This sphere sustains and pushes us forward continuously. It also requires patience (khanti) — a clear, round, luminous sphere brimming with the capacity to endure. Patience comes together with austerity (tapa), an armor that lets us endure suffering without being tormented by it.

The world of the mind is a world of Dhamma, distinct from the world of matter, which must be seen and touched, tangible. The world of Dhamma is intangible — perceivable only through feeling. But that doesn't mean it can never be seen: once we build enough diligence that inner light appears, the inner world is no longer dark, and we can use that inner light to reach the Dhamma-eye and insight within the Dhamma body, learning the truths of life that can be verified directly. Even before reaching that inner brightness, we can still learn from the inner world. The inner world is the world of causes; the outer world is the world of effects. To fix the root cause, we must work on the inner world — not the outer world, which only addresses symptoms.

Loving-Kindness: A Tool of Wholesomeness to Help Those with Less Merit

Understanding this, we go on to create benefit for the world and all beings through loving-kindness — a tool of wholesomeness used to benefit those with less merit. The revered Great Teacher taught us to use a high-quality instrument of loving-kindness by drawing on the heart of a mother, filled with love and goodwill toward her young child, and establishing that as the sphere of loving-kindness — a clear, round, luminous sphere brimming with goodwill.

Radiating Loving-Kindness Across the World and the Cosmos

Expand the mind imbued with loving-kindness to cover our home; loving-kindness then illuminates and refines every particle of the atmosphere, of people and beings, making them radiant, cool, clean, and pure, clearing away the defilement in the surrounding atmosphere. Then expand further to neighbors, sub-district, district, province, continuing on to cover the whole country, neighboring countries, all nations, until it covers the whole world. The mind is a perfected element — determine it however you wish, and so it becomes; expand it large or keep it small, as we determine. 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; may those with little happiness have more.

Then expand 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, letting loving-kindness illuminate and benefit all people, beings, and elements without limit. The mind blossoms, expands, becomes spacious, light, clear, cool, clean, and pure. Loving-kindness radiates into the center of the hearts of people and beings, dissolving the resentment and friction that are defilement. Wholesome nature gets the chance to take up residence as master of the house, drawing in pure energy to refine and correct the elements — the proportion of wholesomeness increases. Loving-kindness also refines the atmosphere: earth, water, air, sky, mountains, oceans, trees and grass, buildings and homes, crops and grains, making the surroundings fit for people and beings to dwell in.

We Are Only the Bearer of the Dhamma

We are the ones who determine for loving-kindness to arise and hold that state of loving-kindness; loving-kindness itself does the work of refining every particle of beings and things. We are not the doer — we merely determine the state of Dhamma and hold it, so that the Dhamma can manifest its own qualities and fulfill its own function, correcting the Dhamma of the world so it can do its own work. As the Great Bodhisattva did in ages past, appearing in the human world and practicing loving-kindness continuously to refine the world and cosmos into peace — practicing it until the end of his life, entering the meditative absorptions, and upon passing, being born as the Great Brahma, enjoying happiness for a very long time in the Brahma realm; and when returning to build perfections in the human world, being born as a Universal Monarch, able to use the treasures of the world and cosmos to benefit all humankind.

Dedicating Merit and Settling Still

Practice loving-kindness continuously, always, then gather the mind and settle still within the radiant sphere of loving-kindness. The ever-flowing river of merit continues to well up within that brightness. Dedicate this merit to all people and beings, including our relatives and friends, our ancestors, parents, siblings, grandparents, uncles and aunts, teachers and 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 within the ever-flowing river of merit welling up in the bright center of the heart, a heart filled with wholesome dhamma. Settle in the center of the merit element. Recollect the inner Triple Gem, settling in the center of the Buddha Jewel, Dhamma Jewel, and Sangha Jewel, and settling within the Great Teachers, in the center of the most refined Dhamma body of the revered Great Teacher, the Great Master, and the Great Lay Teacher. The mind is a perfected element — whatever we determine, so it becomes, even if we don't yet see it clearly; everything relies on determination. We merge ourselves with the Triple Gem and Great Teachers into one, because they are of boundless kindness to us, and our minds should never grow distant from them.

Aspiration and Closing

When we recollect them, 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. Taking this auspicious moment, we set our aspiration, fixing it within this radiant sphere of merit. 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, and lust — 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 bhavantu te" — and "Sadhu."