Why We Practice

Meditation practice matters greatly to every life, because we live under the control of three kinds of nature. Only wholesome nature gives us any real benefit — what is right and good, happiness, success, and fulfilled wishes, knowledge and understanding. Other natures give no benefit at all, and if that nature is unwholesome, it brings suffering and harm. We therefore need to learn, understand, and train ourselves to abide with wholesome nature.

The Buddha taught, on abiding within the wholesome system: "Monks, you should clearly determine the body, feelings, mind, and mental objects, so as to remove covetousness and grief from the world." He teaches that in every present moment we need to determine. To determine means to mark, to specify, to point at — wherever the mind is placed, it's called putting the mind in — in order to go and know.

Knowing Happens Only in the Mind

When we go in to know, we're not knowing anywhere else — only in the mind, because the mind is the seat of every dhamma. Wholesome, unwholesome, and neutral states can only arise in the mind, nowhere else. Wholesomeness has the character of a clear, round, luminous sphere; once established, it draws in the pure energy of merit to flow continuously into the middle of the brightness of the sphere of mindfulness. The human role is simply to stay continuously aware, without lapsing. Whatever we determine, we know it; wherever we determine, we go and know it there — merit then flows through that very point. When merit flows through there, the obscuring elements there get cleared away first.

Entering the Inner Dimension Is Like Entering a Room

Wherever we determine, the sphere of knowing — mindfulness — arises there; going and knowing there, that point gets corrected first, and we can enter that dimension right at that position. Entering the inner dimension is like entering a room — at first it's still dark and hazy, but we can sense we've already entered. Mindfulness then turns into clear comprehension (sampajañña), perceiving the details of the state of Dhamma within that room, that dimension. Merit then flows into the middle of the brightness of that sphere of clear comprehension, spreading throughout the whole room, radiant — though at first we need the Dhamma-eye to actually see that brightness; at the start it's still dark, because it's still obscured by the subtle veiling element of covetousness.

The veiling of covetousness has several layers: the layer that blocks entry into the dimension, once cleared, lets us enter — but the room, the dimension itself, still remains dark. We must keep determining, letting the sphere of mindfulness-and-clear-comprehension bring in merit to dissolve defilement bit by bit, until the hindrances are gone — and it may still be dark even then. Once the hindrances are truly gone, we may be surprised: no restlessness, no drowsiness, mindfulness and clear comprehension fully complete — so why isn't it bright? Why doesn't happiness appear? Instead, there's just a plain calm, nothing more.

Contentment with What We Have, What We've Attained, What We Are

Keep determining; be content with whatever we manage, for now — cultivate contentment with what we have, what we've attained, what we are. Stay continuously aware without lapsing, on and on; the sphere of knowing — mindfulness and clear comprehension — continues drawing in merit through the middle of its brightness. That merit refines and clears away the subtler defilements, until they lighten and disappear. Once gone, brightness arises; happiness arises. At first, one or the other may appear — either brightness or happiness, not necessarily both. At the start it may go dark, then bright, back and forth — that's fine, just keep determining. This condition can persist for several days before steady brightness arrives; it requires diligence, practicing until the brightness stays constant rather than flickering.

Where There Is Defilement, There Are Problems; Where Defilement Ends, Problems End

To improve, we must purify defilement — this is the key issue. Where defilement exists, problems and obstacles exist; once defilement is gone, problems and obstacles are gone. Development happens on its own; good experiences arise on their own. Everything unfolds by itself. The human role is simply to determine so the sphere of knowing — mindfulness — arises, and to sustain that state continuously, staying aware without lapsing. The ever-flowing river of merit then wells up continuously in the middle of the brightness of that sphere of knowing. This pure merit purifies all defilement; once defilement is gone, problems, obstacles, and hindrances are gone; darkness gradually clears; brightness appears on its own — it isn't something we make happen.

Give Time and Opportunity to the Wholesome System — Rely on Faith

If we understand this principle, we realize it's a matter of giving time to the wholesome system, giving opportunity to wholesome nature — wholesome nature will then take care of us, provided we give it time, opportunity, and faith, confidence in the system. But without faith, without recognizing its importance, without giving it opportunity or time, what can we hope for? Neutral nature doesn't help at all, and unwholesome nature aims only at destruction. Without giving time, opportunity, or faith to wholesomeness, everything falls apart — we cannot hope for any prosperity, and life simply drifts according to circumstance. At the very least, know and understand — whether or not we can do it yet, awareness itself matters; one day we'll manage it on our own. But without that knowledge at all, we have no chance whatsoever.

Holding Equanimity, a Balanced Mind

In determining, the Buddha taught us to determine at body, feelings, mind, and mental objects, in order to remove covetousness and grief. Covetousness is satisfaction, gladness, which unwholesomeness uses as an opening to incite greed. Grief is displeasure, which unwholesomeness uses as an opening to incite resentment and dissatisfaction. So we must be careful about satisfaction and dissatisfaction, gladness and sadness, and hold equanimity — a balanced mind. Whatever stimulus arises, don't get excited or panicked by it; hold the mind evenly, letting it stay balanced — this lets the majjhatta mental factor, which safeguards the mind, keep external stimuli from having any real effect, and the mind gradually settles into balance.

The Fruit of Kamma Comes in a Fixed Amount

The gladness or satisfaction we feel in daily life always has causes and conditions behind it — the fruit of the law of kamma. The circumstances and conditions that appear in each present moment are all the result of merit and sin drawing them into being. Good vipaka produces good results — things that are pleasing. Someone experiencing the fruit of bad kamma experiences displeasure, mental suffering (grief) or bodily suffering — a state that must be endured, and endured with difficulty. But the fruit of kamma, whether good or bad, always comes in a fixed, limited amount. Different people receive different amounts — some more, some less — and gladness or sadness varies accordingly.

Wanting more and more is a form of direction from unwholesomeness. Given that the law of kamma yields only so much, wanting more than that is being directed by the unwholesome. Suffering, too, comes in a fixed amount, within a fixed time — we may feel resentment, but unwholesomeness directs us toward dissatisfaction because suffering itself is unwelcome; resentment then arises around the state of suffering that has appeared, and unwholesomeness directs blame at this person or that — it's all simply the fruit of the law of kamma. That's just how life is: causes and conditions. The human role has only one task: to abide with wholesome nature.

Accept Reality as It Is — Don't Waste Time Complaining

The law of kamma yields its fruit in each present moment, and we receive that fruit; but the law of the three characteristics compels us to create new causes, using what has appeared through the law of kamma as our circumstances, our situation, for building new causes. If we accept the thoughts and feelings that are being directed into us, we become imprisoned within that dimension, pressured to speak and act accordingly, bound continually by these two laws. We therefore need to recognize this and accept reality as it is. We don't need to waste time complaining, letting unwholesomeness direct us into irritation and resentment that draws in more sin. Accept reality as it is, and abide with wholesome nature, letting wholesomeness correct things for us. As long as we keep training, learning, understanding, and abiding with wholesome nature, that wholesome nature will help us — heavy suffering becomes light, light suffering vanishes, even misfortune can turn into good fortune, and even at death we can go to a good destination, a heavenly realm.

The Four Noble Truths: Suffering Must Be Faced

What we need to learn is the development of the Four Noble Truths, the first of which is suffering — a state that must be endured, and endured with difficulty. **When ordinary people encounter suffering, they turn away, refusing to accept it. But the noble ones are not like that — the noble ones face it head-on, confronting it in order to perceive it as it truly is, and then determine that very suffering.** The sphere of knowing — mindfulness — once established, draws in the pure energy of merit to purify defilement. As defilement lightens, suffering lightens; once defilement is gone, suffering is gone.

The Numbing Behaviors of Ordinary People: Drink, Grilled Food, Movies, Music, and Friends

**But those who are not noble — ordinary people (puthujjana) — avoid it. They dare not face suffering directly, and instead reach for distraction.** He gave concrete, specific examples of the numbing behaviors ordinary people use to escape suffering: **numbing themselves with drink and intoxicants and grilled fish (ปลาปิ้ง), numbing themselves by going to watch movies and listen to music, seeking out friends for outings and revelry.** When facing suffering, they refuse to accept it and constantly seek ways to numb it. This lets the suffering fester — when it's never actually cleared, it accumulates, and worse, they go and pick up new suffering, new defilement, on top of it. Defilement keeps growing and growing until it's completely full, at which point it becomes the very trigger that draws a life crisis into being.

The First Step in the Truth of Suffering: Perceive Reality and Dare to Face It

To be able to know things as they truly are, the first step in the truth of suffering is: perceive reality and dare to face it. Determine, staying pleasantly aware, on and on; we come to know the state that truly appears in each present moment, at body, feelings, mind, or mental objects — one at a time. Even if we determine all four, the mind can only perceive one at a time. Stay continuously aware, without lapsing; wherever we determine, we know it there, and merit flows through that very point. The human role is simply to determine and sustain that state of awareness, staying continuously aware without lapsing — that's all. The sphere of knowing then does its job of drawing in the pure energy of merit, and that pure energy drives the wholesome system, refining and correcting the elements, purifying them, all on its own. Everything is an automatic system, just like our own organs — we eat quality food, and the intestines carry it along, contracting and moving it to the stomach; the stomach digests it and sends it to the intestines for absorption, then to the blood vessels, then to the cells — everything works together.

Tools for Determining: A Mantra, or the Breath

We can rely on a chanted phrase or a meditation image to let the sphere of knowing cling to and rely on, such as reciting "Samma-araham, Samma-araham" — or we can use a signal that's already there: the breath, in and out. Breathing in, we know it; breathing out, we know it; breathing long, we know it; breathing short, we know it — keep knowing continuously. Anything that can serve as a signal for determining will do.

Loving-Kindness: A Tool for the People of the World to Help One Another

Loving-kindness is a tool that wholesome nature provides so that those with abundant merit can help those with less, so that the people of the world can help one another. Simply set the intention of goodwill, and the sphere of loving-kindness — a clear, round, luminous sphere — arises, drawing in pure energy, merit, to flow into the middle of its brightness. In truth, every wholesome sphere serves as a kind of "software" capable of drawing in pure energy — any of them can be used. But loving-kindness has a special quality: it can dissolve the resentment and friction that live as defilement in the hearts of people and beings, clearing them away entirely.

Drawing on a Mother's Heart to Establish Loving-Kindness

Because loving-kindness is a tool, it comes in varying qualities. The revered Great Teacher advised us to draw on the heart of a mother, full of love and goodwill toward her young child, and establish that as our sphere of loving-kindness — because a mother's love for her young child is an especially high-quality sphere of loving-kindness, capable of producing great efficiency and effectiveness. Draw on that sphere of loving-kindness and then extend that gaze toward all beings, making the aspiration of goodwill: may all beings be free from suffering and find happiness, everywhere; may those with much suffering have less; may those with little suffering be entirely free; may those with little happiness have more; may those already happy be happier still.

Radiating Loving-Kindness Across the World and the Cosmos

Expand the mind imbued with this loving-kindness to cover the area around our home; loving-kindness illuminates and refines every particle of the atmosphere, of all beings and things, making them radiant, clear, clean, and pure. Then expand further to neighbors, the whole village, sub-district, district, province, country, and other nations, until it covers the whole world, like a world made of crystal, radiant, cool, clean, and pure. May the people of the world 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. 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 expands to benefit all people, beings, and things, and our own minds blossom, becoming spacious, light, clear, and cool.

Loving-kindness then radiates into the center of the hearts of all beings, dissolving the resentment and friction that are defilement in their hearts, letting it dissolve completely. Wholesome nature takes this opportunity to take up residence as master of the house, drawing in pure energy to drive the wholesome system, refining and correcting the elements of beings, increasing the proportion of wholesomeness while the power of unwholesomeness and neutrality diminishes — life becomes easier for everyone. Loving-kindness also refines every particle of the atmosphere: earth, water, air, sky, mountains, oceans, trees, buildings, and crops, making the surroundings suitable for beings to dwell in. That is why it is said: **loving-kindness sustains the world.**

Whoever Benefits the World May Use the World's Treasures

Every time we practice loving-kindness, many good things arise. Whoever brings benefit to the world and the cosmos can rightly make use of the treasures of the world and the cosmos. So it is necessary to practice loving-kindness diligently, for the benefit of both ourselves and all beings.

Dedicating Merit and Settling Still

Gather the mind and settle still within loving-kindness, within boundless love and goodwill for all people and beings. The ever-flowing river of merit continues to well up within the brightness of loving-kindness. Dedicate this merit to arise for all people and beings; may all beings share in the merit we have intentionally and rightly created, 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 within the ever-flowing river of merit welling up in the brightness of the mind, settling in the center of happiness, in the center of the purity of the merit element. The mind is a perfected element — whatever we determine, so it becomes. Gather the mind and settle still in the center of the Triple Gem — Buddha Jewel, Dhamma Jewel, Sangha Jewel — and in the center of the Great Teachers, settling within the most refined Dhamma body of the revered Great Teacher, the Great Master, and the Great Lay Teacher. It is essential, every day, to merge ourselves with the inner Triple Gem and the Great Teachers into a single unity. We must never grow distant from them, for they are of boundless kindness to us. Every moment of theirs is devoted to correcting and helping us — guiding, leading, instructing, and teaching us, though we rarely notice, often thinking our thoughts are entirely our own. In truth they protect, care for, and watch over us in every single moment, without ever ceasing.

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, uncountable incalculable Buddhas. Taking this auspicious moment, we pay respects and set our aspiration, fixing it within this radiant sphere of merit, so that our path of building perfections may be full of knowledge, happiness, and purity, 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 bhavantu te" — and "Sadhu."