ปุญญาภิสันทานคือกระแสบุญที่ไหลเข้าดวงธรรมกลางกายเราโดยอัตโนมัติทันทีที่ให้ทาน ส่วนปาปาภิสันทานก็เป็นกลไกเดียวกันแต่ตรงข้าม เมื่อดวงบาปโตกว่าดวงบุญ กระแสบาปก็จะถูกปล่อยออกมาทำให้เกิดสภาวะทุกข์ที่ต้องทนตลอดเวลาFlow of merit (puññābhisanda) is the current of merit that automatically streams into the sphere of dhamma at our center the instant we give. Flow of sin (pāpābhisanda) works through the identical mechanism in reverse — once the sphere of sin outgrows the sphere of merit, its current is released, producing a state of suffering that must be endured without pause.
A student asked about "puññābhisanda" (the flow of merit) as taught by the Great Elder Teacher, and asked the teacher to elaborate.
The teacher explained that puññābhisanda occurs the very instant giving is completed by the giver — that instant is exactly when the flow of merit happens. Merit streams automatically from one's own channel of merit into oneself — into the sphere of that shapes the human body, clear and pure, the size of an egg yolk, at the very center of the body. The center of that sphere is where merit settles, streaming in and lodging there like a filament glowing inside a light bulb.
When asked whether the opposite process — "pāpābhisanda" (the flow of sin) — works the same way, the teacher confirmed that it does. This is because the sphere of sin exists right at the center of the sphere of merit as well, sharing the same center point. Whenever the sphere of sin grows larger than the sphere of merit, it envelops the sphere of merit, preventing merit from expressing its qualities — unable to fulfill its function of attracting wealth and repelling misfortune — because the sphere of sin, being larger, wraps around and smothers it. The sphere of sin then expresses its own qualities instead: drawing in misfortune and repelling wealth. Whenever the sphere of sin outgrows the sphere of merit, the current of sin is released, and we come to feel a state that must be endured and is hard to bear. This state appears in every single present moment, without any respite — quite different from the ordinary case of unwholesomeness taking possession, which is simply the back-and-forth contest between wholesome and unwholesome under the law of impermanence, where first one side, then the other, takes turns as the ruling host. But once the current of sin is released, we feel suffering and torment continuously, day and night, even while asleep — waking up already sensing that torment. Using the bathroom, eating, doing anything at all — the current of sin is there constantly producing suffering.
The teacher explained the meaning of "pāpābhisanda": it is the outpouring of the current of sin, a saturation with unwholesome states. To make the comparison clear: puññābhisanda is doing good and reaping continuously growing good results; pāpābhisanda is doing evil and reaping continuously ensuing bad results. Whenever unwholesomeness possesses the mind — possessing body, feeling, mind, and dhamma — it overlays its own unwholesome body, feeling, mind, and dhamma onto ours, causing bad thoughts and feelings to appear in our mind, as though we thought of them ourselves, circling around greed, hatred, delusion, lust, and the mental hindrances. In that moment, the current of sin is drawn in — much like dipping a coffee straw into water and blowing through it, producing a continuous stream of bubbles rising up. The current of sin that arises takes the form of spheres — one appears and expands, and at its center a new sphere appears, layered one within another, forming a continuous flowing current of sin.
Within each sphere of sin is a state saturated with suffering, im, filth, and darkness. At the very center of the sphere of sin sits a "sphere of misfortune" (ดวงวิบัติ), darker even than the sphere of sin itself. This sphere of misfortune exists specifically to destroy our wealth — no matter how much property we hold, it becomes unusable, destroyed entirely, whether physical beauty, material wealth, personal , or material assets — according to the blueprint formed by our own actions. Operating through the law of impermanence, when unwholesomeness possesses the mind, it guides our thoughts, speech, and actions toward the bad; its thoughts and feelings appear, guiding us. If we accept them, we become imprisoned within its dimension, and it molds us; during that molding, sin is drawn in until it reaches full measure, and that fully-realized sin then forces us to act it out through speech and deed. Once its purpose is fulfilled, we receive a "completed blueprint" (ผังสำเร็จ) — the current of sin, the sphere of misfortune, and the completed blueprint are all sealed within the sphere of dhamma and placed on the timeline of our life, both in this existence and in future ones. Once placed on that timeline, when the time comes it will ripen — we cannot avoid it; we must receive the result of that karma. Conversely, merit operates in exactly the same manner.