พระอาจารย์อธิบายว่าอกุศลไม่ต้องการให้เราเหนี่ยวนำพลังงานบริสุทธิ์เข้ามาชำระมลทิน จึงใช้ความง่วงมาขัดขวาง แต่พลังงานฝ่ายอกุศลมีจำกัด เมื่อหมดไปก็หายง่วงเอง แนะให้กำหนดรู้ชำระมลทินต่อเมื่อปลอดภัยแล้วThe teacher explains that unwholesome states resist us drawing in pure energy to cleanse inner impurities, so they induce drowsiness to stop us. That unwholesome energy is limited, though — once it's spent, the sleepiness passes on its own. He recommends contemplating and cleansing those impurities once it's safe to do so.
Someone asked why, on long drives, listening to a recorded talk or a teacher's meditation guidance makes them so drowsy they want to fall asleep, while switching to ordinary music instantly clears the sleepiness and lets them keep driving normally. How should this be addressed?
Why Listening to Dhamma Brings on Drowsiness
The teacher explained that this is the work of unwholesome forces — impurities (malathin) already present within us. When we play Dhamma media, we are effectively drawing in pure energy, which would go on to cleanse those impurities. The unwholesome side resists this, and produces the hindrance of drowsiness to stop it — because while driving, drowsiness is the most effective way to force us to switch to something else for safety's sake. The moment we switch, the process of drawing in pure energy halts — exactly what side wants. He emphasized this isn't merely imagination; it behaves like something genuinely present, almost like an unwelcome presence lodged within us. Even so, its energy is limited — once it has been spent producing that drowsiness, the sleepiness fades on its own.
How to Respond and Cleanse the Impurity
The teacher advised that while driving, where safety comes first, it's fine to switch to something else as needed. But once the drive is over and there's no risk, one should return to contemplating body, feeling, mind, or mental objects — using whatever meditation object works — to cleanse the im fully. Drowsiness or restlessness arising during this process is completely normal, since the impurity is simply being released. Let sleepiness be sleepiness, let restlessness be restlessness, but keep sitting through it — once the unwholesome energy is used up, clarity returns naturally. Continue sitting afterward to draw in and store pure energy within, like charging a battery.
Training this through drowsiness and distraction builds tapas — a resilient fortitude that serves as armor against hardship without suffering through it, and strengthens the mind over time. He advised making good use of any free time to sit in meditation regularly, building purity as a habit — during periods of frequent meditation, lust, aversion, and delusion naturally diminish.
Why Store Up the Energy of Merit
He explained further that any success or desired outcome requires drawing on pure energy — merit — exchanged to attract it. Without stored energy, nothing exists to pull success into being. This is why giving, keeping precepts, and cultivating meditation must all be practiced consistently, to accumulate enough merit-energy. This energy has two parts: the part that is sustains a good life, and the part that is purity cleanses the impurities that create obstacles. Everything unfolds according to the pattern of success already present in each person's sphere of merit at that moment — when the merit side outweighs the demerit side, the sphere of merit expands and envelops the sphere of demerit, preventing it from manifesting any problems or obstacles.