Preparing Body and Mind: The Seventh Base of the Body

Let's practice meditation together. This practice is deeply necessary for every life. Everyone, close your eyes and gather your mind inward, to the very center of your body and mind -- the seventh base of the body. Imagine two lines: one stretched taut from the navel to the spine, the other stretched taut from the right side of the waist to the left. Where the two lines cross forms a cross-shape at the center of the body. Place your index and middle fingers overlapping at that crossing point, then move up two finger-widths -- that spot is the seventh base, a position of the greatest importance. Knowing this position, we can travel to Nibbana with ease. Without knowing it, one may practice and attain many states of jhana, and the happiness that comes from jhana, but this base is the essential position that opens the way into the inner spheres of dhamma.

The Automatic Wholesome System and the Tools Toward Nibbana

Once we reach the first path, movement into the automatic inner system of wholesomeness begins. This automatic wholesome system does not arise easily -- it requires knowing the seventh base specifically, which leads us to the essential instruments: the sphere of dhamma, of morality, of concentration, of wisdom, of liberation, and of the knowledge and vision of liberation. These spheres are the tools that lead into our inner selves -- from the refined body, the celestial body, the brahma body, the formless-brahma body, through the dhamma bodies of the Gotrabhu, Stream-enterer, Once-returner, Non-returner, up to the Arahant dhamma body. Seeing them, we recognize at once: this is our inner self, because each body resembles us. We only need to gather the mind to stillness -- soft, light, at ease -- settling repeatedly, relaxed and clear. Each time we settle on a word, we go on to perceive the state of dhamma that appears -- for instance, "relaxed," and a sphere of relaxation appears in the mind. Each sphere we settle on is a wholesome sphere, round, clear, and bright, arising only at the mind and nowhere else. Once it arises, it draws in pure energy -- merit -- flowing into the brightness of that sphere. The mind receives one thing at a time; whichever sphere we settle on, we go on to perceive its particular quality. If we cannot yet perceive it, we settle again and again until it becomes familiar.

The Recitation "Samma Arahang" and Seeing the Buddha Image

Once settled at the seventh base, we use the recitation and the mental image as an anchor for mindfulness -- the word "Samma Arahang," repeated gently, continuously, staying aware without forgetting. "Samma Arahang" is a designation for the Arahant dhamma body -- a quality. We name it by the quality within. Samma Arahang refers to the One who has practiced well, practiced rightly, in a way that leads far from defilements. When we utter his name, he appears, because form and name are paired -- wherever there is name, form appears; wherever there is form, name appears. Form is the vessel; name is the quality. The 84,000 sections of the wholesome dhamma are all spheres of light. The dhamma body is likewise within a sphere. So we may settle on the Buddha image, or simply on a sphere of light. When we utter his name, he appears as a clear crystal Buddha image, clean, pure, radiant -- the crystal dhammakaya, radiant, clear, cool, clean, pure, residing within the sphere of dhamma that fills the space in front of us as we sit cross-legged.

The Mission of the Crystal Dhammakaya

When the crystal dhammakaya appears at the center of our body and mind, he does not appear empty-handed -- he appears together with a mission: to refine and purify the elements of dhamma within us, making them clean and pure. As soon as he appears, he takes our elements of seeing, remembering, thinking, knowing -- earth, water, wind, fire, space, and consciousness -- and refines them to be clear, clean, and pure, freed from servitude to Mara. Not only that, he expands and overlays, enveloping our human body. Our whole body merges, wrapped by him, for protection and safekeeping. Each person has their own -- the Triple Gem belongs to each individual. His wish is for us to merge into one unity with him, because this allows him to help us with full effectiveness and the greatest result, since he is our true inner self -- each one's own.

We Are the Buddha Image, the Buddha Image Is Us

Let us wear this feeling with a humble, gentle heart, merging into oneness with him. We are the Buddha image, the Buddha image is us. Let our whole body be the radiant crystal dhammakaya -- clear, cool, clean, pure. Our head is clear crystal, with a radiant lotus-bud crown, brilliant and glowing. Our face is the face of the crystal dhammakaya, eyes gently closed, with a serene, soft smile -- still, soft. Our shoulders and arms are all clear and brilliant, radiant. Our chest, belly, lower belly, and back are all the radiant crystal dhammakaya -- clear, cool, clean, pure. Our hips, thighs, knees, shins, calves, soles and backs of the feet are all the radiant crystal dhammakaya -- glossy, brilliant, delicate, soft, gentle, clear, cool. Let our entire body from head to toe be the radiant crystal dhammakaya -- clear, cool, clean, pure. The Buddha image continuously wells up from the small, clear point at the center of our body, expanding and overlaying to merge as one with our body, from the seventh base outward, enfolding us into a single unity.

The Mind Is a Ready-Made Element: Take Whatever We've Attained

Our late revered teacher once said: reaching the dhammakaya may be said to be easy, and it may be said to be hard -- easy because we know and understand that the mind is a ready-made element; whatever we settle on, that is what arises, even if we are still in dimness and darkness. Wherever we settle, that is what we know; whatever we settle on, that is what we're aware of. We all already have the dhammakaya -- the Triple Gem within, each our own. When we settle on him, he appears clear and bright at the center of our being. Reaching the dhammakaya ranges from 1% to 100%. Whatever we attain now, let us be content with that for now -- content and satisfied with what we have. Whatever level of awareness we can perceive, take that for now. Relying on persistent, repeated settling, focusing our attention, today we will gain however many more percentage points. All we need is to keep settling and stay continuously aware, without forgetting. And when we do forget, we simply return to awareness again.

Stopping Within Stopping, Stillness Within Stillness -- Into the Center of the Center

Having merged our body with his body into one unity, we now merge our mind with his mind into one unity as well. We should understand that the dhammakaya resides at the center of our being, engaged in stopping the mind, stilling the mind, dwelling in jhana-attainment, working continuously to help clear away our defilements. If we gather the mind to stop, gather the mind to stillness -- soft, light, at ease, still, soft, light, at ease, clear, cool -- with a relaxed and easeful mind, we gather the mind to stop, to stillness, into the center of the center, the center of the Buddha image, the center of our body, the center of our mind. Not left, not right, not forward, not back, not up, not down -- going into the center of the center, the center of knowing, the center of stopping, the center of stillness, continuously. As we stop and still ourselves into the center of the center, the mind expands, blossoms, becomes spacious, empty, light, clear, cool. Stopping within stopping, stillness within stillness, we are released from one dimension into another; a sense of openness, spaciousness, and ease arises.

We Do Only 1%; the Remaining 99% Is Done for Us

The role of the human being is simply to settle the mind -- that's all, quite simple. Beyond that, the system of wholesome dhamma handles the rest for us, together with Nibbana, which manages and helps us entirely. We do only 1%; the remaining 99% will be done for us. We only need to stop within stopping, be still within stillness, soft, relaxed, at ease -- continuously, within the Buddha image, the center of our body, the center of our mind -- heading straight toward the path to Nibbana. The human body must travel the inner middle way. We stop and still ourselves into the center of the center, sending our heart and mind straight toward the path to Nibbana along the inner middle way. The finest, subtlest point is Nibbana itself -- not left, not right, not front, not back, not up, not down, but into the center of the center, going ever more refined.

Nibbana and the Triple Gem Care for All Beings Universally

We appear radiant within Nibbana, within the presence of the Knowing Ones of boundless power -- countless beyond number, not merely hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or millions, but truly countless -- and we appear within their midst. We continue going into the center of our body and mind, the center of the Buddha image, ever onward into the center of the center of every Fully Self-Enlightened Buddha, every Silent Buddha, and every Arahant -- beings who have escaped the cycle of rebirth, freed from the three realms of existence, abiding in the plane of Nibbana. Having gone, they have not gone in vain; they continue to watch over, help, and correct people and all beings, drawing beings into their midst to refine and assist them so that the Lord of Death cannot seize their bodies. Any being who abides in universal goodness -- the stream of merit wells up and flows through the depths of their refinement. The Triple Gem appears radiant within them; they appear within the Triple Gem, within Nibbana -- whether they are aware of it or not, whether they remain in darkness or not, whether they follow Buddhism or not, indeed whether they hold any religion or not. This principle is universal. Nibbana and the Triple Gem watch over and assist every being already; and each person's own Triple Gem resides within them, even if they have never known it. This has existed long before the Fully Self-Enlightened Buddha, the Sakyamuni, arose. When he appeared, he simply pointed people toward the Triple Gem already residing within.

Daily Practice and the Flow of Pure Energy

Every day, once we finish our work and duties, having supported our family through right livelihood, bathed and washed, we come to meditate -- cultivating awareness, developing right mindfulness by settling the mind so that the sphere of knowing, the sphere of mindfulness, arises. Once it arises, it continuously draws in pure energy along with refined attainments and pre-set outcomes. This pure energy -- merit -- drives the wholesome system, refining and purifying the elements of dhamma within us, clearing away every defilement, bringing about purity and liberation, continuously freeing us from one dimension into another -- whether we are aware of it or not, whether we remain in dimness or not. This happens continuously as we abide with wholesome nature. So many good things arise each day that we practice and meditate -- including corrections made in advance on our behalf -- so that we can reap success and fulfillment easily, so that our lives may be transformed by knowledge paired with happiness and purity in everything right and good.

Radiating Loving-Kindness to All Beings

Once we have cultivated goodness for ourselves, we go on to cultivate goodness that benefits people and all beings, by developing loving-kindness. The human role is to settle the mind on what is right and good, so wholesomeness arises within us, drawing pure energy -- merit -- into the brightness of the wholesome sphere. Loving-kindness is one such sphere, a tool the wholesome side uses so that those with abundant merit may benefit those with less, simply by forming a sincere good wish for all people and beings: may all beings be free from suffering and find happiness; may those who suffer much suffer less; may those who suffer little be entirely free of suffering and find happiness; may those with little happiness find more; and may those who already have much happiness find even more. Having formed this good wish, loving-kindness arises in our heart, and the stream of merit wells up continuously within its brightness. Its special quality is the power to dissolve resentment and irritation -- defilements in the hearts of people and beings. We then expand the mind imbued with loving-kindness outward, covering our home, our neighbors, the whole village, the district, the province, the country, neighboring countries, until it covers the entire world, making this world a crystal world, radiant, clear, cool, clean, pure. May the people of the world and all beings be free from suffering and find happiness -- celestial beings of the earth, of trees, of the sky, heavenly beings of every realm, brahmas, formless brahmas, and also hell-beings, asuras, and animals -- may all beings be free from suffering and find happiness. We then extend this loving mind further, into the atmosphere of the cosmos, covering countless stars -- tens, hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions -- and continuing on to ten thousand world-systems, hundreds of billions of universes, infinite universes. Loving-kindness shines through every atom of every being, making all radiant, clear, cool, clean, pure. Our minds expand, blossom, become spacious, empty, light, clear, and cool.

Loving-Kindness Purifies and Benefits the World and Cosmos

As loving-kindness shines into the hearts of people and all beings, it dissolves resentment and irritation entirely. The wholesome nature then comes to reside as the ruling force in the hearts of each person and being -- their own -- drawing in pure energy to refine and improve the elements of dhamma, making them radiant, clear, cool, clean, pure, freeing them continuously from one dimension to another. The proportion of wholesomeness increases while the force of unwholesome, indeterminate nature diminishes, making life easier, lighter, more open, and more vibrant. Beyond this, loving-kindness also refines every atom of the atmosphere -- earth, water, air, sky, mountains, seas, oceans, trees and grass, buildings and homes, belongings and tools, crops and food -- making them all radiant, clear, cool, clean, pure. Good things arise abundantly every time we cultivate loving-kindness. The world and cosmos become radiant. Whoever benefits the world and the cosmos may in turn draw on the resources of the world and the cosmos, since these belong to all in common -- whoever gives benefit receives benefit.

Dedication of Merit and the Closing Aspiration

We gather the mind to stop, to stillness, within the brightness of loving-kindness; the stream of merit continues to well up and flow within its radiance. We then dedicate this merit to all people and beings: may the people of the world and all beings be free from suffering and find happiness, and may they share in the merit we have sincerely made. This includes our ancestors and relatives -- parents, siblings, grandparents, teachers, and benefactors -- as well as the celestial beings who help and protect us, and any beings we may have wronged, our karmic counterparties of every kind; may we forgive one another and share fully in this merit. We then gather the mind to stop and still within this stream of merit that continues to well up and flow into the brightness of our hearts, resting in the midst of the happiness and purity of the merit-element. We gather our minds to stop and still within the Triple Gem -- within the Buddha-jewel, the Dhamma-jewel, the Sangha-jewel, and the venerable teachers -- within the utterly refined dhamma body of our revered preceptor, of our revered teacher, and within the utterly refined dhamma body of our respected teacher (Khun Yay). The mind is a ready-made element; whatever we settle on, that is what arises. We must merge ourselves with the Triple Gem and the great venerable teachers into one, day after day, so that we are never far from them, for they watch over and correct us at every moment, day and night, whether we are asleep, awake, standing, walking, sitting, or lying down. Whenever we reach them, we appear radiant within them, and they appear radiant within us; both we and they appear radiant within Nibbana, within the presence of the Knowing Ones of boundless power, countless beyond number.

Having appeared radiant within Nibbana, we take this auspicious moment to pay respects and ask for blessings, setting our intention deep within this bright sphere of merit, so that throughout our entire path of building perfections, our life may be transformed by knowledge paired with happiness and purity, and by success in everything right and good. We ask for the blessing of merit, radiance, strength, power, and the decisive authority of Nibbana throughout all elements and all dhamma, together with the blessing of our revered preceptor, our revered teacher, and our respected teacher. May all this merit combine with the merit we have sincerely accumulated since our very first life, through countless lifetimes up to the present, becoming sacred merit of great power, refining our body, speech, mind, and the elements of seeing, remembering, thinking, knowing -- earth, water, wind, fire, space, and consciousness -- making them radiant, clear, cool, clean, pure. May we be freed from misfortune, from the results of past wrongdoing, from obstacles of every kind in life, all dissolved and gone -- greed, hatred, delusion, lust, ignorance, wrong views, craving, and clinging entirely eradicated without residue. May we gain the eye that sees the Dhamma, penetrating and mastering the knowledge of the dhammakaya. May we have strong health and long life, able to build merit and perfections throughout our lives, with unwavering courage in building perfections, heading straight along the path to Nibbana, to the ultimate end of Dhamma. May all these good wishes come to fruition for us all, from this moment onward, in every life until the ultimate end of Dhamma, by the boundless power of every Fully Self-Enlightened Buddha. May all our aspirations be fulfilled.