พระอาจารย์สุรพงค์นำนั่งสมาธิที่ธรรมรสเขาแก้วเสด็จ สอนหลักการเลือกฐานที่ตั้งของใจในการกำหนดรู้ ก่อนช่วงถาม-ตอบสั้นๆ ระหว่างฝึกนอกรอบ ท่านชี้ว่าแม้แต่การเคี้ยวข้าวขณะรับประทานอาหารก็สามารถใช้เป็นจุดกำหนดรู้ได้ โดยอ้างคำสอนของหลวงพ่อว่า "ข้าวทุกคำคือดวงธรรมภายใน"At a sitting at Tham Marot, Khao Kaeo Sadet, Phra Ajarn Suraphong teaches how to choose a base for the mind's attention. In a brief live exchange during out-of-session practice, he points out that even the sensation of chewing while eating rice can serve as a meditation anchor, citing Luang Pho's teaching that "every mouthful of rice is an inner dhamma orb."
Choosing Our Anchor: Wherever We Fix, the Mind Goes
Let us try choosing our own anchor for meditation. Close the eyes gently, then determine where we like to fix our attention. Wherever we fix, the mind settles there; once the mind goes and registers it, the knowing orb — — arises right at that spot. Once mindfulness arises, it draws in pure, meritorious energy to cleanse that spot, making it clean and pure. Wherever we fix becomes the place that gets purified, and the veiling element of is gradually cleared away.
Reciting "Samma-arahang" and the Appearing Image
Stay continuously aware, knowing what we are knowing. Wherever we fix, we stay knowing there. We may recite "Samma-arahang," staying with the recitation word by word. This name describes a quality — one who practices well, rightly, in a way that leads far from defilement. Since form and name are paired, when we utter this name, its form appears: a crystal-clear, pure Buddha image, lively, able to smile and speak, appearing together with a mission — to refine the elements of our seeing, remembering, thinking, and knowing, along with earth, water, wind, fire, space, and consciousness, making them clear, clean, and pure.
Building Familiarity With the Image, at Ease, Without Straining
He stresses that we must keep reciting without lapsing, or something else will slip in to take its place. When we say "Samma-arahang," the image of the crystal Buddha appears and keeps other images out, since the mind can register only one thing at a time. Recite while recalling the image comfortably and at ease; the more we practice, the more familiar it becomes — much like growing fond of someone we wish to spend our whole life with, though familiarity must be built gradually first. Recall it only lightly, without forcing; feel whatever you can feel, and let it happen naturally.
Cultivating a Genuine Liking for the Practice
He teaches us to cultivate chanda — a genuine liking — for the act of determining, repeating it comfortably again and again until it becomes our own tool. When we stay continuously aware without lapsing, merit is drawn into the brightness at the center of the knowing orb, driving system to refine and purify the elements within us.
Liberation Dimension by Dimension: Observing the Change
This purification carries us, dimension by dimension, without our ever being conscious of it happening — even while things still feel dim or unclear. This liberation is occurring constantly, and we can notice it through how our feelings shift: what was difficult at first gradually becomes easier, more comfortable, and clearer. Everything unfolds on its own; we need only perform the cause and observe the result.
The Orbs of Stillness and Softness
When we fix on stillness, we come to know the state of stillness appearing at the center of body and mind; an orb of stillness arises and releases a current of stillness, settling whatever was trembling. When we fix on softness, an orb of softness arises, releasing a current of softness, and we sense that soft, easeful state. The finer our mind becomes, the more we can perceive, and the clearer it grows. Brightness gradually appears, bit by bit, as defilement is cleared away.
The Coffee-Straw Simile: A Continuous Stream of Merit
Phra Ajarn Suraphong compares this constant inner refinement — which seems a small matter — to something truly great: like dipping a straw into water and blowing through it, producing an unbroken stream of bubbles rising continuously. In just this way, a stream of merit together with a stream of treasure pours continuously into the center of body and mind. All we need to do is stay continuously aware. If the mind scatters and loses its anchor, the flow of merit stops, and the refining stops along with it.
A Question From a Practitioner During Out-of-Session Practice
While Phra Ajarn Suraphong was explaining how to apply determined awareness in daily life, a fellow practitioner spoke up, saying they were "sitting and eating." He acd this and went on to explain that even while eating, we can still practice determining our attention — choosing whatever point feels clearest. If a chosen point feels unclear and the attention keeps slipping away, we can instead fix on wherever there is a clear, noticeable movement, such as the motion of chewing.
Luang Pho's Teaching: Every Mouthful of Rice Is an Inner Dhamma Orb
Phra Ajarn Suraphong cites Luang Pho's teaching that "every mouthful of rice is an inner orb." When we determine our attention while chewing, that very point of attention is also refined and purified, just as it would be with any other posture — merit flows through it in the same way, growing purer and purer, until a mass of begins to form. Determined awareness, in other words, is not confined to formal sitting sessions; it can be applied in every posture of daily life, including the simple act of eating.
Paying Homage and Closing Resolve
Before closing the sitting, he leads everyone in paying homage to the Triple Gem, recalling the Buddha as refuge, the as refuge, and the Sangha as refuge. He then asks for the boundless power of Nibbana throughout all realms, together with the accumulated merit of the teachers, to compassionately protect and care for everyone present, freeing them from suffering and danger, granting them the dhamma-eye, and enabling them to reach and fully penetrate the knowledge of the Dhammakaya — carrying wondrous, abundant treasures with them through every future life until the very end of the path.