The Three Natures Guide Our Life at Every Moment

Our life is constantly guided by three natures — wholesome, unwholesome, and neutral. There is no activity we undertake that isn't guided by them, because at every moment the กระแสธารแห่งบุญ (stream of merit), a stream of energy, must flow through us: sometimes negative energy, sometimes positive, alternating continuously. Whichever sphere is larger dominates and overrides the others; whichever holds more power controls the cycle of our life. Every one of our activities is, in this sense, directed by these three natures.

When the wholesome side is dominant, it guides us toward good deeds, so as to draw the stream of merit through, using it to correct, help, improve, and clear the defilement causing life's problems and obstacles. Once defilement in a given dimension is cleared — with enough pure energy — the defilement fixed to that coarser dimension is exhausted, and we're freed into a subtler dimension. Defilement in the new, subtler dimension still exists, as long as we haven't attained arahantship, but subtler defilement requires subtler merit to clear it.

We must generate the cause for the wholesome to arise, because only once it arises can it draw in pure energy — merit; no other nature can do this. Merit flowing through us brings purity and happiness, together with refined treasures — bodily excellence, wealth, virtue, retinue, status, praise, happiness, and the path and fruit of Nibbāna, all complete within the sphere of merit. When merit flows through us, refined treasure flows through us too, and this refined treasure draws the coarser, worldly treasures of the world into our lives.

Staying with the Wholesome at All Times: Giving, Precepts, Listening to Dhamma with Respect

We can abide with the wholesome nature at any time. Whatever good there is to do, we do it — giving, keeping precepts, helping others; having merit, we share it; seeing others do good, we rejoice; given the chance to hear Dhamma, we listen, and listen with respect — because respect is what allows the Dhamma we hear to work automatically within us. It is governed by a "sphere of respect," a sphere capable of generating this automatic process — like an AI, like a program that makes us naturally courteous. When we hear something, it summarizes and expands it for us simply, connecting all 84,000 sections of Dhamma so we understand it clearly.

Respect: The First Thing the Buddha Reflected On After His Enlightenment

We should therefore live our lives with respect, just as the Lord Buddha did. Right after his enlightenment, the very first thing he reflected on was respect itself — that a life lived without respect is no good at all, precisely because there is then no automatic system managing us. We need an automatic system managing both body and mind correctly and appropriately, which is why respect for Dhamma had to come first for him.

So he surveyed the world to see who deserved his own respect, and found no one whose virtue surpassed his own — so he took Dhamma itself as the object of his respect. For us, our highest object of respect is, of course, the Triple Gem — but we've rarely been taught its details, what specifically we can draw on and put to use. We simply know there is the Buddha-jewel, the Dhamma-jewel, and the Sangha-jewel, representing the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha respectively — and beyond that, we don't know what to do with this knowledge.

The Buddha-Jewel: The Crystal Buddha Image with Three Qualities

Knowing there is a Buddha-jewel with the form of a clear crystal Buddha image, alive and vivid, able to speak, converse, offer love and warmth — being with him feels warm, at ease; whatever trouble we have, we can ask him for help, because he possesses three qualities: พระปัญญาธิคุณ (boundless wisdom), พระบริสุทธิคุณ (boundless purity), and พระมหากรุณาธิคุณ (boundless compassion). Knowing he holds these three qualities, we know that in distress we can truly rely on him, because his compassion is boundless — there is never a case where he won't help, since boundless compassion is simply his nature. His wisdom means he knows exactly how to help so that it succeeds, and his purity means he has the capacity to actually deliver that help.

The Dhamma-Jewel: Study, Practice, Realization — and the Cooking Analogy

The Dhamma-jewel consists of ปริยัติ (study), ปฏิบัติ (practice), and ปฏิเวธ (realization) — the content of the 84,000 sections of Dhamma. Without knowing it, we can't use it; knowing it, we can. What is it called, what are its qualities — ปริยัติ explains this to us. Once explained, we put it to use for our own benefit, starting by trying it out and then using it repeatedly for real benefit. Some people don't want to practice, even though practice is simply "using it for benefit" — they learn but don't like to practice. Once we understand that practice is simply using what we've learned, the more we use it, the more benefit follows.

พระอาจารย์ compared this to learning about rice, food, and seasonings — once we've learned about them, when we're hungry we cook, taking the rice and seasonings we know and preparing a meal to eat. Practice works the same way: taking what we know and using it for our benefit. The result is ปฏิเวธ — whatever result we intend, that is what arises: eating rice makes us full, exercising makes us strong. The result — ปฏิเวธ — matches whatever cause we set up to achieve it. ปริยัติ gives us the method, the principles, the components, the raw materials, the benefits; ปฏิบัติ is putting it to use; the result is ปฏิเวธ — happiness and ease, the ability to draw in pure energy. This pure energy that arises is called merit, which we may direct toward anything we wish, like a wishing gem. The more merit we have, the more pure energy we have, and the more problems and obstacles we can resolve.

Finding an Anchor for the Heart: Wherever Feels Most Comfortable

Merit is filled with happiness; our life becomes happy and at ease. Whatever we wish for, the refined treasure within the sphere of merit draws it in simply by our setting the intention. The simple way to find refined treasure is just to close our eyes and settle the mind comfortably, resting body and mind, staying with that comfort continuously. All we need is to know what we're knowing — this matters most. Any posture works — sitting, lying, standing, walking — as long as we set an anchor: where shall we rest the heart? At the breath, at the middle of the belly, at the center of the body (the seventh base) — anywhere that feels comfortable.

Let there be a signal for sati to latch onto — pick whatever is most comfortable, and see: is the in-and-out breath comfortable? Or stay with the Buddha image, with the Buddha-jewel, Dhamma-jewel, Sangha-jewel — does that feel comfortable? Whether it's seen clearly or not isn't the issue; comfort is enough. Staying with him, feeling at ease, and remaining in that ease — sati keeps recollecting that ease, merit flows in continuously, the heart settles firmly, resting in the comfortable mood, enjoying it steadily.

When It Isn't Comfortable: Note the Suffering Directly

Some say they don't feel comfortable at all — they feel pressured, feel they must endure. The Lord Buddha taught that when ทุกข์ — a state that must be endured and is hard to endure — arises, simply noting it is enough, because suffering carries a strong, clear signal; any other meditation object set up alongside it has no effect, since suffering is stronger. So we note the suffering directly — that state which must be endured and is hard to endure — because what we actually need is for the sphere of knowing, sati, to arise. In this case, sati arises by noting the suffering, noting the strong signal of that suffering.

Once we note it, the sphere of knowing — sati — arises upon that feeling of having to endure, registering that feeling. Once it arises, it draws pure energy — merit — in to cleanse the defilement causing the suffering, thinning it out. As defilement thins, suffering thins; difficulty eases. Once defilement is exhausted, suffering is exhausted; once suffering is gone, nothing remains to hold us fixed in that dimension, and we're freed into a subtler one.

Sammā Arahaṃ: Its Meaning, and the Clear Crystal Buddha Image

Note at the center of the body; the heart is placed there, and we go in and know it through the recitation "sammā arahaṃ, sammā arahaṃ." An inner voice appears, sounding from the deepest, most refined part within the center of the body; we register that sound. At first we must deliberately note it; once familiar, the sound arises on its own. "Sammā arahaṃ" is the title of the Arahat Dhamma-body — meaning "one who has practiced well and rightly, in a way that leads far from defilement." When we utter his name, he appears as a clear crystal Buddha image within our heart. All Dhamma appears in one place only — the heart; wherever the heart is placed, he appears there too.

He has the form of a crystal image, clear and pure, seated on a round platform of jhāna, possessing the special quality of being clearer than the physical body, residing within the sphere of Dhamma that fills his lap entirely. He is as clear as crystal, as a diamond — brilliantly clear, radiant, finely soft and gentle, cool, clean, pure, and shining; alive, able to smile, speak, and converse. Because his Dhamma is entirely complete, that Dhamma protects the one who practices it. He is filled with พระปัญญาธิคุณ, พระบริสุทธิคุณ, and พระมหากรุณาธิคุณ, and complete in Dhamma — virtue, samādhi, wisdom, liberation, and the knowledge-and-vision of liberation, all perfect.

Fusing Body and Heart into One with the Dhammakāya

When he appears in our heart, he does not appear for nothing — he appears together with the function of benefiting us: taking the elements of Dhamma — seeing, remembering, thinking, knowing, earth, water, wind, fire, space, and consciousness — and correcting them toward clarity, cleanliness, and purity, clearing defilement, the residue of past kamma and obstruction, until they vanish entirely. Beyond that, he extends himself, layered over our human body, protecting, guarding, watching over, and helping us. His wish is that we and he become one single entity, so that he can help us with maximum effectiveness and the greatest possible result.

We too wish for this — to fuse ourselves with him into one entity, by holding the feeling that we are the Buddha image, and the Buddha image is us; that our entire body and being are the crystal Dhammakāya, radiant, cool, clean, and pure. Every time we utter his name, he appears together with the function of benefiting us, extending and layering himself as one with us. Having fused our body with his body into one entity, we then fuse our heart with his heart into one entity as well.

The Dhammakāya resides at the center of the body, dwelling in nirodha-samāpatti; we gather the heart, stopping and stilling it at the center of our body, our heart — stopping within stopping, stilling within stillness, softly, relaxed, light, cool. We gather, stopping and stilling, at the very center of the Buddha image, the center of ourselves, with a relaxed, light heart, enjoying it steadily — nothing but stopping, nothing but stillness, at the center of the center, aimed straight at the path to Nibbāna, appearing radiant at the center of Nibbāna, the center of every Lord Buddha, every Paccekabuddha, and every Arahant.

Ceto-vimutti Moment by Moment: The Doctor's-Visit Analogy

Sit comfortably, keep the body at ease, settle the mind — just like visiting a doctor. The doctor has us simply sit or lie down and relax body and mind; he then treats us however his profession requires — examining this and that, giving an injection if needed, putting us under anesthesia for surgery and correcting what's wrong. Coming to this practice is the same: the heart is the wholesome Dhamma, and wholesome Dhamma treats us the same way — asking us to sit comfortably, keep the body at ease, settle the mind, then doing the healing itself. It tells us to find an anchor for the heart — wherever feels comfortable, we place it there, and wholesome Dhamma does the correcting and healing for us. All that's needed, simply, is an anchor where the heart feels at ease; merit is then drawn in, combining with our existing merit, to heal and clear away the defilement causing our troubles, thinning it out — problems ease, obstacles ease.

Once the defilement of a given dimension is exhausted, whatever held us fixed to that coarser dimension disappears, and we're freed into a subtler one — even if we remain in the dark, unclear, dim, whether we're aware of it or not. The role of the human body is simply to note, letting the sphere of knowing — sati — arise; that's all. Once we enter the inner dimension, sati turns into sampajañña, registering the state of Dhamma within each dimension, even while it remains dim. Merit flows into the brightness of that sphere of sampajañña, clearing the defilement scattered throughout that "room," and once cleared we are freed, dimension by dimension.

Observing the Result at Every Moment: This Minute vs. the Last

We must observe the change in each present moment — defilement grows lighter, minute by minute; comparing this minute to the last shows improvement; comparing this minute to five minutes ago shows even greater improvement. Every moment brings change — purifying and liberating our mind and heart; this is the fruit of เจโตวิมุตติ, liberation happening at every single moment. As we observe and reflect, we perceive this moment-by-moment liberation, and our sphere of faith grows brighter, able to draw in more pure energy, making our progress toward liberation ever more effective.

หลวงปู่ repeated three times: "ประกอบเหตุ สังเกตผล สนใจเถิดประเสริฐนัก" — practice the cause, observe the result; how excellent it is to pay attention. Our role is simply to practice the cause by noting, letting the sphere of knowing — sati — arise; after that, it's entirely an automatic mechanism. The sphere of knowing draws energy in; the pure energy drawn in drives the wholesome system; the wholesome system refines our elements toward purity; purity brings liberation, dimension by dimension, as the proportion of the wholesome keeps growing.

Closing Chant

Every time we offer respect to the Buddha, recollecting the inner Triple Gem, we appear bright and clear within Him, and He appears bright and clear within us; together we appear radiant within Nibbāna. The stream of merit from the innermost, subtlest depths of Nibbāna pours continuously through the center of our body and heart, driving the wholesome system, refining our elements toward purity, freeing us continuously from one dimension into a subtler one, decreasing the proportion of the unwholesome and easing life's difficulties, while increasing the proportion of the wholesome — giving our life more substance, an easier path toward Nibbāna, and bodies and hearts that grow lighter, more refined, and more vibrant.

The sitting closed with: "Arahaṃ sammā-sambuddho bhagavā, buddhaṃ bhagavantaṃ abhivādemi" (the Buddha is our refuge), "Svākkhāto bhagavatā dhammo, dhammaṃ namassāmi" (the Dhamma is our refuge), "Supaṭipanno bhagavato sāvakasaṅgho, saṅghaṃ namāmi" (the Sangha is our refuge), followed by a dedication asking for the boundless power of Nibbāna throughout all realms, together with the blessing of the lineage of teachers, to protect everyone present, free from suffering, sorrow, worldly bondage, and danger, granting the Dhamma-eye and full penetration into the knowledge of Dhammakāya, together with wondrous merit carried through every life to come, all the way to the final end of Dhamma.