Our lives cycle through birth and death in samsara, inevitably meeting both happiness and suffering, because these are the results of karma. Once the spheres of merit and demerit have been set in place within us, the ripening of results begins — starting from the moment of birth.

Karma and the Shaping of Life From the Womb

When we are conceived in the mother's womb, our karmic patterns are inscribed into our DNA, which then builds the body. Everything embedded at different points in the body is the result of what we have done, good and bad, in the past. Even within the same family, born from the same parents, one sibling may be beautiful and another plain — this comes from the transfer of information from the subtle body to the coarse body while in the womb, functioning like a blueprint written into DNA that shapes the physical form. Other karmic results are stored in the dhamma sphere of the human body as a pattern for what will happen and when — which is why divination can sometimes predict things.

Why Fortune-Telling Isn't Always Accurate

Consider this: people born close to the same time get told different fortunes by fortune-tellers. Timing can be slightly off, and even mothers may misremember the exact minute. No one can recall the precise minute and second of birth every time. How many people in the world are born at exactly the same moment, yet live entirely different lives? Even twins born minutes apart live very different lives — one may ordain as a monk, the other may not. So what is the real predictor?

The answer is the "backdrop" — the karmic results behind each person. Divination methods do have some validity, because that backdrop whispers hints to the one seeking to know it. The Chinese divination blocks that fall face-up or face-down work the same crude way. When the wholesome force within someone wants to convey a thought, it comes through in forms like these. But the deeper truth is that we live under the law of karma in every single moment. The law of karma yields its results constantly, without pause — even right now, it is bearing fruit. Those of us who have come to ordain here do so through the ripening of merit; some can stay a long time, others only briefly — all of it is simply the law of karma unfolding, each on its own timetable.

Good and Bad Friends: Why the First Blessing in the Mangala Sutta Is "Do Not Associate With Fools"

The law of karma works through environment, drawing in the conditions that match it. Coming to ordain here, for example, brings an environment that isn't too hot or too cold, a suitable place and time that supports the drawing-in of merit. Beyond environment, good spiritual friends (kalyanamitta) are another crucial factor that supports doing good, because what we need is the energy that draws merit in. Wholesome knowledge and understanding will present itself to teach us even while we bathe, eat, sit, or walk. The unwholesome side works the same way, relying on environment and bad companions — people without sincerity, the kind called "fools" (khon phan) — to lead us astray.

This is exactly why the first blessing in the Mangala Sutta is "do not associate with fools." Whenever we keep company with a fool, our past karmic results connected to that particular fault get drawn out. If we befriend someone who loves gambling, the karmic result tied to gambling from some past life of ours gets triggered. Befriending a womanizer draws out related karmic results; befriending a heavy drinker draws out results tied to drink. Whatever the vice, associating with someone who has it draws out our own matching karmic result, dragging us down into obsession with that same thing — all so that new demerit can be created. This is why we must examine who surrounds us. If there are fools among them, we must distance ourselves, or our lives will be lost to the pull of that kind of karmic result, like a time bomb we've unknowingly installed, waiting to detonate more suffering.

Defilements in Meditation: From Coarse Hindrances to Subtle Emptiness

Beyond external enemies, there are internal ones as well. Even as we practice to reach the inner light, before we get there, unwholesome forces stir and disturb us — sometimes so much that we nearly want to give up sitting. Beginners especially encounter defilements (malathin) that generate suffering, making meditation something we must endure, and endure with difficulty. When a defilement is present, it has to manifest — that's simply its nature. Once we understand this, our task is only to remain in wholesome states; the wholesome side will then draw merit in to help us move from one level of defilement to a lighter one.

Once we pass through the heaviest defilements, we encounter the five hindrances (nivarana) disturbing us at a middling level — restlessness, drowsiness and the urge to nap, doubt and hesitation, and delight in sensual pleasures. All of these arise from defilement. As we endure and give it more time, the wholesome side keeps clearing them with merit until the hindrances fade away. But once they're gone, we may feel only emptiness — nothing there at all — and wonder if we did something wrong, since we expected light, happiness, and ease to appear instead. In truth, when hindrances were present we wanted to be free of them; when suffering was present we wanted to be free of it; but once we are free, we still find ourselves dissatisfied. This is because, until we attain arahantship, subtle defilements remain at every level, each functioning differently. That feeling of bare emptiness comes from a still-subtle defilement obscuring us, preventing light and ease from fully appearing.

The Sphere of Light and the Gathering of Wholesome Mass

Our task is simply to observe with equanimity and remain in wholesome practice — whatever has worked before, keep doing it. Merit will be drawn in to cleanse and resolve things for us. We are like a patient visiting a doctor: we must give the doctor time to treat and heal us. Once we see that the treatment is working, our job is to follow the doctor's instructions, observing calmly and at ease. The wholesome side will clear away the defilements that lock and obscure the elements — the tools of ignorance. As defilements clear, light begins to appear. Some people experience light without ease; others feel ease without light. It takes time for the wholesome side to gradually clear both together until a mass of light gathers into a clear sphere.

For this wholesome mass to become dense, the mixed-in defilements must be cleared away until what remains is dense purity, forming a bright, clear sphere. But because subtle defilements still remain, we cannot yet control this sphere of light — more time is needed for the wholesome side to keep clearing what still locks it in place. Keep doing whatever has worked, observing calmly. Each level of merit we reach has a different quality; the more refined we become, the more refined the merit needed to clear increasingly subtle defilements. As we free ourselves at each level, the quality of our mind draws in merit of increasingly high quality and sanctity to continue the clearing, until eventually we can control the sphere of light — shrinking it, expanding it, or moving it forward, backward, left, or right at will.

The Pull Into the Seventh Base and the Startle Reflex

Once we can control it, we move the sphere of light to the seventh base. For some, arriving there, nothing seems to happen at all — the voice of unwholesome forces complains, "Why hasn't it dropped to the center? Why can't I see the dhamma sphere?" This is simply more defilement stirring and provoking. Once we know what has worked before, we needn't pay attention to that complaining voice — just stay neutral, indifferent to whatever experience arises. Keep doing what has worked, and the wholesome side will draw in ever more subtle merit to continue the cleansing.

Within the inner dhamma sphere, defilements prevent the elements of earth, water, wind, fire, space, and consciousness from merging into one. The wholesome side clears them until they merge into one, forming a distinct point rising from the sixth base to the seventh. From there, a pulling force draws it toward the center. As it is drawn in, defilements within our own dimension get yanked loose and released, sometimes causing a startle. But that defilement is used up in the process. The first pull may be strong enough to startle us badly, because the subtlety of our mind doesn't yet match what lies within, so we can't yet enter the inner dhamma sphere — we simply need to keep sitting still. The pulling force draws us in again; the second time is gentler, since much of the energy was already spent the first time. Even the second time may still startle us somewhat, but the third pull is gentler than the second, until eventually we enter smoothly without being startled at all, because the defiling energy has grown light enough to allow entry into the dhamma sphere. After that, it becomes an automatic internal process.

A Caution: Fabricated Visions and the Need for Humility

One thing worth warning about: during the period when light appears but before we've reached the inner dhamma sphere, that light can generate all kinds of images, often accompanied by suggestive guidance. Be careful to keep the mind neutral and unattached to it. As practice continues, the light increases — from a single sun to two, and what starts as a still image can develop into video, complete with elaborate, embellished storylines. Whatever we wish to see, the mind can fabricate it in vivid, spectacular detail — even a simulated visit to pay respects to the Buddha in the Nibbana sense-sphere can be conjured up as a full video.

As long as we haven't reached the first path (pathama-magga), every dimension along the way still contains defilement; as long as we haven't reached arahantship, defilement remains. Defilement simply does its job. Anyone who has deceived others in the past may encounter being deceived in turn. But if we remain grounded in wholesome states, that wholesomeness fosters reverence. Two qualities protect us from being misled by what we see: reverence and humility. A humble person doesn't boast. But whenever we see something that feels impressive, we're often tempted to show it off. This is exactly why Dhamma study emphasizes humility — don't cling to any of it as long as impurity remains within, because these experiences keep shifting and changing. Keep the mind balanced and neutral, as the Buddha taught: "Monks, you should clearly discern the body, feelings, mind, and dhammas, in order to remove covetousness and grief" — discard delight when it arises, and discard aversion when it arises, because experience will keep changing according to whatever defilement still remains.

Closing Chant of Reverence

Every time we pay homage to the Buddha, recollecting the Triple Gem within, as we recollect the Triple Gem, it appears bright and clear at the center of our being, and both we and the Triple Gem appear luminous at the center of Nibbana — the dwelling place of the innumerable, incalculably powerful Enlightened Ones. A stream of merit from their most refined depths flows through the center of our being, driving the wholesome mechanism forward, refining the elements within us toward purity. Once purified, liberation follows. Even while we remain somewhat dim or unclear, whether we notice it or not, liberation at each level can occur at any moment, increasing the proportion of wholesomeness within us — making us clearer, more virtuous, lighter, and more vibrant with life. The session then closed with the chant of homage to the Triple Gem.