พระอาจารย์สุรพงค์อธิบายหัวใจคำสอน กำหนดรู้ชัดในกายเวทนาจิตธรรม แล้วชี้จุดสำคัญว่ากายละเอียดทุกกาย ทั้งกายทิพย์ กายพรหม กายอรูปพรหม และกายธรรม ล้วนมีศูนย์กลางดวงบุญอยู่ที่ฐานที่ 7 ยกเว้นกายมนุษย์ที่จุดพักตามธรรมชาติอยู่ที่ฐานที่ 6 จึงต้องฝึกปฏิบัติธรรมเพื่อยกดวงธรรมขึ้นไปสู่ฐานที่ 7Phra Ajahn Suraphong unpacks the core teaching of clearly knowing body, feeling, mind, and dhamma, then points to a striking detail: every subtle body — the celestial body, the brahma body, the formless-brahma body, the dhamma body — naturally centers its merit orb at base seven, except the human body, whose resting point defaults to base six, which is why practice is needed to raise the orb of dhamma up to base seven.
Resting Well: The Ten Bases of Merit and the Ten Perfections
Phra Ajahn invites everyone to close their eyes and sit the way one properly rests. He explains that there is only one way to truly benefit — by abiding with nature. Wholesome activity falls within the orious action (puñña-kiriyā-vatthu), but its core substance is the ten perfections (pāramī). Only the wholesome nature can genuinely benefit us; every other nature gives no benefit and instead brings suffering and harm. We must therefore learn to understand how to abide with the wholesome.
The Three Parts of "Clearly Know Body, Feeling, Mind, Dhamma"
The Buddha taught: "Monks, you should clearly determine and know body, feeling, mind, and , in order to eliminate covetousness and grief regarding the world" — a profoundly important sentence that alone can turn an ordinary person into a noble one. It breaks into three parts. The first teaches determining-and-knowing to draw merit in and drive the wholesome system. The second teaches knowing body, feeling, mind, and dhamma, because the three natures control people and beings precisely through these four domains, in order to create new kamma — this second part is where operates at the level of mind.
Covetousness and Grief: To Be Eliminated Through Equanimity
The third part comes after understanding how the three characteristics work: the Buddha teaches us to eliminate covetousness (abhijjhā) and grief (domanassa) — joy that leads to greed, and sorrow that leads to anger. Phra Ajahn stresses that "abhijjhā" is not "avijjā" () — abhijjhā means the joy that produces greed, while domanassa is sorrow. The three natures use these two as leverage to steer beings, since we perceive the world through eye, ear, nose, tongue, and body. Being entirely free of liking and disliking is genuinely difficult, which is why beings cycle through birth and death for so long. The Buddha instead teaches us to settle the mind in neutrality.
Tatramajjhattatā and the Mind's Balance
When the mind settles into neutrality, the tatramajjhattatā arises, drawing merit in to bring balance, so the mind no longer gets excited by triggers. Once that balance appears, the wholesome mental factors draw merit in to refine subtler and subtler states, which contributes to reaching the first , and from there developing further into the second, third, and fourth jhānas. This is the entire substance of cultivating .
Base Seven: The Center Point of Every Subtle Body
Our teachers instruct us to place the mind at base seven, because it is a critically important position — the point where the merit orb of every subtle body (the celestial body, the brahma body, the formless-brahma body, the dhamma body, seventeen bodies in all) sits layered one within another. Only the human body's natural resting point defaults to base six instead — which is exactly why we must practice to raise the orb of dhamma up, so that the merit orbs of every body can layer together properly. Base seven is also the gateway leading straight toward the path of Nibbana, which is why we must place the mind there and grow familiar with it.
Chant and Image: A Paired Set
Once the mind rests at the center, base seven, we rely on the chant together with the visualized image, since they are a single pair of form and name — "Samma-Arahang" is the name, the Image is the form. We chant from a deep, subtle level of consciousness, connecting with the deep realm within. "Samma-Arahang" is a name given for a quality, meaning "the One who has practiced well, practiced rightly, practiced so as to be far from defilements." When we utter his name, he appears at our heart as a crystal Image, clear and radiant, alive, able to smile and converse — arriving with the task of bringing and liberation to us, clearing away defilements, and protecting the body.
Repeating the Name to Sustain the State
Phra Ajahn explains that once a dhamma state arises, it lasts only about 10 to 15 seconds before gradually fading, so we must utter the name again and again. Each utterance re-establishes the dhamma and radiates its quality outward within the mind. The Image's wish is that we merge with him into one being. The technique for merging is like an actor putting on a role — we put on the feeling of being the one who has practiced well and rightly.
Merging Into the Crystal Dhamma-Body
We gradually determine each part of the body — head, face, cheeks, shoulders, arms, torso, chest, abdomen, back, hips, thighs, knees, shins, calves, soles and tops of the feet — merging into the radiant, cool, clean, pure crystal dhamma-body. The mind is an accomplishing element: determine well, and merit flows through; determine poorly, and misfortune flows through instead. It is entirely up to what we determine.
Resting the Mind, Stopped and Still, Within the Image
Having merged the body, we merge the mind as well. The dhamma-body cultivates ceson-attainment, gathering the mind to stop and be still, and we follow: stopped within stopped, still within still, soft, light, at ease, cool and clear. The Image wells up from the small clear point at the very center, expanding to layer above the human body, then settling still — layered within the orb of dhamma, stopped within stopped, still within still, into the center of the center, the Image, our body, our mind.
Radiating Loving-Kindness
Having done good for ourselves, we don't forget to also do good that benefits others — the wholesome nature provides a tool by which those with abundant merit can benefit those with less, through determining love and genuine goodwill. We make the wish as sincerely and purely as a mother's heart toward her small child, letting the orb arise within. The stream of merit wells up within that orb, and we expand it outward — covering the Khao Kaeo Sadet practice grounds, the village, sub-district, district, province, country, neighboring countries, until it covers the whole world and the entire cosmos.
Dedicating Merit and Forgiveness
Having radiated loving-kindness, we dedicate this merit to all people and beings of the world, to our ancestors, parents, siblings, grandparents, our benefactor-teachers, the devas who help us, and our karmic counterparties (คู่กรรมคู่เวร) — asking mutual forgiveness and that everyone share equally in this merit. We then gather the mind to stop and be still within the stream of merit, within the Triple Gem, within the finest dhamma-body of our revered teachers.
The Closing Prayer and Chant
Phra Ajahn leads a dedication that our path of building perfections be filled with wisdom, , and purity, with success in everything right and good. May all this merit gather into sacred, powerful merit; may we gain the -eye and full penetration into the Dhammakaya ; may we enjoy good health and the strength to press on toward Nibbana. The sit closes with the chant taking refuge in the Triple Gem and a dedication requesting the protection of Nibbana's boundless power and the merit of our teachers.