คำสอน · พระอาจารย์สุรพงค์Teaching · Pra Ajarn Suraphong
สราคธาตุสราคธรรม กับ วิราคธาตุวิราคธรรม ต่างกันอย่างไร และเข้าถึงได้อย่างไร?What Is the Difference Between "Elements/Dhamma Still Tinged with Passion" and "Elements/Dhamma Free of Passion" — and How Do We Reach the Latter?
พระอาจารย์อธิบายว่าสราคธาตุสราคธรรมคือธาตุธรรมฝ่ายโลกียะที่ยังเจือด้วยราคะ ส่วนวิราคธาตุวิราคธรรมคือธาตุแห่งพระนิพพานที่บริสุทธิ์หลุดพ้น การเข้าถึงต้องอาศัยการตั้งความปรารถนาซ้ำๆ แล้วหยุดใจนิ่งที่ศูนย์กลางกาย ให้ดวงหยุด ดวงนิ่ง ดวงเบา ดวงเฉยเกิดขึ้น เพิ่มสัดส่วนกุศลในตัวไปเรื่อยๆThe teacher explains that "sarāga dhātu, sarāga dhamma" is the worldly element still tinged with passion, while "virāga dhātu, virāga dhamma" is the pure, liberated element of Nirvana itself. Reaching it requires repeatedly renewing our aspiration, then stilling the mind at the center of the body until the spheres of stillness, calm, lightness, and equanimity arise, gradually increasing the wholesome proportion within us.
A student asked the teacher to explain their late great teacher's teaching on sarāga dhātu, sarāga (elements and phenomena still tinged with passion) versus virāga dhātu, virāga dhamma (elements and phenomena free of passion).
Sarāga Dhātu, Sarāga Dhamma Is the Worldly Element Still Tinged with Passion
The teacher explained, citing their late great teacher's instruction: while we still dwell within sarāga dhātu, sarāga dhamma, we must strive to reach virāga dhātu, virāga dhamma. If we fail to reach it, we remain caught in an endless cycle of birth and death. We must therefore resolve firmly, stilling the mind, aiming directly for Nirvana — for few indeed set their aspiration toward the shore of Nirvana, while most remain fixed on the world of sarāga dhātu, sarāga dhamma.
Sarāga dhātu, sarāga dhamma refers to elements and phenomena still tinged with passion — a state that is not yet pure. Virāga dhātu, virāga dhamma, by contrast, refers to elements free of all defilement and passion, an element from which every defilement has been utterly expelled — the state of ultimate , known as the element of Nirvana, free of passion, aversion, and delusion, deathless and unchanging.
Sarāga dhātu belongs to the mundane (lokiya) realm — still bound by greed, aversion, and delusion, subject to : impermanence, suffering, and non-self, cycling through the three realms of existence — the sensual realm, the form realm, and the formless realm. It is like iron still bearing rust. Virāga dhātu, virāga dhamma, on the other hand, belongs to the supramundane (lokuttara) — pure, liberated, radiant, permanent, unchanging, marked by permanence, , and true selfhood, beyond the three realms of existence — like pure gold with no trace of rust. As the Buddha's own words declare: among all phenomena, both conditioned (saṅkhata dhamma) and unconditioned (asaṅkhata dhamma), virāga dhamma — the dhamma that expels all passion — is the most excellent of all.
Why Most People Still Remain Fixed on the World of Sarāga Dhātu, Sarāga Dhamma
As long as we remain tinged with passion and delight in forms, we cannot break free into virāga dhātu, virāga dhamma, and so we remain caught in endless cycles of birth and death. This is why our late teacher taught us to resolve firmly to still the mind and aim directly at Nirvana. That so few aspire toward Nirvana, while most remain fixed on the world of sarāga dhātu, sarāga dhamma, is because proportion within them has not yet grown sufficient — and where it is insufficient, and neutral forces hold greater power, and one's aspirations naturally follow whichever force dominates. For anyone to genuinely aspire toward Nirvana, the wholesome proportion within them must grow large enough that wholesome thoughts and aspirations can arise in the heart and shape a genuine wish to reach Nirvana. Those who come to the temple and sincerely practice the can already be considered to have a wholesome proportion strong enough to break free from unwholesome control and engage in wholesome activity.
What will carry us toward Nirvana is the repeated renewal of this aspiration — morning, midday, afternoon, evening, and night — reaffirming again and again that we must reach the shore of Nirvana. When we continually reinforce this determination, we will never drift far from Nirvana.
The Practice: Stilling the Mind at the Body's Center to Give Rise to the Spheres of Stillness, Calm, Lightness, and Equanimity
Once this determination is reinforced, the method is to still the mind, fixing it at at , gathering the mind into stillness together with the Buddha image within, repeating: "still within stillness, calm within calm," or "still, calm, soft, light, and at ease." Repeating this again and again, when we settle into stillness, a sphere of stillness arises — a bright, round, luminous sphere, a wholesome quality. Once established, this sphere of stillness causes every system to come to rest — even the breath itself may pause — while wholesome qualities continue to grow, because the sphere of stillness is itself wholesome. This is why our late teacher said, "Stillness is the accomplisher" — because when stillness is established, the unwholesome and neutral systems come to a halt, and only the wholesome continues to develop.
When we settle into calm, a sphere of calm — also wholesome — arises, gradually easing the vibrations of the unwholesome system until they subside entirely; the pulling forces grow weaker and weaker, more and more refined, until liberation occurs, like being freed from a sifting sieve. When we settle into softness, the heart becomes soft, delicate, and gentle, freed from coarseness and hardness. When we settle into lightness, a sphere of lightness arises, easing whatever heaviness weighs on body and mind. All 84,000 sections of the Dhamma share this same form — bright, round, luminous spheres — differing only in their inner quality: unwholesome spheres appear dark, neutral spheres appear grey. When we settle into equanimity, a sphere of equanimity arises, whose quality allows us to disregard and break free from the persistent pull of unwholesome and neutral forces.
These spheres — stillness, calm, lightness, equanimity — are all tools we must use. Repeating this practice again and again draws in merit that cleanses defilement, allowing wholesome qualities to grow; the spheres become brighter and of ever-higher quality, refined further the more we use them.
We Must Develop Both Liberation of Heart and Liberation of Wisdom
The teacher explained that true liberation requires developing both liberation of heart () and liberation of wisdom (paññāvimutti). Liberation of heart works to cleanse the defilements arising from the karmic results of wrong speech and wrong action; liberation of wisdom works to correct our thoughts and mistaken views. Liberation of wisdom depends on guidance from those with true , both inner and outer teachers; liberation of heart depends on those with spiritual power, likewise both inner and outer. Developing both together allows us to walk the inner middle path fully and effectively.
Generally speaking, the wholesome path unfolds with ease and comfort, while the unwholesome path, once we begin practicing along it, becomes difficult, tangled, and burdensome — a useful sign that if something feels excessively hard, we may be heading down the wrong path.