คำอธิบายสามนัยยะของพระพุทธพจน์เรื่องสัมมาสติ โดยเน้นว่าสัมปชัญญะเป็นเจตสิกที่ซ้อนอยู่กลางดวงสติอีกชั้นหนึ่ง ไม่ใช่เพียงคุณสมบัติคู่ขนาน พร้อมอธิบายกลไกกุศล-อกุศลแย่งกันเป็นเจ้าเรือน และการขจัดอภิชฌาโทมนัสด้วยสันโดษและอุเบกขา ปิดท้ายด้วยการภาวนาสัมมาอะระหังและเมตตาภาวนาAn explanation of the three layers of meaning in the Buddha's teaching on right mindfulness, highlighting that clear comprehension (sampajanna) is a mental factor nested at the very center of the sphere of mindfulness — not merely a separate, parallel quality — alongside how wholesome and unwholesome natures compete to control the heart, and how contentment and equanimity remove covetousness and grief. Closes with Samma-araham meditation and metta radiation.
Practicing the is essential to every life, because we all live under the control of three kinds of nature, under and . Only wholesome nature ever truly helps us — giving , understanding, , success, and fulfillment in everything good. The other natures give us nothing beneficial at all; if a nature is unwholesome, it only brings great suffering and danger. This is why we must learn, understand, and train ourselves to dwell with this wholesome nature.
The Heart of Right Mindfulness: Three Layers of Meaning
To dwell with wholesome nature, the Lord Buddha taught us to develop : "Monks, you should clearly know the body, feelings, mind, and mental objects, in order to remove covetousness and grief in the world." Though short, this sentence is profoundly important — it can transform an ordinary person into a noble one. We must memorize it and understand its deep significance, which unfolds in three layers of meaning.
First Layer: Determining Means Marking a Point
The first layer is this: the Buddha taught that dwelling with wholesomeness requires us to determine — to mark, to specify, to point to something exactly. Wherever we mark, specify, or point to, the mind will be placed there; the mind, being the element of consciousness, will appear there, and we then come to know it there. The sphere of knowing — the sphere of — arises at that point.
Sammajaññā: A Mental Factor Nested at the Center of the Sphere of Mindfulness
The fine detail of what we come to know is the role of (), which enters into the details to know them more distinctly. Once mindfulness and clear comprehension are established, they draw pure energy, merit, continuously into the brightness at the center of that sphere of knowing. Mindfulness () is itself a (); clear comprehension (sampajañña) is a mental factor that sits nested at the very center of the sphere of mindfulness, one layer within it. When we determine and know, we must know what exactly we are knowing — aware of ourselves, aware of which wholesome state we are dwelling in — knowing continuously, without lapsing. Mindfulness and clear comprehension together are the instruments that draw pure energy, merit, continuously into the brightness at the center of this mental factor.
Once this pure energy flows in, it drives system, clearing away the defilements that cause problems and obstacles. As merit clears the defilements, problems and obstacles grow lighter, and once has cleared the defilements away entirely, nothing remains to bind the mind to a coarse dimension — the mind is freed into a subtler one, even while we may still feel dim, dull, or unclear. The wholesome system carries out this liberation on its own; our role is simply to determine and know continuously, without lapsing. The rest belongs to wholesomeness.
Second Layer: The Law of the Three Characteristics and the Three Natures at Work
The second layer is this: the Buddha taught us to determine and know the body, feelings, mind, and mental objects because he wanted us to see how the three natures operate. Whenever one of them manages to seize the position of "house-owner," it brings its own body, feelings, mind, and mental factors to reside within our heart, controlling our body, feelings, mind, and mental states to serve that nature's own purpose.
If wholesomeness is the house-owner, it overlays a body, feelings, mind, and mental factors of higher quality, giving us proper manners and fitting behavior; feelings become comfortable and at ease; mind and mental objects become good thoughts, full of sound principles that lead toward happiness and success. At the same time, the stream of merit pours in continuously, clearing away every obstructing defilement, bringing both happiness and purity. The refined treasure at the center of this sphere of merit exists precisely to draw worldly wealth in from outside toward our lives.
But if unwholesomeness is the house-owner — since it is subtler and can seize the position faster — it brings its own unwholesome body, feelings, mind, and mental factors, laden with greed, hatred, delusion, and , pressing the elements down and drawing in demerit. The body becomes coarse and harsh; feelings become a state of suffering that must be endured, and endured with difficulty; mind and mental objects surface as negative thoughts — boredom, gloom, tedium, stress, irritation, weariness, despondency, hopelessness, depression, restlessness, tightness, and burning agitation. Demerit continuously pours in along with suffering and defilement, creating problems and obstacles: sitting becomes suffering, lying down becomes suffering, eating and drinking becomes suffering, talking becomes suffering. The calamity riding along with this sphere of demerit destroys whatever good fortune we have. We can only recognize this by determining and knowing the body, feelings, mind, and mental objects — only then do we truly see how these three natures operate.
Third Layer: Removing Covetousness and Grief through Contentment and Equanimity
The third layer concerns the working of the law of kamma. The Buddha taught us to remove covetousness (abhijjhā) and grief (domanassa) from the world. Both are results that the law of kamma delivers. Doing good in the past brings good results — a pleasing, joyful feeling — but because our past good deeds were limited in scope, the good result is also limited to a certain degree. Yet we want more than that. Lacking , unwholesomeness steps in to lead us, offering a way to get more, and if we accept, we walk right into the trap it has set. We know it is risky, yet we take the risk out of greed, because we are not grounded in contentment, in satisfaction with what we already have and are.
Covetousness (abhijjhā, not to be confused with avijjā, ) is a delight that leads toward greed; if that delight does not lead toward greed, it is not a problem at all. Grief (domanassa), on the other hand, is suffering arising from our own past mistakes. Unwholesomeness seizes on this suffering and regret, turning us to blame others rather than ourselves, even though it is entirely the result of our own error in accepting unwholesome guidance. Resentment then arises, creating karmic results that harm both ourselves and others.
We must therefore dwell in the quality called contentment (), and in the mental factors of non-greed, non-aversion, and equanimity of mind (tatramajjhattatā). When we dwell with these three balancing mental factors, they can arise and draw in pure energy to cleanse all defilements, giving quality to the other twelve mental factors that arise together with a wholesome mind, so that our practice can enter the first . We need only refrain from delighting or being averse to anything, and entering the first jhāna is not difficult at all.
Samma-Araham: The Naming-State and Form-State of the Triple Gem
Understanding this, we come to meditate. Our teachers instruct us to settle the mind at the seventh center of the body, then determine the naming-state, "Samma-araham," repeated again and again. The naming-state is calling something by its name according to its qualities. "Samma-araham" refers to the one who practices well, rightly, in a way that leads away from all defilements, endowed with supreme , supreme mind, and supreme wisdom, both liberation and the knowledge and vision of liberation, perfectly endowed with supreme wisdom, supreme purity, and boundless compassion.
The form-state accompanying his name is a clear, pure crystal Buddha image, crowned with a lotus-bud crest, brilliant and radiant, able to smile, speak, and converse, full of life, appearing at the center of the heart, seated on a meditation dais, with a sphere of Dhamma filling the lap, delicate, light, brilliant, and radiant, appearing from a small clear point at and expanding outward. When he appears, he does not appear for nothing — he appears together with boundless compassion, taking the elements within us and refining them to be clean and pure, clearing away every defilement. Not only that — he expands to overlay and embrace our human body, protecting and guarding it. His virtue toward our lives is therefore beyond measure.
Merging Body and Mind into Oneness with the Buddha Image
As we recite his name, he rises through the center of our body, one image after another; his lap expands to overlay our lap completely, his thighs, torso, shoulders, arms, head, and face merging into oneness with us, rising continuously without interruption as long as we do not stop reciting his name. His wish is for us to merge with him into a single unity, because that lets him help us with full effectiveness — for he is our true self.
The method is to feel that we are the Buddha image, and the Buddha image is us — our whole body, from head, face, cheeks, shoulders, arms, torso, down to the soles of our feet, becomes the brilliant, radiant crystal Dhamma-body, delicate, soft, gentle, clear, cool, clean, and pure. Our head becomes the clear crystal of the Dhamma-body, crowned with its lotus-bud crest, brilliant and radiant. Our face becomes the face of the crystal Dhamma-body, eyes gently closed, with a soft, subtle smile. Our neck, shoulders, and both arms all become the crystal Dhamma-body. Our chest, belly, and back all become the radiant, clear, cool, clean, and pure crystal Dhamma-body, and our hips, thighs, knees, shins, calves, and soles all become the brilliant, radiant crystal Dhamma-body.
Once we have merged our body with his body into a single unity, we merge our mind with his mind into a single unity too — gathering the mind to stop, gathering it to be still at the center of the Buddha image, soft and at ease, stop within stop, still within still, spacious and at ease. As we settle still within the Buddha image, merged into oneness with him, this carries us into expanding purity and liberation, sinking into the center of the Buddha image toward a new, subtler and more refined image. Each time we settle still, sinking into the new image that is expanding, our heart grows even more spacious and at ease.
Four Steps of Practice to Let Mindfulness Take Firm Hold
Let us practice these four steps continuously. Step one is determining the naming-state "Samma-araham," coming to know his qualities. Step two is perceiving the form-state that continuously rises from the small clear point at the center of the body. Step three is merging ourselves with him into a single unity, so he leads us into liberation, sinking into the center of the body toward a new, subtler and more refined image. Step four is merging our mind with his mind, sinking into the very center of that center, after having already merged our body with his body into a single unity.
All four steps are activities of the mind, meant to give mindfulness something to hold onto, to rest upon, to establish itself firmly, staying aware continuously without lapsing. Pure energy is then drawn in, and the wholesome system can drive the correction and refinement of the elements within us toward cleanliness and purity. We need not see clearly, because the coarse human body can only see what is outward; what is within can only be known, not seen. To see it requires the eye of the subtle body, the celestial body, the inner body — and that is the role of the wholesome system, which will make these corrections for us on its own. We will come to see naturally, without straining to force ourselves to see — straining only causes eye strain, with no benefit at all.
Cultivating Loving-Kindness for People and All Beings
Having determined and developed right mindfulness, we have already brought great benefit to our own lives; we now go on to benefit people and all beings by cultivating . This is a tool of wholesomeness, meant for those with abundant merit to support those with less. Living within the cycle of existence, we must support one another, because we all come from the same place and must return to the same place. Throughout this vast cycle of existence, there is no being that has never been our relative.
We simply establish the good wish that the people of the world and all beings be free from suffering and happy everywhere, sincerely and purely, as a mother's heart is filled with love and goodwill for her young child. We raise this sphere of loving-kindness — round, clear, and bright. Once established, it draws pure energy, merit, continuously into the brightness at its center. This loving-kindness has the special quality of dissolving away the resentment and irritation present in the atmosphere, in people, and in all beings and things; it refines our own mind and heart, purifying our body, speech, and mind.
Radiating Loving-Kindness Across the World and the Cosmos
We expand this heart, filled with loving-kindness, outward, covering our home. Loving-kindness displays its own qualities; we are merely the one upholding the Dhamma. It then covers the whole village, sub-district, district, province, country, and neighboring countries, until it covers the entire world, making this world a crystal world, radiant, clear, cool, clean, and pure. May the people of the world and all beings be free from suffering and find happiness everywhere — earthbound devas, celestial devas, heavenly beings of every heavenly realm, formless Brahmas, and also beings in hell, hungry ghosts, and animals. May those with much suffering have less; may those with little suffering be entirely free of it; may those with little happiness have more; and may those with much happiness have ever more.
We then expand further into the atmosphere of the cosmos, covering countless stars — tens, hundreds, thousands, millions, billions — continuing on to the ten-thousand-fold world system and the hundred-thousand-koti of infinite universes. Our hearts expand, joyful, spacious, at ease, clear, cool, clean, pure, and radiant, and the stream of merit continues pouring into the brightness at the center of loving-kindness without interruption.
Dedicating Merit and Forgiving Our Karmic Counterparts
We now dedicate this merit to arise for people and all beings. May the people of the world and all beings share in this merit we have sincerely accumulated, and be free from suffering, happy everywhere. And also our ancestors, our parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts and uncles, our teachers and benefactors, the devas who assist and support us, and those who protect all beings, and every being we may have wronged — our karmic counterparts (คู่กรรมคู่เวร) — may we forgive one another, and may they too fully share in this merit.
Settling in the Center of the Triple Gem and the Great Teachers, Setting the Resolve
We gather the mind to stop, gather it to be still, at the center of the Triple Gem — the center of the Buddha jewel, the Dhamma jewel, the Sangha jewel — settling still at the center of the great teachers, the most refined Dhamma body of Luang Pu, Luang Phor, and Khun Yai Ajarn. The mind is the element of accomplishment: however we determine it, so it becomes. We must merge ourselves with the Triple Gem and the most refined Dhamma body of the great teachers into a single unity, because their virtue toward us is beyond measure — we can never afford to grow distant from them, for we must depend on them throughout our time in the cycle of existence.
As we recollect them, we appear bright and clear within them, and they appear bright and clear within us; together we appear radiant at the center of Nibbāna, the center of the one who knows, of boundless power. We use this most auspicious moment to pay respects to Nibbāna and set our resolve for success, fixing it within this bright sphere of merit, so that from this moment on, our entire path of accumulating perfections may be filled with knowledge alongside happiness and purity, and success in everything right and good. May all this merit and perfection combine into sacred, powerful merit, freeing us from calamity, sin, karmic results, and every obstacle in life, exhausting greed, hatred, delusion, lust, ignorance, wrong view, craving, and clinging without a trace, granting us the Dhamma eye that sees and penetrates the teaching, achieving the three knowledges, the eight higher knowledges, the six analytical s, the four discriminations, the eight liberations, and all fifteen conducts in full.
Closing Dedication
The session closes with a wish for strong health so we may keep building perfections throughout life, walking steadily toward Nibbāna. When we pass from this world, may we be reborn in the Tusita heaven in the realm of the great Bodhisattas of special merit, and when we return to build perfections in the human world, may we be born into a family of right view — a crystal family, a Dhammakāya family. The session ends with the closing chant of loving-kindness and merit dedication.