พระอาจารย์อธิบายว่า หยุด คือการหยุดทุกระบบเพื่อเข้าถึงความละเอียด ส่วนสัมมาอะระหังคือการเรียกคุณสมบัติของกายธรรมให้ปรากฏ พร้อมเตือนอันตรายของแสงสว่างที่ยังไม่ถึงปฐมมรรคThe teacher explains that "stopping" halts every system to reach refinement, while chanting samma-arahang calls forth the qualities of the Dhamma body, and warns of the danger of seeing light before reaching the first path.
A lay follower asked: the late grand teacher used to say "stopping is the accomplishment," and also taught the recitation "samma-arahang." In what different circumstances are these two used?
Stopping: Halting Every System to Enter Refinement
The teacher explained that stopping is indeed the accomplishment. When we hold the mind in stopping, a sphere of stopping arises within — a clear, bright, round sphere. Its inner state is one in which every system halts, except wholesome itself, since the sphere of stopping is itself wholesome. Every system stops, even the breath. Whenever we want a system to stop, we simply hold stopping within stopping, stillness within stillness, going deeper and deeper. But the sphere of stopping can only be sustained for a brief moment at a time.
Samma-Arahang: Calling Forth the Qualities of the Dhamma Body
Samma-arahang works differently. When we recite it, whatever holds that quality appears in the mind — because reciting it calls to mind of one who has practiced rightly, practiced well, free from every defilement and obscuration: the Dhammakaya itself. The moment we recite it, that body arises, replete with the of supreme wisdom, of utter , and of great compassion. Through great compassion, it helps purify the elements of our own being; through supreme wisdom, it appears to guide us into mindful awareness, instructing and advising us almost as though the thought were our own. But sometimes, upon reciting it, nothing of the kind seems to appear — that's because impurities in the form of hindrances are obscuring things, and these must be cleared first, followed by two further layers of obscuring elements. If one falls asleep while sitting, that's fine — simply allow more time, and will clear it away on its own. If one prefers not to fall asleep, walking meditation works instead — whenever sitting leads to sleep, get up and walk until the tendency passes. If the mind is restless, use samma-arahang as a recitation with a mental image to anchor it, since asking the mind to stop still all at once is harder — the mind wants to be at work, so it needs something to do.
The Process of Merging Mental State and Form Toward Refinement Happens on Its Own
The purpose of samma-arahang is to let us know what state of Dhamma we are currently focused on. Whenever we hold a mental state in mind, form and mental state always come as a pair. Once we understand that the form is such-and-such and the mental state is such-and-such, we gradually merge that form-and-state into one with our own mind, and gradually come to stillness. Once merged, that state expands, and the mind expands along with it into openness. Then a new small point appears, and we are released, drawn toward the new refinement that has just appeared, merging with it in turn — and it, too, expands, carrying us into a new, more refined dimension. This continues on and on: dissolving the coarse into the refined, releasing the old for the new and more refined, again and again. This entire process happens automatically, on the wholesome side — it is not something we contrive or fabricate ourselves. The moment we start contriving it ourselves is exactly when problems begin.
A Warning: Light Before Reaching the First Path
The teacher warned that seeing light before reaching the first path (pathama-magga) is very dangerous — this is called a "corruption of " (vipassanupakkilesa). The brighter the light, the more one risks being carried away by one's own fabricated thinking, because tries hard to intervene at this stage. Reaching the first path is therefore essential, because the first path belongs to the wholesome system, which then protects and watches over us. Before reaching it, the unwholesome can create obstacles at any point.
The first path is the Dhamma-contemplation foundation of . What distinguishes it from an ordinary meditative image is that the bright sphere of the first path is perfectly round in a way ordinary images are not, and it feels alive, as though it has a mind of its own — unlike an ordinary static image. Once one enters the sphere of the first path, within it lie, in sequence, the spheres of virtue, concentration, wisdom, liberation, and -and-vision of liberation, each automatically passing the process on to the next in turn. Other images that appear in human form — for instance a figure dressed like a stage performer — remain merely mental images. If one passes correctly through the proper sequence, layer by layer through the spheres of Dhamma, growing ever purer, one will see the true inner structure of the wholesome system. But if such an image arises instead from one's own fabricated thinking, shaped by whatever information one has previously heard, it is not the real thing — it simply depends on what information one absorbed, and the wholesome will shape an image to match whatever one has been thinking based on that information.