Only Two Days Left: Entrusting Our Heart to the Triple Gem

Our time is running short — only today and tomorrow remain. Let us take our body and our heart and offer them to the Triple Gem, letting Nibbāna correct and help us, just as when we visit a doctor: whatever the doctor tells us to do, we do, and the doctor handles everything for us. To offer our body and heart to the Triple Gem for correction and help, we need only determine and know continuously, without lapsing, so that the sphere of knowing — the sphere of mindfulness — arises. Mindfulness, being wholesome, draws in pure energy to drive the wholesome system, refining and purifying the elements within us, freeing us dimension by dimension, with the proportion of wholesomeness ever increasing. Life itself is liberation, if we dwell with the Triple Gem, dwell within the wholesome system.

Learning to Rest the Right Way

We must learn to dwell with wholesome nature. This simply means determining and knowing what is good and wholesome — adjusting body and mind to be relaxed, open, spacious, light, and at ease, as though resting comfortably. Rest the body until it is comfortable, rest the mind until it is calm; whatever brings comfort, let us go with that first, so we can carry on from there. Make it relaxed, open, spacious, light, at ease, clear, cool, with a heart that is delicate, soft, and gentle.

Samma-Araham: The Naming-State and Form-State of the Triple Gem

Let us dwell with the Triple Gem by knowing its naming-state, reciting the name "Samma-araham." The quality of the Triple Gem is that of one who practices well, rightly, in a way that leads away from all defilements, filled with supreme virtue, supreme mind, and supreme wisdom, perfectly endowed with supreme wisdom, supreme purity, and boundless compassion.

As we recite his name, his form-state appears as a clear, pure crystal Buddha image, clear as crystal, clear as diamond, able to smile, speak, and converse with us, full of life, appearing at the center of our heart, seated on a meditation dais within a sphere of Dhamma filling the lap. We may visualize either the Buddha image, or a clear sphere, or both together — whichever way works for us. When he appears, he does not appear for nothing, but appears together with boundless compassion. He takes the elements within us — seeing, memory, thought, earth, water, fire, wind, space, and consciousness — and refines them to be clear, clean, and pure, clearing away the defilements that create problems and obstacles until they vanish. Once the defilement belonging to a dimension is gone, nothing remains to bind us to a coarse dimension, and we become pure, freed from the coarse dimension into a subtler one.

Take Whatever Clarity Comes — No Need to Strain for a Clear Image

The Buddha image appears from a small clear point at the center of the body, expanding and layering as one with us, image after image. Whatever we can perceive, that is enough — there is no need to force a clear image. What we need is not clarity but simply a place for mindfulness to hold onto, to be aware of what we are knowing right now, and how much of it. Whether clear or not is not important. If it is meant to become clear, it will become clear on its own. Clarity only comes with brightness, and brightness only comes once the obscuring elements of ignorance have thinned and cleared away. Those obscuring elements thin out only through the pure energy of merit driving the wholesome system, refining, correcting, and clearing away defilement. As defilement lightens, clarity gradually appears on its own — we simply take whatever comes.

The Simile: Our Own Background Body Begins to Chant on Its Own

We recite "Samma-araham" over and over, growing familiar with this naming-state, until it becomes second nature to us — something essential to our lives. We must persevere until this naming-state stays with us always. What begins as manually determining "Samma-araham" gradually develops into something automatic — meaning we no longer need to recite it consciously, because the inside will begin to recite it on its own. We must recite it again and again until it becomes fixed within, repeating it to draw in merit that develops the body, feelings, mind, and mental factors of our "background" (ฉากหลัง) — our subtle body behind the scenes — raising its level along with ours. As we ourselves are raised, our background is raised too, until it develops to the point where it is able to recite on its own.

Once the defilement of that background is thin enough for it to recite by itself, the sound of the inner recitation will appear on its own. We must therefore raise the quality of both ourselves and our background, by determining "Samma-araham" repeatedly, drawing in merit. The human body plays a critically important role here — the diligence of our human body has a significant part in raising the quality of our background, our subtle body, to a higher level. It simply requires more diligence and attention from us.

Counting the Recitation and the Arising of the Form-State

We may count as we recite: Samma-araham one, Samma-araham two, Samma-araham three, and so on, until it becomes familiar. As we determine the naming-state "Samma-araham," the form-state appears as a clear, pure crystal Buddha image, rising from a small clear point at the center of the body, expanding upward image after image, merging with us, seated within the sphere of Dhamma, layering image after image with our body.

For anyone who finds it too complicated to determine both form-state and naming-state together, simply visualize the Buddha image staying still, or settle the mind at the seventh center of the body and determine it plainly, still — the mind will gradually calm down. For those prone to restlessness or drowsiness, give the mind something to do by determining both the form-state and naming-state together — reciting "Samma-araham" while visualizing the brilliant, radiant crystal Buddha image; the brightness helps overcome drowsiness.

Do the Cause, Observe the Result

Our great teacher, Luang Pu, repeated three times over: "Perform the cause, observe the result — attend to this, for it is truly excellent." When we know continuously without lapsing, the sphere of knowing — the sphere of mindfulness — draws pure energy, merit, continuously into the brightness at its center. This pure energy then drives the wholesome system, correcting and refining the elements within us to be clear, clean, and pure — still, soft, at ease, relaxed, clear, cool, clean, and pure.

Merging Body and Mind into Oneness with the Buddha Image

As we recite his name, the clear, pure crystal Buddha image appears at the center of our heart, able to smile, speak, and converse, seated on a meditation dais, brilliant and radiant within a sphere of Dhamma filling the lap. With every word we recite, he rises through the center of our body, from a small clear point at its center, expanding and rising image after image, layering as one with us. We are the Buddha image, the Buddha image is us — we merge with him, merging our body with his body into oneness. Our head becomes the clear crystal of the Dhamma-body, crowned with a lotus-bud crest, brilliant and radiant. Our face becomes the face of the crystal Dhamma-body. Our shoulders and both arms, our chest, belly, and back all become the brilliant, radiant crystal Buddha image; our hips, thighs, knees, shins, calves, and soles all become the radiant, clear, cool, clean, pure crystal Dhamma-body.

Once we have merged our body with his body into oneness, we merge our mind with his mind into oneness too. He dwells in cessation-attainment, gathering the mind to stop, gathering it to be still; we gather our mind to stop and be still along with him — stop within stop, still within still, soft, light, at ease, clear, cool, clean, and pure, sinking still into the center of the center.

The Wholesome Mental Factors: Equanimity, Non-Greed, Non-Aversion, Non-Delusion

What we want is a sphere of mindfulness established continuously, to draw in pure energy, merit, flowing into the center of the elements within us. We are not hoping merely for clarity — we only need the sphere of mindfulness to be established continuously, without being drawn off by distractions. Whether it is clear or not is not the important issue. If it is meant to become clear, it becomes clear on its own — we should not force it to be clear; forcing it only brings headaches, eye strain, and pain at the temples. Whatever we can achieve, that is enough — we should be content and satisfied with what we have and are. Do it at ease: at ease while doing it, at ease while it's underway, and at ease once it's finished.

What matters is quality — the continuity of mindfulness, and the delicacy, softness, and gentleness of the mental factors, of mind and its accompanying factors. Mindfulness is the mental factor that must be firmly and continuously established, along with others such as equanimity of mind (tatramajjhattatā), non-greed, non-aversion, and non-delusion. We should not crave much through non-greed; whatever happens through non-aversion is fine — we should not let it irritate us, keeping the mind neutral, unmoved by whatever stirs delight or aversion, remaining neutral and equanimous. Then our heart becomes calm, the body becomes calm, the mind becomes calm; the body becomes light, the mind becomes light; both body and mind become delicate, soft, and gentle, fit for work, nimble, and upright, dwelling in pure Dhamma.

An Attitude of Ease in Every Activity of Life

This applies not only to meditation practice but to every duty and task in our lives. Bathe with ease, cook with ease, eat with ease — let every activity be one that leads toward comfort and ease, filled with openness, spaciousness, and lightness in everything we do. We must cultivate this good attitude in our lives, or else unwholesomeness will lead us into worry and discomfort — over family matters, the economy, politics, or other people's affairs. We must therefore draw the mind back to ease, always, so that our thoughts, speech, and actions lead to comfort for ourselves and for others. We must never make ourselves uncomfortable, and never make others uncomfortable.

Cultivating Loving-Kindness for the World and All Beings

Having done good that benefits ourselves, we go on to do good that benefits the people of the world and all beings, by cultivating loving-kindness — because we live within the cycle of existence and must support all beings. All beings are our relatives; we all come from the same place and must return to the same place. No being has never been our relative.

We simply establish a sincere and pure wish: may all beings be free from suffering and happy everywhere; may we bear no enmity toward one another; may we conduct ourselves so as to be free from bodily and mental suffering. The sphere of loving-kindness, round, clear, and bright, arises and shines. Its special quality is the ability to dissolve away resentment and irritation completely. Once loving-kindness shines brightly within us, it purifies our body, speech, mind, and the elements within us, changing our hearts with love, kindness, and goodwill, like a mother's heart, filled with love and goodwill for her young child.

Radiating Loving-Kindness Across the World and the Cosmos

We expand this love and goodwill to benefit people and all beings, covering this place of practice, extending to the whole village, sub-district, district, province, country, and other nations, 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, so that our loving-kindness shines and benefits all people and beings without limit. The stream of merit continues to pour into the center of loving-kindness without interruption.

Dedicating Merit and Forgiving Our Karmic Counterparts

We now dedicate this merit to all beings. May 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 — and also 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. As we merge ourselves with them into oneness, 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 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 Dhammakāya teaching, achieving the three knowledges, the eight higher knowledges, the six analytical insights, the four discriminations, the eight liberations, and all fifteen conducts in full.

Closing Dedication and Homage to the Triple Gem

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. We then join together in paying homage to the Triple Gem — "Arahaṃ sammāsambuddho bhagavā, buddhaṃ bhagavantaṃ abhivādemi" — recollecting that the Buddha is our refuge, the Dhamma is our refuge, the Sangha is our refuge, closing together with a bow to our great teacher Luang Pu and a shared rejoicing in the merit made.