Settling the Body and Mind

Phra Ajarn opens by inviting everyone to sit and rest comfortably, in body and mind, so that the stream of merit can flow through us — so the Triple Gem appears radiant at our center, we appear radiant within it, and both we and it appear radiant within Nirvana. The stream of merit from the depths of Nirvana flows through our body and mind, driving the wholesome system, refining the elements within us until they are clear and pure, so that life may flourish and prosper.

Determine Repeatedly, and the Result Grows Clearer

He teaches that simply by determining to relax, and repeating that determination while observing the result, the first attempt may seem to change nothing. But repeat it again and again, and small changes begin to appear, gradually improving. Keep the mind open, relaxed, clear and cool. Our life is something we can choose — whether to be at ease or not — and once we choose, we determine it and observe the result, which grows clearer and clearer over time.

Everything Requires Practice — Bicycles, Cars, Music, Sport

Phra Ajarn gives the example that everything must be practiced. Learning to ride a bicycle as a child takes practice; learning to drive a four-wheeled car takes practice; learning to play music takes practicing until exhausted; even playing sport just for fun still requires practice. The more time we give to something, the faster and more skilled we become at it.

Weigh What's Worthwhile Before Giving It Your Time

He raises the key question: is what we give our time to actually beneficial to us? Can we use it for the rest of our life? If it can serve us for a lifetime, then it deserves our time. There are many things we have given time to that produced no result, no benefit at all — the time we invested there was simply wasted. So before giving time to anything, we must first consider whether it is truly worthwhile. Whatever is worthwhile deserves our time — practiced until it yields genuine benefit we can actually use in our life.

Meditation Means Bringing Something into Being

Phra Ajarn explains that "bhāvanā," meditative cultivation, means to bring something into existence, to make it real. When we determine "Sammā Arahaṃ," it arises and appears in the mind. We keep determining it repeatedly until it becomes automatic — like a musician who, once skilled through practice, plays effortlessly and automatically. With each word of the chant, the state named — its very quality — appears immediately in the mind, and then reveals its own quality for the mind to recognize.

The Meaning of "Sammā Arahaṃ" and the Crystal Buddha Image

"Sammā Arahaṃ" is a name describing the qualities of the arahant body of Dhamma — the One who practices well, rightly, in a way that leads far from all defilement. As we utter this name, he appears radiant within us, together with his qualities: one who is pure and complete in higher virtue, higher mind, and higher wisdom, complete with the virtue of wisdom, the virtue of purity, and the virtue of great compassion. As this quality-state arises, the form-state arises simultaneously — a crystal-clear, radiant Buddha image, a lotus-bud crown gleaming with light, seated on a meditation disc within the round sphere of Dhamma at the lap.

What His Presence Brings

He does not appear for nothing. Overflowing with great compassion, he takes the elements of seeing, remembering, thinking, and knowing — earth, water, wind, fire, space, and consciousness — and refines them until clear and pure, dissolving the defilements that create problems and obstacles down to the last trace, connecting us to a stream of merit and fortune, clearing karmic residue, suffering, grief and danger, and resolving problems in advance so that life can flourish with ease. He also expands to become one with the human body, enfolding and protecting it at all times. His wish is for us to merge with him as one, so he can help us with full effectiveness.

Merging the Body into the Crystal Dhammakaya

Simply by feeling "I am the Buddha image, the Buddha image is me," the whole body merges as one with him — the head becomes crystal-clear with a gleaming lotus-bud crown, the face becomes his face with eyes gently closed and a faint smile, the forehead, nose, cheeks, mouth, chin, neck, shoulders, both arms, chest, abdomen, and back all become the crystal Dhammakaya — radiant, cool, clean, pure, delicate, soft, and gentle.

Expanding the Body and Diving into the Bright Point at the Center

Once merged as one with him, he leads us toward purity and liberation. The stream of merit flowing in refines body and mind until they shine bright, clear, and pure. The crystal Dhammakaya expands beyond the body in every direction — as large as a building, then as a mountain, overflowing out of the world into the universe. The mind then stills and dives back into the center of the Buddha image, into the tiny bright point at the center of the body. From there it expands into a sphere, the sphere growing larger with a Buddha image seated within it, and both sphere and image merge once again as one with us.

Continuous Chanting to Establish Mindfulness

Phra Ajarn has us chant "Sammā Arahaṃ" continuously, keeping the mind absorbed in each word. With every word we focus on, the sphere of knowing — mindfulness — arises, drawing in the pure energy of merit in a continuous stream. All that is needed is mindfulness itself: knowing that we are knowing, aware of wherever we place our attention, always aware and never forgetting, knowing pleasantly with a relaxed mind — open, spacious, light, clear, and cool. The moment the sphere of knowing arises, the sphere of ignorance falls away. As we settle into finer detail, mindfulness turns into clear comprehension, perceiving the details more distinctly.

Closing Chant

The sit closes with a brief chant invoking the well-being that comes through the power of the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha.