ทบทวนคำสอนของหลวงปู่ว่าเมื่อประสบทุกข์ยากให้เอาใจจดจ่อที่บุญ อย่าไปพึ่งผีสางเทวดาซึ่งสู้มนุษย์ไม่ได้ พระอาจารย์ขยายความว่ากุศลประกอบด้วยพระรัตนตรัย ธรรม 84,000 พระธรรมขันธ์ และบุญ ซึ่งเป็นสิ่งเดียวที่พึ่งพาได้จริงRevisiting the Grandmother Teacher's instruction to keep the mind fixed on merit whenever hardship strikes, rather than relying on spirits and deities who cannot even match humans — Pra Ajarn expands on how the wholesome consists of the Triple Gem, the 84,000 units of dhamma, and merit itself, the only thing we can truly rely on.
Today's topic is "finding merit and knowing how to use it," revisiting a teaching from the Grandmother Teacher (Khun Yai). She taught: when seeking merit, building perfections, giving, keeping precepts, and meditating — once merit is gained, keep the mind fixed on that merit. Whenever facing danger or hardship, recall that merit; don't let the mind wander to anything else. Don't think of spirits — a spirit is no match for a human, since a spirit is simply a human who has died, and a human is far more marvelous than a spirit. Spirits can't help with anything at all. The same goes for revering guardian spirits — once departed from human life, they too are inferior to the living human. Humans possess greater power, only it's hard to see. Bowing to a sacred tree accomplishes nothing either — a tree can only become firewood or a door panel. We must keep the mind fixed on merit alone. In trade, keep the mind on merit and business flows smoothly with good profit; in government service, keep the mind on merit and one's career flourishes; in managing a household, keep the mind on merit the same way — not fixed on some tree, timid as a buffalo. This is the Grandmother Teacher's teaching about finding merit but not knowing how to use it.
Pra Ajarn expanded further: consists of the Triple Gem overseeing the system, with nibbāna behind it all; the wholesome of 84,000 units; and merit — three essential parts. The Triple Gem and nibbāna are the aspect of form we can recall; the 84,000 units of dhamma are the aspect of wave; merit is the aspect of energy. Recalling all three, merit arises, flows, and grows. When desiring something, people are often misguided by into flattering this person or that, hoping for their favor — though everyone is really just seeking their own benefit. There is no basis for expecting anything from others; what we can rely on is the sphere of merit within ourselves. Our true wealth lies within the sphere of merit. We must set our resolve and let merit help — the mind is the element that fulfills wishes. Set the mind on merit, and merit appears within our own mind; whatever we want, we simply set our resolve, and the Monarch within the sphere of merit will act to help at once.
Not knowing this, people turn to spirits, forest guardians, deities, and protective spirits — but these beings live their own lives, each seeking their own and comfort; why would they care to influence us? What we can truly rely on is the wholesome, which has the Triple Gem overseeing the system, with nibbāna governing the whole, the 84,000 units of dhamma drawing in pure energy — merit — and merit itself as the distilled essence of the wholesome dhamma, refined from the deepest, subtlest part of nibbāna and stored within the sphere of merit in us, managed by the Seven Treasures of the Universal Monarch. Everything must be exchanged for using our merit; to make the exchange, full value is required, or the exchange cannot happen. Money and possessions belong to the world at large — whoever has more merit draws in more, just as a stronger magnet pulls in more iron. Refined merit is like a magnet drawing coarse material fortune into our lives. With little merit, the pull is weak — wanting something without the wisdom to study what should be studied, instead studying what shouldn't be, only leads to more of the same. Not knowing this brings problems in every matter.