พระอาจารย์อธิบายว่าการทำกุศลให้ถึงพร้อมต้องอาศัยศีลเป็นฐาน อุทิศบุญด้วยใจบริสุทธิ์ และพัฒนาบารมีทั้ง 10 ทัศไปพร้อมกัน โดยมีความบริสุทธิ์ใจและความจริงใจเป็นหัวใจสำคัญที่ทำให้บารมีก้าวหน้าได้เร็วThe teacher explains that perfecting wholesome deeds rests on a foundation of precepts, dedicating merit with a pure heart, and developing all ten perfections together — with sincerity and purity of heart as the key that makes them progress swiftly.
A lay follower asked the teacher how to bring wholesome deeds () to full completion.
Precepts as the Foundation
True nobility and goodness rest on precepts (sila) and . Whenever possible, one should keep the eight precepts; at the very least, keep the five precepts every day. The difference between someone who keeps precepts and someone who doesn't is enormous — a person without precepts feels hollow inside, while a person who keeps precepts has a stream of merit flowing continuously through , radiant at all times. The eight precepts carry even greater power than the five, because they protect and purify the mind, freeing it from both unwholesome and neutral states — though they demand more and effort. The merit gained is correspondingly purer.
Dedicating Merit
When we think of a departed relative — a mother, for instance — we should dedicate merit to them continually. In some realms merit cannot reach directly; in such cases, calling to mind the Great Teacher (mahapuchaniyachan) allows the merit to reach them by another way.
The Ten Perfections
Bringing wholesome deeds to completion also means developing the ten perfections (parami) that are already woven into our daily life: generosity, morality, renunciation, wisdom, effort, patience, truthfulness, resolution, , and equanimity.
Renunciation (nekkhamma) means not being caught up in delighting in the five strands of sensual pleasure — keeping the mind neutral, living simply, not chasing after entertainment or indulgence. As long as the mind still delights in these things, Dhamma cannot grow, and the mind cannot enter the subtler inner dimension. Only by letting go of attachment to form, sound, smell, taste, and touch can the mind travel inward, layer by layer, and connect with the inner knowing ones who guide us toward understanding the truth of life.
Effort (viriya) is what pushes us through obstacles built from old karmic debts — obstacles that can be painful to pass through. Patience () is what carries us across, and each act of endurance forges a stronger inner fortitude, until eventually we break through the wall of karma and arrive at truthfulness (sacca) — a clear understanding of life's reality.
When the mind becomes an "accomplished element," whatever it resolves upon comes to be. A clear goal and resolute focus give rise to true determination. Loving-kindness then arises naturally, and our love grows purer and more sincere over time, until it matures into equanimity — a mind unshaken by anything that stirs it, from within or without.
Sincerity and Purity of Heart
Generosity is the foundation — being one who brings good fortune to others, giving without holding back. Precepts must aim both at the safety of others and beings, and at the of one's own conduct, which draws in merit and purifies defilements, becoming a firm base for concentration to grow more easily. In the end, all ten perfections rest on two things: purity of heart and sincerity. These alone are what make the perfections advance swiftly — like an engine that gains the power to turn only through genuine sincerity and purity of heart.