Someone asked: What is the ultimate destination of liberation in each inner dimension, and how can we know we are progressing dimension by dimension?

When we're liberated in each dimension, we encounter something better — the knower and the empowered one belonging to that dimension. The knower guides and teaches us to understand; the empowered one refines and helps us so we can reach happiness, success, and fulfillment. Abiding with the wholesome nature doesn't mean we must sit with eyes closed practicing meditation exclusively, or ordain as a monk or nun — that's not it. We can live a worldly life, but living it well requires learning the principles of abiding with the wholesome nature, so we're liberated continuously, dimension by dimension, reaching the knower and empowered one who can help us live toward happiness, success, and fulfillment — and this also becomes a habit that carries over correctly into the next life.

Worldly truths — medical science, nursing, agriculture, honest trade — are all products of the wholesome, because the neutral nature has no interest in such things; only the wholesome teaches the correct principles found in universities. But this doesn't mean immersing oneself in worldly affairs without knowledge of these principles, because life within the cycle of birth and death always needs merit to run it — like a phone that won't work without charging its battery. Life's energy comes in three kinds — wholesome, unwholesome, neutral — each driving its own system; you can't put gasoline into a diesel engine. A good life is one through which merit flows: doing business with a good heart lets merit flow, staying in good spirits lets merit flow, and this requires mindfulness trained to sustain that clarity continuously.

The ultimate destination of liberation is that the proportion of the wholesome keeps increasing, sapping the strength of the unwholesome and the neutral, so life's difficulties grow lighter. As the wholesome's proportion grows, it gains more power over our life, guiding us to live with ever more substance and meaning. The final destination is nibbāna itself — when the proportion of the wholesome reaches a full 100%, that is the attainment of Arahantship. Whether one ordains or not, the path and its fruit can be attained all the same — even someone with a spouse and children can attain it.

As for knowing whether we're progressing dimension by dimension, there are two ways. For ordinary people who don't meditate, it's like a child eating and growing every day — without a fine enough measure, one must simply wait for time to pass to notice the change. But meditation practice is the one method that can measure the mind's development directly — practicing continuously and observing. For example, once unable to sit even five minutes, later managing ten minutes, then half an hour, then a full hour — that counts as progress. For those who have reached the first path, progress can be seen passing sphere by sphere; for those who haven't yet, one must rely on observing the shifting feeling from moment to moment. As development continues, one may eventually hit a barrier where the unwholesome refuses to let one through — like a difficult final exam. Some are puzzled: they've been sitting well all along, so why are they now stuck here? This requires a wise companion who understands, to explain why it's happening.