พระอาจารย์อธิบายว่าการนั่งอย่างสบายใจเหนี่ยวนำบุญได้ระดับหนึ่งผ่านสัมมาสติและเวทนานุปัสสนา แต่ยังไม่เท่ากับการนั่งหลับตาที่จดจ่อละเอียดลึก จึงต้องพัฒนาจากสัมมาสติไปสู่สัมมาสมาธิด้วยการสำรวมใจและปิดเปลือกตาเพื่อลดสิ่งกระตุ้นเร้าPra Ajarn explains that sitting at ease draws merit in to a degree, through right mindfulness and contemplation of feeling, but not as fully as sitting with eyes closed in focused, deepening concentration — so one must develop from right mindfulness into right concentration by restraining the mind and closing the eyes to reduce stimulation.
Someone asked: does merit flow only during meditation, or does simply making the mind comfortable draw it in just as well?
Sitting at Ease Draws Merit In to a Degree
Sitting at ease does draw merit in to a degree, but the purification and liberation aren't the same as sitting with eyes closed in meditation, because meditation focuses subtly and deeply, level by level, liberating continuously — and the sensing of mental states, , and are more complete. Noting only the ease of mind is contemplation of feeling within the foundations of mindfulness (vedanānupassanā) — being aware of the mood of ease, with a resting place for the mind — and merit flows in continuously.
From Right Mindfulness, Develop Into Right Concentration
Even when not sitting, being at ease can be (sammā-) — done with eyes open or closed — so long as the mind has a clear resting place, and merit flows in. But to develop into (sammā-), the mind must be restrained and focused. The reason for closing the eyes is that it reduces stimulation: with eyes open, the objects all around us, a full 180 degrees, are all stimulating; sense-objects are many. Closing the eyelids greatly reduces those objects and their stimulation, letting the mind gather in. Once gathered, it can focus and become steady. So we must first learn right mindfulness, then develop it into right concentration.