พระอาจารย์อธิบายว่าเมื่อเจริญภาวนาเข้าถึง 18 กายจนความละเอียดเสมอกับพระอรหัต ก็สามารถเข้าออกพระนิพพานได้ จึงเลือกอยู่ช่วยเหลือหมู่ญาติทั้งหลายซึ่งล้วนเคยเป็นพ่อแม่พี่น้องกันมาในอดีตชาติPra Ajarn explains that once meditation reaches through the eighteen bodies to a refinement equal to the arahant body, one can pass into and out of nibbana at will — and so chooses to remain and help all the beings who were once our own family across countless past lives.
Someone asked: why does the mind of one in the merit lineage long to go to nibbana?
Longing for Nibbana Is Natural for Those in the Lineage
Our own body, being part of the merit lineage, follows the same pattern: once meditation reaches through the eighteen bodies, and the arahant body brings refinement equal to the level of nibbana, one gets to rest within the realm of nibbana itself — a state of supreme bliss. Given this, it's entirely natural for the mind to long to go there. Not longing for it would be the unusual thing.
Able to Enter and Exit Nibbana, We Choose to Stay and Help Our Kin
Even so, because we can reach the arahant body and attain that , we are able to pass into and out of nibbana whenever we wish. Being able to do this, we choose to remain and care for all beings — who were, in past lives, our parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and dear friends. Once we are safe and able to move freely in and out of nibbana, with no more fear of falling into hell, our remaining task is simply to help these kin of ours. How could we abandon them, now that we ourselves are no longer bound for hell?
Looking back through past lives, we find that many of our kin — who once loved and cared for us — are still suffering in hell, while others were reborn as devas in various heavens, still wandering and indulging in pleasure. We must find ways to help them come to know, understand, and practice the , because every being is, in truth, our own kin — and so we must keep seeking ways to help them.