พระอาจารย์อธิบายกลไกเบื้องหลังการทำใจสบายและนึกถึงบุญเมื่อเผชิญทุกข์ ว่าบุญจะไหลเข้ามาชำระมลทินแห่งบาปอยู่เสมอ เพียงแต่ต้องอาศัยเวลาและการสังเกตผลอย่างต่อเนื่องจึงจะเห็นความเปลี่ยนแปลงThe teacher explains the hidden mechanism behind calming the mind and recalling merit in times of suffering: merit really does flow in to dissolve the stain of past karma, but it takes time and steady observation before the change becomes visible.
A lay follower asked: when we're facing suffering or a problem, the teacher has told us to the mind or think of . But in reality, at such times the mind tends to get anxious and keeps circling back to the problem, trying to find a solution. So does thinking of merit really help much? Could adding (metta) or a spoken resolve (an aspiration of the mind) help make things better?
Yes, it can. Every wholesome quality of mind draws merit in. Whatever brings us ease and is wholesome, we can do it. But let me explain the mechanism behind it.
The mechanism behind recalling merit
When we settle the mind or bring merit to mind, something real is happening — even though it often feels like nothing changes. When we set the mind at ease, that ease connects with the merit element, the happiness inherent in the merit element. You can bring to mind a feeling of ease, or bring merit itself to mind — either works. When we recall merit, merit appears bright and clear, and that recollection of wholesome ease connects with the happiness of the merit element. In that moment, merit flows in.
But at the same time merit is flowing in, we're also experiencing suffering that arises from karmic result (vipaka). That suffering has a root cause — it appears as a dark stain, a dark energy, and it's what makes us suffer. Within that “sphere of unwholesome result,” whatever unwholesome quality is present draws in more of that dark energy, which appears full of im and defilement, and carries a quality of suffering that is hard to bear. At its center sits a dark core that keeps working to destroy our good qualities. This keeps appearing, which is why we keep running into problems, obstacles, and worry.
Because we set our mind on merit or ease, a stream of merit flows in, and the purity of the merit element goes to dissolve the stain of that dark result. Purity and impurity are opposites — they cancel each other out. The happiness within the merit element dissolves the suffering within that dark sphere. It's precisely at the point where the two are cancelling each other out that we can't clearly feel what's happening — the more unwholesome energy there is, the less we can sense the change. But if we don't set the mind at all, things only get heavier. So we need to keep bringing the mind back to ease or to merit, continuously, so merit keeps flowing in without a break.
Why the results aren't immediately visible
Only three things can appear in the mind: images, sounds, and feelings. Holding an image is hard, because when unwholesome energy is dominant, the mind is dark and murky, making it difficult to visualize anything. But holding a sound is easier — simply repeating inwardly “at ease, at ease” or “merit, merit, merit.” When we do this, merit flows in and cleanses.
Even though stain may be large in quantity, it is still finite — every dimension has its limits. Our capacity for sustained awareness, though, has no such limit. We can keep it up for as long as needed — day and night, two days and two nights, three days and three nights. But because we can't see the result, we lose confidence, and unwholesome states move in to create doubt and hesitation: why isn't this working? In truth, the dissolving is happening the whole time.
It's like scrubbing a dirty floor. When you pour on water and add detergent or floor cleaner, you'll actually see dark, grimy foam spread all across the floor. You have to scrub again and again, rinse again and again, and let the whole process run its course. This matter of process is important. Take the first stage of cleaning a floor: you pour water, add the cleaning solution, and scrub — at this point it looks messier than before. Then comes the next stage: rinsing with clean water again, and scrubbing any spot that's still dirty. It has its own process, and so we need to learn and understand it, and then observe the results — as the saying goes, “engage the cause, observe the result, give it your attention — this is truly excellent.” If we don't observe, we won't see that things are gradually, steadily improving. Once we notice that gradual progress, our confidence grows.
Metta and resolve can help too
If, during the time before the results become visible, we want extra support, that's fine too — as long as it brings us ease. For example, radiating loving-kindness: as we form that sphere of metta, merit flows into it just the same. Or we can add a spoken resolve, an aspiration of the mind: forming that sphere of resolve likewise draws merit in, and merit flows in just as it does with metta.
Things are, in fact, gradually improving all the time — what our mind needs is confidence. Every moment we stay within the current of wholesome states, merit keeps flowing in to cleanse, and circumstances keep improving little by little. But because we can't see it directly, it's fine to use other supportive methods to feel more reassured. And don't give up practicing — if one approach doesn't suit you, switch to another wholesome practice instead.