คำสอน · พระอาจารย์สุรพงค์Teaching · Pra Ajarn Suraphong
นำนั่งสมาธิ ค่ำวันที่ 29 สิงหาคม: อธิษฐานล่วงหน้า ก่อนที่ธรรมชาติทั้งสามจะกำหนดแทนเราGuided Meditation, Evening of August 29: Setting Your Aspiration Before the World Sets It for You
พระอาจารย์ชี้ให้เห็นว่าธรรมชาติสามฝ่าย คือกุศล อกุศล และอัพยากตะ ต่างใช้สิ่งแวดล้อมและกัลยาณมิตรเป็นเครื่องมือควบคุมชีวิตเรา ทางออกคือการอธิษฐานหรือกำหนดใจล่วงหน้า เปรียบดังการวางแผนไปเที่ยว ที่ต้องกำหนดไว้ก่อนจึงจะเป็นไปตามที่เราตั้งใจ ไม่ใช่ตามที่ธรรมชาติฝ่ายอื่นกำหนดแทน จากนั้นท่านนำเข้าสู่การนั่งสมาธิเต็มรูปแบบ ตั้งแต่การวางใจ เห็นองค์พระสัมมาอะระหังกลางกาย แผ่เมตตาธรรมไปทั่วโลกและจักรวาล จนถึงการอุทิศส่วนบุญและอธิษฐานจิตปิดท้ายPhra Ajarn shows how three natures — wholesome, unwholesome, and neutral — all use environment and good friends as their levers to steer our lives. The way out is to set an aspiration in advance, the way we would plan a trip: decide the destination first, and the day unfolds by our own design rather than someone else's. From there he leads a full sit — settling the mind, seeing the crystal Buddha image at the center of the body, radiating loving-kindness across the world and universe, and closing with the dedication of merit and a spoken aspiration.
Gently close your eyes. Settle into comfort, and let the mind grow — open, spacious, empty, light, clear, cool, clean, pure, and radiant. Hold your intention steady, aimed at the path to Nibbana along the middle way within. Simply rest your attention at , or wherever feels comfortable to you. Wherever the mind settles its attention, that is where the mind goes to dwell — this is called “paying attention.” Wherever we pay attention, that is where we come to know, because every can only arise at the mind — nowhere else. Wherever we place our attention, the sphere of knowing — — establishes itself right there. Once mindfulness is established, it draws in. The merit that flows in drives the system of wholesome dhamma, refining and purifying the elements within us, making them clear, clean, and pure. It clears away the defilements that create problems and obstacles in our lives. As the defilements grow lighter, the difficulties grow lighter too, and once the defilements are gone, whatever binds us to the coarse dimension falls away as well — we are freed from the coarse dimension into ever subtler ones, even while our minds may still feel dim and clouded in the moment. The system of wholesome dhamma keeps working to refine and purify us regardless.
Our essential role is simply to keep determining — to keep knowing — because mindfulness is what draws merit in, and no system can run without the energy to drive it. Merit is the energy that drives system. The further we are freed into subtler dimensions, the more we come into contact with beings of and power who are themselves subtler and more capable. Our share of wholesomeness increases, while the pull of and the neutral weakens, and we come into contact with merit that is purer, more sacred, of higher quality, and carries a more refined happiness.
Three Natures That Govern Our Lives
In daily life, we genuinely need to learn and train ourselves to remain within the system of wholesome dhamma — and that is not easy, because whichever nature holds the greater share in us will carry us along into its own system instead. Our lives are governed by three natures: the wholesome, the unwholesome, and the neutral. These three have entirely different aims. Only the wholesome nature can give us benefit, righteousness, goodness, happiness, success, and the fulfillment of our wishes. The unwholesome nature gives us nothing of benefit at all — worse, it brings suffering, harm, and danger. The neutral nature, while it does not bring us suffering or harm, gives us no benefit either — it simply spends our precious time and our resources carelessly: wandering about, buying expensive things to show off to others, producing nothing of real value.
These three natures govern people and beings through two laws: and . The law of kamma has governed us from the past into the present, and it bears fruit continuously in every present moment, whether we are born human, celestial, a deva, a Brahma, or a formless Brahma — all of us circle through the round of rebirth as a result of the law of kamma. Even beings in hell, hungry ghosts, demons, and animals remain in their states because of the law of kamma. The law of the three characteristics, meanwhile, is these same three natures competing to seize control of the lives of people and beings in each present moment.
When the law of kamma bears fruit as pleasant or unpleasant experience, the pleasant arises from good causes we have made, and the unpleasant from harmful causes made in the past. But not every pleasant feeling leads to a good result — sometimes the unwholesome uses something pleasant to lure us into , and that very pleasure becomes the means by which we are driven to create new kammic results, which are then stored up to bear fruit again in the future. This is why we need to hold the mind in balance — staying even-minded whether we feel joy or sorrow, rather than blaming this person or that for our distress, since it is the unwholesome that quietly directs the blame from behind the scenes, steering us wrong. We can only be free of this wrong steering by remaining within the system of wholesome dhamma, which brings the mind to a balanced, neutral state — . Simply hold the mind still, soft, relaxed, light, clear, cool, clean, and pure.
Environment and Good Friends — The Two Levers Nature Uses on Us
We can also notice that whichever nature holds the greater share in our daily life pulls us, dominates us, and controls us to keep us within its own system, so that it can draw energy to drive that system. We can see this at work through environment and s — these two are the key factors determining which system we end up living in. Wherever the outer world offers an environment favorable to a particular nature, that nature finds it easy to take control of us, because it relies on environment and on the people who are its own kind of “good friend” to direct and control us.
Beyond these two factors, what can help us is aspiration — setting our intention. To aspire is to set the program by which the lives of people and beings unfold; without it, some other nature will set the program for us instead and direct us to complete it. Aspiration, or deciding in advance, is like planning a trip — going abroad, going to another province, going to the mall, going somewhere to rest — all of it has to be decided beforehand. Coming to practice meditation is no different: we have to decide in advance. Each nature sets its own program and waits for the right opportunity; when that opportunity comes, we simply carry out whatever program was set. Whether we set our intention for the present moment or for the future, this act of deciding matters enormously to our lives. The Buddha taught the monks, “Bhikkhus, you should determine” — because if we do not set our own intention, some other nature will step in and set it for us. So we need to determine what is right and good. To be good is to be good through ; to be beautiful is to be beautiful through moral discipline — refraining from wrongdoing. Beauty arises from the stream of merit flowing in to hold back wrongdoing.
Our Role as Owner of This House of Body and Mind
We are the owner of this house — this body and mind. Our duty is simply to determine, the way a king must set policy to govern a kingdom. When we determine what is right and good, it brings benefit; when we determine what is wrong, it brings harm. What is good is this: when we determine rightly, the stream of merit flows, and within the sphere of merit there arises happiness and — sacred, potent, powerful enough to clear away the defilements of unwholesome deeds. It also brings ease of body and comfort of mind, so that whether we sit, lie down, stand, walk, speak, or work, we do so with ease and comfort. And within that sphere of merit lie all manner of refined attainments — of form, of wealth, of , of retinue, of gain, honor, praise, happiness, the path, its fruit, and Nibbana — all complete within it. When merit flows through us, these refined attainments flow through us too, and it is these refined attainments that draw the coarser attainments of the ordinary world toward our lives.
To remain within the system of wholesome dhamma, then, is to remain oriented toward purity and in every moment. This is why we need to learn and train in the practice, which has two parts: , which leads to the fruit of , and , which leads to the fruit of liberation through wisdom. Both depend on sustained, directed attention. In samatha, this attention is applied to settling on one wholesome feeling and staying with it continuously through meditation practice — cultivating and maintaining a single good feeling, staying aware without straying from the , until it becomes firmly established and liberation of mind arises. In vipassana, that same attention is directed toward clear understanding — of Dhamma, of life, of our experience — until, once understanding becomes clear, arises just as it does in samatha, followed by happiness, equanimity, and . The difference is that samatha rests in knowing and abiding in that one good feeling, while vipassana uses clear knowing to generate — a vision of what is possible, and the inspiration to wish for a better, more excellent, more wondrous life.
Doing the Cause, Watching the Result
Whether working toward liberation of mind or liberation through wisdom, what matters most is doing the cause and watching the result. The revered Luang Pu placed enormous weight on this, repeating three times: “Do the cause, watch the result — attend to it, and it is truly excellent.” When we do the cause and then watch the result that appears in each moment, we see change unfolding continuously. The essential starting point is the mind. Examine your own mind — keep asking and checking where the mind is right now: is it resting where we set it, or has it wandered off somewhere without our noticing? If we take care to know the mind, staying aware without lapsing, then the place where we set the mind becomes something that truly matters in daily life. Morning, midday, afternoon, evening, night — we need to know clearly where we are placing the mind, because merit is drawn in through mindfulness to wherever the mind is resting.
The Buddha, teaching the cultivation of , said that monks should know clearly the body, feelings, mind, and mental objects. Why these four? Because when the three natures compete to take possession of the mind, each brings its own version of body, feelings, mind, and mental objects. When the wholesome takes hold, it brings the body, feelings, mind, and mental objects of a subtler form — a celestial or Brahma body of higher quality than the human body — layering over us to raise our mind and heart to something finer, so that purity and liberation can arise even within a human body. But when the nature holding the house is unwholesome, it presses the elements down, drawing in unwholesome force to drive its own system instead. This is the law of the three characteristics at work, steering people and beings according to whichever nature's program is running.
To remain within the system of wholesome dhamma requires only that we make the body comfortable and the mind calm. For a beginner, this simply means bringing body and mind to sit on the cushion and staying there — whether or not real concentration comes, just keep sitting, in whatever posture is comfortable. If you don't feel like thinking, don't think; just rest the mind still, relaxed and at ease, until the Triple Gem appears bright at the center of you, and Nibbana comes to refine and purify the elements within, freeing you from the coarse dimension into subtler ones. At some point you may feel restless and unable to sit, because the defilements are being cleared away — but if you bear with it a little longer, letting the refining continue until you feel at ease again, and then keep meditating, real calm will come — without expecting anything. Expectation itself is the real problem; wanting a big result is craving, and craving always creates problems. Without expectation, progress is already happening in every moment we practice — we simply need to observe it, as Luang Pu said: “Do the cause, watch the result — attend to it, and it is truly excellent.” When we do something good and watch the result, that goodness shows up as a feeling of ease — and we take that ease and tie it to the Triple Gem and to Nibbana.
Seeing the Crystal Buddha Image at the Center of the Body
Bring that feeling of ease to rest on the highest things — the Triple Gem and Nibbana — by uttering the name “Sammā Arahaṃ,” the honorific name of the refined Arahant Dhammakaya. When we utter the name of the One who has practiced well, practiced rightly, practiced the way that leads far from all defilement, his qualities appear: the virtue of supreme wisdom, the virtue of purity, and , complete with higher morality, higher mind, and higher wisdom, together with liberation and the knowledge and vision of liberation. Wherever there is a name, there is a form; when we utter his name, the state of his body appears as a clear crystal Buddha image — clean and pure — abiding at the center of our mind, resting on a plane of light within that fills the space in front of him.
When he appears, out of his boundless compassion, he takes the elements of our seeing, remembering, thinking, and knowing — earth, water, wind, fire, space, and consciousness — and refines them to be clear, clean, and pure, clearing away the results of past kamma, obstruction, sacred harm, disaster, and every kind of obstacle in our lives, so that we can gather the fruits of success in life with ease. Beyond this, he expands his own body to envelop our human body — his lap overlaying our lap, his torso becoming one with ours, his head, face, and arms becoming one with our own. With every utterance of “Sammā Arahaṃ, Sammā Arahaṃ,” he expands from a small clear point at the center of the body, enveloping and becoming one with our human body from head to toe, until the whole of us is the radiant crystal Dhammakaya — clear, cool, clean, and pure.
His wish is for us and him to merge into a single unity, so that he can help us with complete effectiveness, because he is our true self. All we need do is feel that we are the Buddha image, and the Buddha image is us — every part of our body becomes the radiant crystal Dhammakaya, clear, cool, clean, and pure. Our head becomes the clear crystal of the Dhammakaya; our face becomes his face, eyes gently closed, a faint and gentle smile; forehead, cheeks, nose, mouth, chin, and neck all become the crystal Dhammakaya, luminous and radiant; both arms, chest, abdomen, and back all become the crystal Dhammakaya, delicate, soft, clear, and cool. Once we have merged our body with his into one unity, merge the mind as well, because his Dhammakaya now dwells at the center of us. As he abides in deep — mind stopped, mind still — we too let the mind stop, let it still, soft, light, and at ease, at the center of the Buddha image, the center of our body, the center of our mind. Not left, not right, not forward, not back, not up, not down — but into the center of the center, knowing the center, stopping at the center, staying still there continuously. Then send the mind straight toward the path to Nibbana along the middle way within — the mind achieves whatever it determines.
As we send the mind straight toward the path to Nibbana along the middle way within, brightness appears at the center of Nibbana — the center of boundless knowledge and power, beyond counting. Nibbana is the Buddhas, the Paccekabuddhas, and all the Arahants — only these three kinds of beings are liberated from the round of rebirth, abiding in the realm of Nibbana. Having gone, they have not vanished — they have simply changed their abode, and they continue helping and supporting all beings at all times, holding all beings within themselves. Any being who stands in universal goodness — whatever their religion, or none at all — will find the Triple Gem appearing bright at their center too, the stream of merit flowing through them just as it is flowing through us now, and Nibbana refining the elements within them to be clean and pure.
Radiating Loving-Kindness Across the World and the Universe
While he is doing this good for us, let us in turn do good for other people and beings by cultivating — a tool of the wholesome nature, meant for those with abundant merit to support those with less. Life within the round of rebirth requires us to support one another; none of us can live entirely alone. We need family, society, kin, and community. But to remain within a good environment, a good family and community, we must create good causes by remaining in wholesome dhamma and drawing on loving-kindness — simply by holding, sincerely and purely, love and goodwill in the heart. The revered Luang Pu taught us to draw on the heart of a mother filled with love and goodwill for her young child, and set that very heart at the center of our own mind. Loving-kindness then appears, bright and radiant, and simply by holding that loving-kindness in the heart, we earn the name of one who upholds the Dhamma.
The brightness of loving-kindness clears away resentment — the irritation that clouds the hearts of people and beings — until it vanishes entirely. Moonlight and sunlight, however bright, still cast a shadow; but the light of loving-kindness shines through both the outer and the inner, so it casts no shadow at all. Let the heart filled with loving-kindness expand to fill our home, then widen further to cover the whole village, the district, the province, the country, other countries, until it covers the whole world — let this world become a crystal world, radiant, clear, cool, clean, and pure. May the people of the world and all beings be free from suffering and find happiness, every one of them. May those who suffer greatly suffer less; may those who suffer little be entirely free of suffering; may those with little happiness have more; and may those who already have much happiness have even more still. May the earthbound devas, tree devas, sky devas, the celestial beings of every heaven, the Brahmas and formless Brahmas, and also the beings in hell, the hungry ghosts, demons, and animals, all be free from suffering and find happiness, every one of them.
Having made this wish, extend the heart filled with loving-kindness further still, out into the vastness of the universe, covering the countless stars — tens, hundreds, thousands, millions of them — extending continuously through countless world-systems and boundless universes, letting our loving-kindness shine and refine every particle of that vastness, every being and every thing, until all is clear and bright. Our own heart grows expansive, open, spacious, and light. The stream of merit continues flowing steadily within that brightness of loving-kindness.
Dedicating the Merit and Making the Aspiration
Now dedicate this merit so that it may reach the people of the world and all beings — may they share in the merit we have sincerely made, and may they be free from suffering and find happiness, every one of them. May it also reach our relatives — parents, siblings, teachers, and all who have shown us kindness — as well as the devas who watch over and support us, and every we may have wronged; may we forgive one another and may they too share fully in this merit.
Having dedicated this merit to our relatives and ancestors, let us now merge ourselves with the Triple Gem and the great venerable teachers into a single unity, because both the Triple Gem and the great venerable teachers have shown us boundless kindness, watching over and helping us day and night, whether we are asleep, awake, standing, walking, sitting, or lying down. All we need do is settle the mind still at their center — at the center of the Buddha Jewel, the Dhamma Jewel, the Sangha Jewel, and the great venerable teachers — settling still at the center of the Dhammakaya of the revered Luang Pu, the revered Luang Phor, and Khun Yai Achan. The mind achieves whatever it determines. As we set our intention to merge ourselves with them into one unity, we appear bright at the center of the Triple Gem and the great venerable teachers, and together we all appear bright at the center of Nibbana, the center of boundless knowledge and power. The stream of merit from the center of Nibbana continues to flow without pause.
Then pay respects and ask for their blessing, setting a firm aspiration to carry within this bright sphere of merit — that our whole path of building perfections may be filled with wisdom, happiness, and purity, and with success in everything right and good. May the merit, the glory, the strength, and the power of Nibbana, together with the merit of the revered Luang Pu, Luang Phor, and Khun Yai Achan, combine with the merit we ourselves have sincerely accumulated since our very first life until now, becoming sacred, potent merit — may our body, speech, mind, and the elements within us be bright, clear, cool, clean, and pure; may we be freed from misfortune, wrongdoing, the results of past kamma, obstruction, and every obstacle in life; may greed, hatred, delusion, lust, , wrong view, craving, and clinging be exhausted without remainder; may we gain the eye that sees the Dhamma, reaching and penetrating the knowledge of Dhammakaya completely; and may we have strong and complete health, a long life, and the strength of heart, unceasing, to keep building perfections all our lives, aimed straight at the path to Nibbana, to the very end of Dhamma.
Wherever we travel, may we meet only good fortune and safety, and be held dear by both humans and devas; may our wisdom shine bright, understanding fully the Dhamma of the Lord Buddha and the knowledge of Dhammakaya. In whatever work or business we take up, may it flourish and prosper. And when it comes time to leave this world, may we be born in the Dusita heaven, in the realm reserved for great Bodhisattas; and when we return to build perfections again in the human world, may we be born into a family of right view, a warm and loving family, complete with the finest form, wealth, and virtue, and with sacred merit that lets us recall our past lives from birth, studying the knowledge of Dhammakaya correctly and truthfully from childhood until the end of our days. May any wrongdoing we have committed in the past, knowingly or not, be forgiven and never bear fruit again; and may all the good and merit we have sincerely accumulated combine to bear sacred, powerful fruit continuously from this moment until the very end of Dhamma. May every one of these good wishes come true for all of us, from this moment forward, in every life, until the very end of Dhamma, through the boundless power of every Lord Buddha. May it all come to pass.
The sit closes with a traditional Pali blessing verse, invoking the power of all the Buddhas, the Paccekabuddhas, and the Arahants, for the well-being of all present.