พระอาจารย์อธิบายเจโตวิมุตติและปัญญาวิมุตติด้วยกรอบที่เข้าใจง่าย สมถะทำให้ใจหลุดพ้นจากอารมณ์ที่ไม่ดี เปรียบได้กับ EQ ส่วนวิปัสสนาทำให้หลุดพ้นจากความไม่รู้จริง เปรียบได้กับ IQ เพราะใจของคนเรามีอยู่เพียงสองเรื่องคืออารมณ์กับความนึกคิด จากนั้นท่านนำเข้าสู่การนั่งสมาธิ กำหนดใจไว้ที่ศูนย์กลางกายฐานที่ 7 เห็นองค์พระธรรมกายแก้ว หลอมรวมใจ แผ่เมตตา และอุทิศส่วนบุญตามลำดับPhra Ajarn frames the twin releases of heart and wisdom, cetovimutti and paññāvimutti, in modern terms: calm (samatha) frees the mind from bad emotion, which he likens to EQ, while insight (vipassanā) frees it from not truly knowing, which he likens to IQ, since the mind holds only two things, feeling and thought. He then leads the sit itself, anchoring the mind at the seventh base at the centre of the body, seeing the Dhamma body of crystal clarity, merging the mind, spreading loving-kindness, and dedicating the merit.
Let the eyelids close gently, comfortably, and let () be set. Sati is recollective awareness; the moment it arises, a wholesome mind arises together with it, since sati itself is a wholesome . Once sati has settled and brought us back to our body, we place our attention as the Buddha taught: on , feeling, mind, and mental objects — the four foundations of mindfulness.
To “anchor” (กำหนด) means to specify, to point to, to mark a place — wherever we specify, the mind will be placed there. Phra Ajarn asks us to check: right now, where is the mind actually resting? The first requirement is a clear base for the mind. We may specify the breath at the tip of the nose, the centre of the body at , simple bodily awareness, the sound of a chanted word, or a we hold in mind — an image of the Buddha, a crystal ball, or our teacher's teacher. Whatever it is, it must be clear and deliberate, not a vague drifting.
Whatever we specify will appear in the mind. If we specify our teacher's teacher, he will appear bright at our centre and we will appear bright at his centre. If we specify the Buddha image, the Triple Gem appears in the mind. If we specify the breath, we simply know the in-breath and out-breath, short or long. Wherever the mind is placed, flows in continuously right there, because sati — being a wholesome mental factor — falls under the care of the Triple Gem. The moment sati is established, the Triple Gem appears clear and bright at our centre, and we appear bright at theirs; both we and they appear bright within Nibbāna, the centre of the Knowing One of measureless power. A stream of merit from the depths of Nibbāna pours continuously into the bright centre of our mind.
This pure energy of merit drives system, refining the elements and qualities within us — making them clear, clean, and pure — clearing away the defilements that cause problems and obstacles. As defilement lightens, problems and obstacles lighten with it.
Freed Layer by Layer: From Coarse to Subtle Dimensions
As the wholesome system clears the defilement proper to each dimension, whatever had bound us to the coarser dimension falls away, and we are freed from the coarse dimension into a subtler one, layer by layer. Every dimension still carries defilement as long as we have not attained arahantship — only the amount differs. The subtler the dimension, the lighter the defilement; the coarser, the denser. We must go deeper into the centre of the centre to be freed, layer after layer — this is the most essential task of a life lived within saṃsāra: to be freed from the coarse dimension toward ever subtler ones.
The more we are freed, the greater our share of wholesomeness, the greater our brightness and , the greater our happiness, freedom, and ease — and the success we reach for comes more easily too. This is the essence of life: freedom from the coarse dimension toward the subtle, again and again. Such freedom requires both , release of heart, and , release through wisdom — knowing and understanding the truth of life, freed from all not-truly-knowing, and freed from the defilement that is (), so that life is clear of the defilements that feed (avijjā). The more we are overtaken by the hindrances, the stronger ignorance grows. We therefore need to cultivate ceto — that is, to cultivate () — to be freed layer by layer.
Calm Is EQ, Insight Is IQ
Phra Ajarn explains: samatha frees us from emotion, from every kind of bad feeling. Put in terms people today understand easily, samatha is a matter of EQ. Vipassanā, , frees us from all not-truly-knowing, and raises our IQ. The mind holds only two things — EQ and IQ, that is, feeling and thought.
The body, meanwhile, matters through behaviour — the behaviour of speech and action. We should observe our own behaviour: how fitting and good it actually is, and how much it is still overtaken by . Know it as it truly is; do not fall into the mistake of thinking we are already fine and need no improvement. Keep anchoring the mind, staying aware, never drifting off.
Sati and Sampajañña: Coarse Knowing and Fine Knowing
The knowing itself is sati. Once sati is set, we go into the detail — sati turns into (), which knows every detail. The mind grows finer, penetrating into each atom of the state. Merit flows into the bright centre of each moment of sampajañña, spreading throughout the body; the mind grows still and calm.
This is the difference between sati and sampajañña: sati simply registers the essential point; after that, the mind sinks into the inner dimension of that point, sati turns into sampajañña, and spreads into every atom of that inner dimension. Merit flows into the bright centre of sampajañña, clearing the defilement scattered through every atom of the dimension, lighter and lighter.
All exists only in the mind — nowhere else — because the mind is the seat of all dhamma. Stay aware always, never drift; know what we are knowing. Wherever we anchor, we know right there, with a relaxed mind, open, spacious, light and at ease. Stay with that ease, gently, continuously.
The Tool for Learning the Inner World: Body, Feeling, Mind, Mental Objects
Phra Ajarn says our task is to learn and understand both the outer and the inner world. We already know the outer world well enough; what remains is the inner world we still need to learn and understand. The tools are samatha and vipassanā. Samatha aims at calming emotion; vipassanā helps calm wrong and unwholesome thought.
We are locked in, without realising it, by the thought and feeling of another nature that controls beings and people. The Buddha taught that nature has three kinds: the wholesome (), the unwholesome (), and (). These three natures overlay their own body-feeling-mind-dhamma onto the human body-feeling-mind-dhamma, and direct it through inner voice and inner feeling. Through the body they command behaviour in speech and action — for which the wholesome side relies on moral precepts () as its support. Through the mind they use mind and mental objects ( and dhamma) to direct through inner voice and inner feeling. In the end there are only two things: body and mind — and within mind, only thought and feeling.
Phra Ajarn warns: not knowing or understanding what lies behind this direction, we tend to think it is our own thought, and unknowingly draw in demerit — destroying our own benefit, our own goodness, our own opportunities, our own credibility, and finally our own future. This is why we must anchor the mind and learn to understand clearly, as the Buddha taught: “Monks, you should clearly discern the body, feeling, mind, and mental objects, in order to remove (abhijjhā) and grief (domanassa) toward the world.” Once we practise until we truly understand body, feeling, mind, and mental objects, what was difficult becomes easy, and we become able to verify for ourselves the truth of what controls us and all beings.
Discerning the detail relies on vitakka and vicāra — vitakka is raising the mind to a point, vicāra is examining it closely — so that sampajañña can go on to know the emotion, or to know and understand the truth of life. Both are needed: clearing the defilement of the hindrances, and understanding the truth of life. Know it all at ease, resting in bodily and mental comfort, because this ease is the essential foundation of life.
Entering the Sit: Seeing the Dhamma Body of Crystal Clarity
Once we are genuinely at ease, let that ease incline the mind toward the highest and most exalted refuge, the Triple Gem, by uttering its name: “Sammā-arahaṃ” — the name of the One who has practised well, practised rightly, practised the way that leads far from every defilement. He is replete with the of wisdom, the virtue of purity, and . The mind is the seat of all dhamma, another dimension we must enter, learn, understand, and brighten — never leave it dark. Because the hindrances still disturb us, anchoring is hard; the hindrances must be cleared first. They are like troublemakers loitering at the door, keeping us from entering the subtler dimension. So we anchor the mind until sati is set, drawing in pure energy to clear away the defilement of ignorance, lighter and lighter, until it is gone.
Sammā-arahaṃ, Sammā-arahaṃ, Sammā-arahaṃ. As we utter this name, his form appears in our mind — of crystal clarity, radiant, clear, cool, clean, and pure, residing at the centre of our mind. With every repetition, his form grows clearer. He is replete with measureless compassion; he takes the elements of seeing, remembering, thinking, and knowing, and the elements of earth, water, wind, fire, space, and consciousness within us, and refines them clear, clean, and pure, clearing away every defilement to the last trace. He wishes for us and him to become one — for only then can the refining reach its fullest effectiveness.
Merging Body, Merging Mind, Heading Straight for the Path to Nibbāna
Let us take on the feeling that we are the Buddha image, and the Buddha image is us — this whole body of ours is the body of crystal clarity, radiant, clear, cool, clean, and pure, from the crown of the head, the face, the shoulders, the arms, the torso, down to the soles of the feet — all of it the Dhamma body of crystal clarity.
Having merged our body with his body into one, let us merge our mind with his mind into one as well. Merge the mind, stop; merge the mind, still — into the centre of the Buddha image, soft, light, at ease, clear, cool, clean, pure, radiant. Stop within stop, still within still, going into the centre of the centre; know the centre, stop at the centre, stay still, going on and on — not left, not right, not forward, not back, not up, not down — always deeper into the centre of the centre.
The mind will open out, empty, light and at ease, expanding and blossoming. The deeper we go, layer by layer, the more open, empty, and at ease it becomes. Then send the heart and mind straight toward the path to Nibbāna, in the centre of the centre, on and on — and it will appear radiant at the centre of every Buddha, every Paccekabuddha, and every Arahant, all of whom have been freed from saṃsāra. Even though they have passed into final Nibbāna, they still benefit beings and people, holding all beings within their own centre.
Phra Ajarn adds: any being who stands in universal goodness — even one who does not follow Buddhism, or has no religion at all — can likewise appear bright at the centre of the Triple Gem and Nibbāna, because in that moment they too dwell within the wholesome system. The stream of merit pours continuously into them as well.
Spreading Loving-Kindness and Dedicating the Merit
While he is doing this good work for us, let us in turn benefit beings and people by cultivating (), a tool of the wholesome nature meant for those with abundant merit to support those with little. Simply by holding a sincere and pure wish of love and goodwill — like a mother's love for her small child — mettā appears bright at our centre, with the special quality of dissolving the ill will present in the surrounding atmosphere.
Let this mind full of mettā expand to cover our home, then our village, sub-district, district, province, country, and all countries, until it covers the whole world — making this world a world of crystal, radiant, clear, cool, clean, and pure. May the people of the world and all beings be free from suffering and find happiness — the earth-bound devas, the sky-bound devas, the heavenly beings of every realm, the Brahmas and form-Brahmas, and also the hell-beings, the asuras, and the animals. May those with much suffering have less; those with little suffering be free of it; those with little happiness have more; and those already with much happiness have ever more. Then let this loving mind expand further, out across the cosmos, covering countless stars, and on to the ten-thousand world-systems, the hundred-thousand-koṭi universes, the boundless universe — and the mind opens ever wider, empty, light, at ease.
Having spread mettā, dedicate this merit to all people and beings: may they share in the merit we have sincerely made, and be free from suffering, finding happiness. May our relatives — parents, siblings, grandparents, teachers, and all who have shown us kindness — as well as the devas who protect and help us, our guardians, and any beings we may have wronged as karmic counterparties, forgive one another and share fully in this merit.
Merging With the Triple Gem and the Great Masters: Closing Aspiration
Having dedicated the merit, let us merge with the Triple Gem and the great masters into one. Merge the mind, stop; merge the mind, still, into the centre of the Buddha Jewel, the Dhamma Jewel, and the Sangha Jewel. Then merge the mind, stop; merge the mind, still, into the centre of the radiant Dhamma body of our teachers' teachers. As the mind commands, so it becomes. When we anchor this merging into one, we appear clear and bright at the centre of the Triple Gem, and the Triple Gem appears radiant at our own centre, all along our stream of elements and qualities. Both we and they appear bright at the centre of Nibbāna; the stream of merit pours into every body, into the sphere of virtue, of concentration, of wisdom, of release, and of the and vision of release within each body, brightening them all automatically.
Phra Ajarn closes with this aspiration: may our path of building perfections be full of knowledge together with happiness and purity; may all the merit and perfections accumulated from the past to the present converge into sacred merit that refines our body, speech, mind, and the elements of our being — clear, cool, clean, and pure — freeing us from the results of past wrongdoing and every obstacle. May we gain the Dhamma eye, reach and penetrate the knowledge of the Dhamma body; may we have strong health and long life, and the resolve to keep building perfections straight along the path to Nibbāna. And when the time comes to close our eyes on this world, may we be born in the Dusita heaven, in the realm of special merit for future Buddhas; and when we return to build perfections in the human world, may we be born into a family of right view, a Dhamma-body family, blessed with good companions and a wholesome environment. May all these good aspirations be fulfilled for every one of us, from now until we reach the final end of the Dhamma.