บุญคือสภาพใจที่สะอาดบริสุทธิ์ มีพลังดึงดูดสิ่งดีและผลักสิ่งไม่ดีออกไปโดยธรรมชาติ เพราะภายในดวงบุญมี **จักรพรรดิ** ทำหน้าที่บริหารจัดการทรัพยากรของเราตามกฎแห่งกรรม ดึงดูดคนดี โอกาสดี และผลักไสความคิด คำพูด การกระทำ และสิ่งแวดล้อมที่ไม่ดีออกไป แต่กุศล อกุศล และอัพยากตะ ก็แย่งชิงกันแทรกแซงอยู่ตลอดเวลา หากอกุศลเข้าสิงและก้าวก่ายจักรพรรดิ ผลดีที่ควรได้เต็มร้อยก็ลดลง นี่คือต้นเหตุที่ทำให้ชีวิตคนเรามีปัญหาMerit is a clean, pure state of mind that naturally attracts what is good and pushes away what is not. Within the sphere of merit sits **the Emperor**, who manages our resources according to the law of kamma, drawing in good people and good opportunities while pushing out bad thoughts, words, actions, and surroundings. But the wholesome, the unwholesome, and the indeterminate are constantly competing to intervene, and when the unwholesome takes hold and interferes with the Emperor, the good results we should receive in full are reduced. This is the root of why life runs into problems.
The question: why is the power of able to push away what is not good? And, conversely, why can the power of demerit push merit away?
Phra Ajarn answered that merit is extremely important. It is by of merit that we are alive at all, that we have intelligence, beauty, and material wealth. Everything comes from merit.
Merit is a clean, pure state of mind. It has the power to attract good things and push away bad ones — bad thoughts, bad words, bad actions, bad associates and followers, bad people, animals, and possessions, bad events, and bad surroundings. Merit clears all of these away and, in their place, draws in what is good. This is the power of merit. The power of demerit works the opposite way — each has its own power, only aimed at opposite goals.
Wholesome, Unwholesome, and Indeterminate Within the Same Sphere
Our lives run on energy, and this energy has a wholesome side, an unwholesome side, and an indeterminate side. These spheres of energy share the same centre, inside . Sharing the same space, whichever sphere is larger envelops the other, so the enveloped one cannot express its own qualities. The larger sphere releases a current outward to do its work — like the battery in a phone releasing current — drawing components in and yielding results, both internal and external.
The internal components are body, feeling, mind, and mental objects (), which layer upon one another: body teaches body, feeling teaches feeling, mind teaches mind, dhamma teaches dhamma, and the result then appears as visible behaviour. When is dominant, it brings happiness and prosperity, physical comfort and of mind, and draws in good people to help with our affairs.
The Emperor: Manager of the Resources Within the Sphere of Merit
The people, animals, and possessions that come to us are all held in common — whoever holds them does so only according to the strength of their own merit. Once that merit runs out, the right to hold them runs out too — good employees, for instance, must part ways with us once the merit that brought them no longer supports it.
When a good, wholesome state of mind arises, it gives rise to good thoughts. This is the work of the Emperor, who resides within the sphere of merit and manages our resources according to . The Emperor keeps whispering to us, telling us to do this or that — to run a business this way or that way — then releases a current that draws the needed components to us. Our part is to use our physical body to carry out what he directs.
On the emotional side, the s (เจตสิก) appear as wholesome states — good moods, a clear and easy mind, good thoughts arising from the mind — and appear as images, as a kind of vision, showing how things will grow if we act this way, how the work will expand this year and the next. These images arise within the mind, while the feelings themselves are the mental factors that draw us into that mood. All of this is the result of the Emperor's management of our resources.
When the Law of the Three Natures Interferes: The Root of Life's Problems
At the same time, the law of the three natures — the three sides, wholesome, unwholesome, and indeterminate — are constantly competing to intervene. If the wholesome side wins out, it moves in the same direction as the Emperor. But if side wins, it interferes with the Emperor's work.
This is exactly what causes human problems. Instead of getting good results, problems arise instead, because the unwholesome takes hold and interferes with the Emperor who oversees our resources.
The Emperor teaches us to be wise. The pure, beautiful power of merit purifies our stains, and the fine treasures at the centre of the sphere of merit are drawn on to attract material wealth. All of this follows a personal blueprint — however much one has built into that blueprint, that is as much as can be attracted, no more. It works like a magnet drawing in iron filings; worldly wealth is something people take turns enjoying, and whoever has more merit draws in more.
How Merit Protects Us
Merit also pushes away what is bad — bad people, animals, and possessions; bad thoughts and bad words that the unwholesome tries to force out of us. When the unwholesome takes hold, it tries to make us speak those words, but the side of merit holds it back, keeping us from thinking, saying, or doing them. As for bad associates, followers, people, animals, and things trying to draw near, the Emperor keeps them at bay, applying the technique to set things right — making us refuse and not accept, as though the refusal were simply our own idea. Merit also leads us out of bad surroundings — places with hidden dangers — getting us out in time. All of this is the result of the Emperor's work. The law of kamma stands within the sphere of merit, and the Emperor within that sphere shields and guides us constantly.
At the same time, the law of the three natures operates alongside it. The law of kamma proceeds with the Emperor as its guide and administrator, while the three natures compete to become master of the house and guide us in their own direction. When the wholesome is master of the house, it guides us in the same direction as the Emperor, helping us think and act on both old and new causes together. But when the unwholesome becomes master of the house and takes hold, it guides us to interfere with the Emperor, causing all sorts of problems — instead of getting the full hundred percent of the result, interference here and there leaves us with only eighty or ninety percent.
The Emperor within the sphere of merit uses the element of merit to release a current that does this work, and every operation requires energy — the energy of merit that is used is, in turn, spent.
A Student's Follow-up: Two Things Working at Once
When a student asked a follow-up question, Phra Ajarn explained that the matter is somewhat complex, because at every present moment two things are working simultaneously: one is the part belonging to the Emperor, the other is the part belonging to the three natures. The Emperor's part sits within the centre of the sphere of merit, while the three natures operate within the sphere of the heart and mind. Both, however, work through the human body.