Pearls of Inner Wisdom

The most important thing, wherever you are, is not to neglect your meditation practice. Don’t let your purpose in life² slip away. We made the decision to follow this path, out of a wish to learn meditation and to attain the inner body of enlightenment. Thus, we should meditate with diligence and fulfill our chosen purpose. Don’t have any expectations in your mind. It’s enough not to let your practice get worse. But when you see an improvement, know it has been the result of your consistent effort to maintain subtlety of mind all along.

(7 December 1997)

** 2. Having a clear and wholesome Purpose in Life is very important to meditators. Apart from having the Pursuit of Perfection as our aim in life (see above), we aim to be self-sufficient materially by earning an honest living and meditating until we can attain the inner Body of Enlightenment or ‘Dhammakaya’.

There are only two things that really belong to us. One is our mind and the other is the point inside us which is home to the mind. Mind consists of the functions of perception, memory, thought and cognition. The home for our mind is at the center of our body, at a place called the ‘seventh base’, which is the trail-head of the Middle Way inside us. It is this inner path that all the Enlightened Ones have used to reach Nirvana, to attain the source of pure wisdom, and to break free of suffering while gaining knowledge of the reality of life and the world.

(6 February 2000)

From the first time I started to study Dhamma³, I knew I couldn’t afford to waste a further moment of my life. I wanted to advance my perfections each and every day. I wanted my inner experience in meditation to progress. I reinforced my commitment day by day, leaving me with constant delight and joy inside. Follow my example. Consolidate your purpose in life for yourself and you will find your own spiritual life replenished with determination.

(8 May 1996)

** 3. Translated according to context as ‘the teachings of the Buddha’, ‘inner knowledge’, and ‘pure knowledge’.

Dhammakaya⁴ is the lynchpin of Buddhism… the essence of life. Whosoever attains Dhammakaya thereby attains the ultimate meaning of life.

(7 August 1988)

** 4. The scriptural term for the ‘inner Body of Enlightenment’.

To be born human, but not to use one’s human body meditating to attain the Dhamma, is to be born only to die in vain.

(27 February 2000)

When it comes to the subject of ‘merit’, there’s no such thing as ‘biting off more than you can chew’.

Rather you should consider it as ‘rising to the challenge’ because this is how perfections are pursued.

We have to go against the flow, meeting resistance and hardship, to have our resolve tested.

Just as the bodhisatta⁵ had to part with wealth, blood, and often his life, in order to earn perfections in

return.

(5 August 1998)

** 5. The Buddha in his previous lifetimes of accumulating perfections.

This human existence is nothing more than a transit lounge for those endowed with wisdom

to accumulate the additional merits and perfections they need to attain the path to Nirvana.

(28 August 1988)

All the subjects there are to study in the world can do nothing to help you when you find yourself on your deathbed. The things which can help you then are the merits and perfections you have accumulated dedicatedly and without conditions throughout your life. Even if you were to pass on at this very moment, death would have no fear for you because you have the confidence that a new body awaits your spirit, which is lovelier than before and a better place to be reborn.

(7 December 1997)

Even at the age of fifty-two, I feel I have hardly scraped the surface of the pursuit of Perfections. The merits I have accumulated so far seem insignificant, as it’s not enough to lead us to the Utmost Dhamma. So we have little choice but to accumulate further merit.

(8 May 1996)

Put your time to good use because only the present belongs to us. Tomorrow is never for sure. Therefore make sure today is the day you do your best – whether you be a monk, a novice, a layman or laywoman, do your duties to perfection – imagining how you’d prepare yourself in body and mind if you knew today had to be the last day of your life, to ensure yourself a good afterlife destination. In such a way you’ll avoid recklessness in life while inspiring yourself to accomplish the maximum of good.

(14 October 1997)

Dhammakaya… is the core of Buddhism, it being vital we study it to the point we can attain it for ourselves. It was there at the beginning of Buddhism, something which has been revived . . . rather than some modern invention. The knowledge of it was lost over the ages because its study and practice fell into neglect. But its truth remains the truth. Its reality is something we can still verify by our own striving in the here and now.

(7 August 1988)

We have become used to hearing the word ‘Dhammakaya’, but will continue to have no idea what Dhammakaya is really like until we attain it for ourselves. It is thus our mission to go beyond hearsay and prove its existence to our own satisfaction, which corresponds to the nature of the Lord Buddha’s teachings, that is ‘paccattam’ to be known only subjectively by the wise.

(October 1988)

All of you are endowed with great merit to be blessed with the know-how that can allow you to attain the Triple Gem inside. The body of enlightenment is the heart of Buddhism but is to be found inside each one of us. Having taken human birth, if we live out our lives without ever having known or attained the Dhammakaya, we will have wasted our birthright. But having realised our great merit in having the path to Dhammakaya and Nirvana laid out before us, it is up to us to make the time to give ourselves the chance to meditate enough so that attainment can be fully ours.

(1 November 1996)

The knowledge coming from the Dhammakaya is crucial for all to know, because: the more we know, the purer, the brighter, the more joyful we get, the more fun, pleasure, the stronger the morale we get. It is not like mundane knowledge where the more we know, the more doubtful, obscure, and burdened we feel.

(14 October 1989)

Our body is constantly being eaten away by the infl uences of suffering [dukkha], impermanence [anicca] and not-self [anatta]. Thus we cannot afford to waste a single moment, but must apply this deteriorating body to the search for Dhammakaya, the essence of life. Dhammakaya has the opposite qualities to our physical body as it is of the nature of being truly permanent [nicca], the origin of happiness [sukha], and true-self [atta], which is free from the control of Mara, the evil one.

Meditation practice is essential to life. It is what life is all about. It will lead us to reach life’s ultimate goal, namely Nirvana.

(6 August 2000)

Often, when something good is close at hand we don’t make much effort to benefit from it. We procrastinate and waste our time on less useful things instead. This is why we need to observe ourselves to make sure our minds are truly progressing on the path towards Nirvana. Are we really striving for Nirvana in earnest? Once we lose touch with our goal, our efforts will become erratic. The quality of our inner experience will tell us if we are really cultivating our minds at the center of the body.

(26 October 1996)

The path and fruit of Nirvana is already within us. Method, example and guide are readily at hand. It is not for lack of these things that we have not achieved success in meditation, but rather our lack of earnest, perseverance, and commitment to the practice. If we are true to our practice true results must come to us.

(29 January 1988)

The still mind is the only thing which can transform delusion into knowing, the fool into the wise.

(3 August 1993)

If I had my time over again, I would dedicate the healthy years from my youth onwards entirely to meditation, to master and research Dhammakaya meditation, for which there still remains so many things unknown to us.

(3 November 1996)

Even the world’s rich and powerful lack true happiness and penetrative insight into the reality of life and the world. Having practiced thus far, if you are constantly diligent in study and self-training, you have the unique chance to miraculously gain that which even the influential lack.

(21 July 1996)

The bliss of enlightenment – the joy arising when one’s mind comes to a standstill – excels all other kinds of happiness.

(6 August 2000)

True happiness lies at the center of our body, at the seventh base of the Dhammakaya. From here gushes forth all our happiness because this is its source. Anyone who wishes to attain bliss in this life, needs to cultivate stillness of mind every day. Practicing consistently, our concentration will improve little by little, until eventually we’ll touch upon the bliss inside, making all our efforts worthwhile.

(28 August 1988)

The only definitive way to overcome aggression, selfishness and conflict, wrong view and stubbornness, is to uproot the very thoughts of all these things from the mind by meditating until we can attain Dhammakaya within ourselves.

(18 June 2000)

Every time we sit cross-legged with our attention firm and our mind still at the center of the body, although our mind may sometimes suffer sleepiness or wandering, we are already on the brink of 1,000,000% success in attaining enlightenment.

(8 July 1990)

Practice meditation every day. Practice consistently. Don’t let a single day go by without meditation because even one missed day will undermine your attainment.

(18 January 1998)

Consistency is the key to attainment in meditation.

(3 November 1996)

Let go for good of all the things that are the foes to progress in your meditation. However, open up to the things that enhance your meditation and study of the Wisdom of Dhammakaya⁶ increasingly and without end.

(9 July 1998)

** 6. The Wisdom of Dhammakaya [vijja dhammakaya] is the insightful knowledge of the reality of life and the world that can be attained through deep meditation.

Each time we adopt the half-lotus position – sitting upright, mindfulness firm, with our mind at a standstill at the center of our body – it is then that our mind starts on its journey towards purity. Purity accumulates for as long as the mind stops thinking. No amount of wishing can make us pure in body, speech and mind. Purity happens only when the mind comes to a standstill at the seventh base.

(May 1996)

All of us have more than enough merit to attain Dhammakaya and the Wisdom of Dhammakaya here and now, without having to wait for the next lifetime. With this confidence in the abundance of our merit, all that remains for us to do is to practice in earnest. Don’t allow your mind to be distracted. Just meditate according to the proper methodology, and there is no reason why anyone can fail to attain.

(27 February 2000)

For the mind to be able to reach the Utmost Dhamma , it must first be free of worry, with no remaining attachment for things, creatures or people, a mind that is constantly cool and calm, forever clean, pure and radiant, irrespective of whether we’re standing, walking, sitting or lying down. This is the mind bound for the Utmost Dhamma⁷.

(8 May 1996)

** 7. Collective state of enlightenment whereby not just oneself but all beings are freed of the cycle of existence [samsara] and karmic retribution.

Any time we feel replete like we need nothing more from the world than a meditation mat to sit on, a sitting space no larger than a metre square, a sleeping space just twice that size, enough to eat (irrespective of the flavour), and where nothing elates or disappoints us any more, where annoying matters fail to irritate, and no-one could provoke us even if they tried, this is when our mind remains at a standstill and is refreshed the whole time. This is the ideal state of mind – a state destined for the Utmost Dhamma.

(8 May 1996)

There are eight little words that no-one can afford to forget no matter how often you hear them. They are sacred words that will lead you to fulfillment. “Stopping the mind is the secret of success”, are the priceless legacy of the Great Abbot of Wat Paknam8. Cherish these words at the middle of your mind – practice and train yourself to achieve their objective.

(26 September 1996)

Dhamma is profound but easy to attain if you use the proper way to adjust the mind. If you try to make it difficult . . . of course it will be difficult. If you try to keep it simple . . . it will be simple. The proper way is to do nothing, simply keep our mind at a standstill at the center of the Buddha image inside⁹ – lightly, in stillness and equanimity. Our mind will be drawn inward to become one with Him. Simply keep the mind at a standstill, lightly, in stillness and equanimity because stopping is the secret of success.

(21 July 1996)

** 9. In this case a Buddha image is imagined at the center of the body.

Every session of meditation should add to our happiness, encouraging us to meditate further next time round.

(8 May 1996)

In order to attain Dhammakaya, we must place our mind on the right path¹⁰, which is at the centre of the body, using the right method. When the mind is placed with the optimum of effort, the Sphere of the Initial Path¹¹ will appear to let us know we are at the trailhead of the path to attain Dhammakaya. Thus, being aligned, the correct method and optimum effort, predict that before long, we will be attaining Dhammakaya.

(23 October 1991)

** 10. Focusing one’s mind gently at the center of the body, two finger’s width above navel level.

** 11. Pathama Magga: equivalent to the first absorption [jhana].

Meditation practice for the attainment of Dhammakaya must be done when you are at ease and relaxed.

(23 July 1994)

Simply observe whatever arises at the center of the body relaxedly and without any mental commentary. It’s all you need to do – nothing more because this is the recipe for success that will allow you to attain Dhammakaya.

(3 August 1993)

The extent to which we can keep our mind at the center of the body is the measure of how much we truly love the Dhamma and how much we desire to attain it. If we let our mind be distracted, it shows that our commitment to the Dhamma has been compromised, compromising also our potential for results in meditation.

(14 March 1999)

Our meditation practice differs from day to day. Some days we feel like repeating the mantra to ourselves. Others not. Some days we feel more comfortable visualizing a mental object. Others not. We have to listen to our inner feeling, meditating in the way that comes naturally on each particular day. Attaining Dhammakaya can be simple if we realise the nature of the mind, which is to favour ease and patience rather than force or struggling against what comes naturally. We have to go along with the nature of the mind – that’s the simplest principle of practice.

(October 1988)

When practicing meditation, don’t harbour expectations or worries about whether your inner experience is moving forwards, backwards, or the same as before. Speculation is of no use. Simply bring your mind to a standstill and remain joyfully with the moment. Don’t go thinking “with my mind as still as this, I ought to be getting some new experiences”. Accept it if there is no change, and if there is a change then accept that too. Don’t let anything rob your mind of its neutrality. These are groundworks to the study of the Wisdom of Dhammakaya.

(8 May 1996)

Tension during meditation tells you that you are using too much force, that you have deviated from the proper method. If you were on the right track, the meditation would bring only joy and ease. Never forget that for the entirety of the Middle Way within you, beginning, middle and end, ‘ease’ needs to mark every step of the way.

(23 May 1996)

I try to help everyone to attain the inner body of enlightenment. But you need to keep your side of the bargain by gently maintaining your attention at the center of the body the whole time. Even outside the formal meditation sessions, you should still habituate your mind to the center of the body. In this way, during the formal meditation sessions, you will reach concentration quickly and waste no time adjusting your mind, because a properly located mind has already become your habit.

(14 March 1999)

Meditation is our most important inner work – a task that takes no physical effort – which can be done in tandem with other ‘outer’ activities. It should be no harder to do our inner and outer work simultaneously, than remembering to breathe while having a meal!

(8 July 1990)

No matter if you’re weary, ill, or snowed under with work, nothing should stand in the way of meditating as much as you can. Don’t let life events become obstacles or excuses that stand in the way of your meditation practice.

(8 July 1990)

Never despair when the going gets tough nor give in to boredom on the path of pursuing perfection. If you are weary, then rest. Once recovered, continue from where you left off. Nonetheless, don’t let physical tasks rob you of your subtlety of mind. Keep up regular meditation. In this way, Pursuit of Perfection can go hand-in-hand with our meditation progress.

(11 August 1998)

In the material world we have to speed up for our body to reach our destination more quickly. But in the spiritual world within, our destination can only be reached if the mind is brought to a complete stop. To achieve both destinations, the mind has to stop while our body keeps moving. In practice we can achieve this by making sure wherever we go, we are always able to see a bright Dhammakaya within. It must remain clear all the time, whether thinking, speaking, working, talking, writing or whatever the task. This is called ‘putting two and two together’. In fact it is life to the power of two!

(23 May, 1996)

Meditation is so important to us that we need to maintain it all the time and cannot afford to go even a single day without it. In this respect we can consolidate our commitment by taking the Great Abbot of Wat Paknam – his life’s example, goal and ideals – as our inspiration, because throughout his life, against all odds, he never let himself backslide in his practice.

(25 November 1996)

Birds of a feather flock together. If you want to attain Dhammakaya, you have to associate with those who can help you to do this. Such association is the portent that your merit¹² is sufficient, soon to lead you to attain Dhammakaya for yourself.

(2 April 1988)

** 12. The positive spiritual energy in your mind stored up by good deeds such as generosity, self-discipline and meditation that helps to bringfulfillment of our wishes in life.

Treat the center of body with full importance. Neglect it no more than you would neglect to breathe.

(27 February 2000)

Khun Yay Ajahn¹³ was a person whose mind was habitually at a standstill. That’s why she could excel in meditation – to the point that the Great Abbot of Wat Paknam praised her as being ‘second to none’.

(8 November 1996)

** 13. The Master Nun Chand Khonnokyoong (1909-2000), distinguished disciple of Phramongkolthepmuni and founder of Wat Phra Dhammakaya, Pathum Thani Province, Thailand.

Maintain joy in your mind the whole of the time irrespective of the circumstances. Be careful not to let negativity bruise your mind and you can have job satisfaction wherever you work. Even though sometimes you’ll get orders that aren’t fair, don’t forget that none of us, not even our boss, has reached an end of defilements, and no-one has the wisdom to know absolutely everything that’s going on in the workplace. So don’t waste your time getting annoyed about it or allowing it to rob you of your joyous morale.

(7 December 1997)

Purify yourself in body, speech, and mind according to the Buddha’s teachings. Follow His example in all things – whatever He did, whatever He was. Just as He was able to break free from the defilements, so too can we be free. Thus, heed all the practices He taught, because practicing them will lead us to Nirvana.

(27 February 2000)

Chanting in homage to the Triple Gem helps hone our mind towards a state of stillness which brings meditation attainment more easily within our grasp.

(8 October 1995)

Words that hinder others’ stillness and peacefulness of mind should never pass our lips. Much less comments that discourage others from practicing meditation. Let us speak instead of things that encourage others’ peace and stability of mind, forging morale to do good deeds and meditation without end. If we restrict ourselves to such words, love, respect, credibility, trust and joy will come our way. Moreover, our own attainment in meditation will become easier as a result.

(23 July 1996)

For the moment, most of us have no idea how much merits we have. But when we attain the Dhammakaya, we will know it for ourselves. Therefore from this moment on, pursue perfection to the fullest. Don’t give in to irritation, sulking, despair or boredom. Take Khun Yay Ajahn as your model. She pursued perfection without faltering, to the point her health gave way – But she had already achieved victory in her life seeing her body as nothing more than sugar cane, from which all the sweetness had been squeezed her body as a husk to be cast aside for its final elemental breakdown into solid, liquid, air and heat. So take Khun Yay Ajahn as your example. Follow in her footsteps and the success she gained will be yours.

(4 February 2000)

The nature of the arahants is to speak only the truth – which is of true benefit. Anything which is not true or which is of no benefit, they keep to themselves.

(3 November 1996)

Exercise . . . refreshes the body extending its life.

Being too lazy to exercise is as good as destroying your health.

(9 July 1998)

If someone has the compassion to advise us or point out our faults, the least we can do is to thank them for their concern.

(14 October 1989)

No matter what good deeds we do, there will always be obstacles – it’s always an uphill struggle. But consider this, no matter how high the hill it’s always beneath our feet! If you want to know how high your feet can get then keep on walking to the peak and you’ll know that no matter the height we can always go higher. Obstacles are there to be overcome. Even the highest mountains can be crossed on feet a fraction of the size – so believe me when I say nothing can beat earnest dedication to a task.

(23 May 1996)

Try accomplishing even a small good deed with the utmost of dedication, to the point you’d put your life on the line. You’ll keep on benefiting from the fruits of such a deed endlessly even if you are on your deathbed.

(7 December 1997)

Before setting out on a long journey, invite all the Buddhas to protect you and everyone with you, and to allow you to be received hospitably no matter where you may go, as if others were to take you for an auspicious one coming to bring them good fortune, or as a Universal Monarch would welcome the crystal treasure coming to him spontaneously through the air.

(25 November 1996)

The Great Abbot of Wat Paknam often used to say that you can pursue any of the perfections you like but you should never miss out on the perfection of generosity, because generosity makes sure that we will be provided for in the future, especially in lifetimes to come. Making progress towards the Utmost Dhamma is like a long journey we must make. We won’t reach there accidentally or any time soon; we can only get there on the strength of our perfections. And we can’t get there in a single life, rather it is the work of many lifetimes. However if we have stored up sufficient provisions for ourselves through our practice of generosity, we will be able to pursue the other necessary perfections in convenience and will reach our destination in safety.

(30 August 1998)

The inauguration of the Maha Dhammakaya Cetiya¹⁴ is going to be a great merit because it will allow us to get the upper hand in the struggle against Mara. It will allow us to attain the treasure of the Universal Monarch for ourselves, assuring providence on the basis of which we can pursue the remaining perfections to completion, so we can break free of the Mara once and for all.

(13 February 2000)

** 14. The main pagoda at Wat Phra Dhammakaya in Pathum Thani Province, Thailand.

For anyone to avail themselves to the inexhaustible treasures of a Universal Monarch¹⁵, they first need to have the unlimited heart befitting of a Universal Monarch, because his is a heart that harbours no stinginess, no regret about wealth disbursed, no fear of wasted funds, no worry that his wealth will run out, nor uncertainty that there’ll be enough left to get by. His is a far-sighted heart of wisdom that sees ahead to the benefits in lifetimes to come.

(13 February 2000)

** 15. A ruler with so much merit that he can reign over the four cosmic continents merely by his virtue (rather than force) and who is possessed of the seven treasures of the Universal Monarch: the wheel treasure, the horse treasure, the elephant treasure, the minister treasure, the treasurer treasure, the lady treasure and the crystal (ball) treasure.