September 4, 2546 B.E.
Two Levels of Wealth
Today is the 53rd day of this Rains-Retreat, and thirty-seven days from now it will be the Rains-Exit Day.Time is going by very quickly. It seems as though each day is passing by in just a few blinks of an eye. This must seem especially so for those who are spending their meditation retreat in Panawat*. Its high elevation and cool temperature make it especially conducive to meditation practice.Kru Mai Yai rejoices in the merit of everyone who is up there to practice meditation and is making good progress. It goes to show how they possess a vast amount of merit. In just a few days, they have gone from darkness and heaviness to lightness and expansiveness.
Some have seen a clear sphere. Some have seen their Refined Human Body. Some have seen the Buddha Image.The merit they had accumulated in their previous existences is enabling them to accumulate new merit here and now. They are blessed with few problems and low stress in their lives. Moreover, they have found Buddhism, Vijja Dhammakaya, and they are giving themselves the opportunity to search for the happiness which is derived from inner peace. Moreover, they are making good progress in their meditation practice.There are two levels of wealth, namely, Lokiya (secular) wealth and Ariya wealth. Lokiya wealth means external wealth which includes success, prosperity, material wealth, title and position, and recognition. This is one level of success in life. Ariya wealth means internal wealth which is gained by seeing the Dhammakaya in the center of one’s body or at the very least, by seeing a crystal clear Dhamma Sphere. Whoever possesses both Lokiya wealth and Ariya wealth can be said to be 200 percent successful.
Here, we are not talking about Ariyahood but about people who are still laden with defilements and coarse wisdom. That pretty much includes almost everyone on earth. Still, if they can obtain both Lokiya wealth and Ariya wealth, they can be considered to be 200 percent successful. Those of you in Panawat right now are close to being but not quite 200 percent successful. But once one can arrive at this point in one’s meditation practice, one will begin to feel confident that the Lord Buddha’s Teachings can be personally proven if one takes the opportunity to prove it through meditation practice and the achievement of elevated meditative attainments. Now, one needs to make sure to stay with the experience and to grow it so that it becomes more and more refined. And in time, one will be able to learn Vijja Dhammakaya as taught by the Lord Buddha. The Lord Buddha attained the first branch of Higher Knowledge, Pubbenivasanusatinana, through the Dhammakaya.
He attained the second branch and the third branch of Higher Knowledge, Cutupapatanana and Asavakkhayanana also through the Dhammakaya. His Dhammakaya enabled Him to eventually extinguish all defilements.Some persons say that Vijja Dhammakaya is not Buddhism. But that is just their personal opinion. They have not yet made the time and effort
to practice meditation or if they have, they are not practicing it correctly.And so they prematurely come to the conclusion that there is no such thing as Vijja Dhammakaya. But the fact is so far there have been a large number of successful practitioners who can bear witness to the Lord Buddha’s attainment of Self-Enlightenment, hence the reality of Vijja Dhammakaya.
*Panawat is a place where regular meditation retreats are organized and is located in the district of Hod in the province of Chiangmai.