Section 1: The Foundations of Merit (ทาน ศีล ภาวนา)
I am very joyful to see your faith, lay devotees. Seeing all of you come here to cultivate goodness fills me with deep joy. Everyone here already has merit. You all have "spiritual capital" within you already, but what we often lack is simply the action of doing it.
Generosity (Dana), Virtue (Sila), and Meditation (Bhavana)... Ask yourself: How much generosity have I practiced? Ask yourself: How pure is my virtue? Ask yourself: How much have I trained my mind in meditation? Contemplate yourself. Are we ready? Is our spiritual provision packed and ready? Are we truly ready to do good? The Buddha taught us never to be negligent. We must actively cultivate goodness. You already have these foundations, but you must become even more diligent. You have practiced generosity, you have kept your precepts, and you have meditated—now, you must elevate them further. This is what is needed.
Section 2: Spiritual Capital & Spiritual Commerce
As Buddhists, we have the Buddha as our Teacher, our Guide. We are like his children, his grandchildren, the heirs to his Dhamma heritage. The very fact that you all came here with a pure intention is already a great merit. Now that you have this merit, use it wisely to bring about real benefit.
This physical body of ours is our starting capital. We are here to do business, to engage in spiritual commerce! And what are we trading? We are trading in generosity, virtue, and meditation. Do not let yourselves run a deficit! Do not let your investment go to waste. Set your intentions well. Since you already have the capital, make sure you don't lose it. Make sure you turn a spiritual profit!
Section 3: Karmic Retribution & Rebirth as a Lizard (กับปอม)
I am a monk who carries a lot of past karma. I did a lot of unwholesome things in the past. When I meditated deeply years ago, I saw my own past karma. I saw that I was once born in the animal realm... as a lizard. Do you know what a lizard is? An iguana, a chameleon (kapom in Isan dialect). I spent an entire lifetime as a tree lizard.
How did I come to see this? It was because of where I stayed at our monastery. At our monastery, nobody else could stay there because it was so dry and barren; there was absolutely no water. When I first went to stay and practice there, there was barely any water to drink. So, I made a solemn mental vow (Adhitthana): “If the devas want me to stay here and practice, let my mind become completely luminous right here.” Suddenly, my mind became brilliantly bright. Soon after, we drilled into the ground and found water! From a dry, barren wasteland, it has now become fertile and abundant—a perfect, supportive environment (sappaya) for practice. I didn't just meditate there for a short time; it took many years of practice before the Dhamma truly arose in my heart.
It takes tremendous patience and effort. To truly become a monk inwardly, you must have immense endurance. You must cultivate the perfection of patience (Khanti-parami), the perfection of effort (Viriya-parami), and the perfection of truthfulness (Sacca-parami). Without these three perfections, true monkhood cannot arise in the heart. I thank all of you for coming to cultivate goodness today.
Yes, I was a lizard right there on that monastery land. I was born as a lizard and lived there for a very long time, paving the way to eventually be reborn and become a monk today. Through my meditation, I clearly saw myself living as that lizard, and how I transitioned from being a lizard to being born as a human.
Section 4: Remembrances of Past Human Lives
In one of my human lives, I was born in a central province of Thailand. I eventually ordained as a monk. When I ordained, I was 47 years old. I remained in the monkhood for 7 years (vassa) before I passed away. That was that first life.
In the second life, I was born as a human again. But in that life, I became a government official—a mounted police officer in the old days. I was a mounted police lieutenant. At the age of 51, I ordained as a monk again, and passed away at the age of 74. However, in that life, I only gathered spiritual habits (nisai); I did not attain the Noble Paths, Fruits, or Nibbana. And now, I have returned in this third life. In this present life, I have been ordained for 39 years now. To reach this point is no small feat—it requires absolute endurance.
At our monastery, we used to struggle and wrestle with our minds constantly. We had to train how to sit, how to sleep, how to eat. We trained to eat little, sleep little, and practice a lot. To be able to see into one's own mind is extraordinary; it took me 16 years of rigorous practice to truly understand good and evil. This is not some superficial ceremony. You must be deeply committed, everyone. To be born as a human is a supreme blessing. Do not be negligent with your life. If we are born and do not cultivate goodness, even living to a hundred years old is completely meaningless. This is why the Buddha warned us never to be negligent. Hasten to do good. Practice generosity, guard your virtue, and develop loving-kindness and meditation. That is your spiritual food supply for your future lives.
Section 5: The Jetavana Vision & Phra Kaccayana
Whoever can let go—letting go of greed, anger, and delusion in their heart—will reach Nibbana directly. So, practice with total dedication.
Once, I traveled to India and sat in meditation at the Jetavana Monastery. After sitting for about 15 minutes, my mind gathered into deep concentration (Samadhi). I saw a noble monk appear in my vision. He pointed directly at my face and said, "You have behaved disrespectfully toward us." I turned my mind inward and asked him, "Who are you, Venerable Sir?" He replied, "We are Phra Kaccayana." Let me tell you, Phra Kaccayana is not the fat, round-bellied figure you often see in statues; he was an exceptionally handsome and beautiful monk.
The reason why I struggle to give eloquent, public Dhamma lectures is actually due to my own past karma—the karma of having offended Phra Kaccayana in a past life. That karma blocked my ability to preach and lecture formally. It gave me the disposition of a Silent Buddha (Paccekabuddha). If anyone wants to discuss the Dhamma with me, it has to be one-on-one; only then can I speak freely. If I try to speak to a massive crowd, the words just stop. Do not treat karma lightly, everyone. Karma is exceptionally powerful. Whatever you do, you must inherit the results of that action. Whether you do good or bad, focus only on creating good karma. If you do good, the good results will inevitably blossom within your own heart.
Section 6: Diligence Over Defeat (ยาแก้แพ้ vs ยาขยัน)
I won't speak too much today, because the senior masters (Luang Pu) have already spoken extensively. What I teach is the exact same Dhamma that they teach—it is identical. But what we lack is the actual application. When we are told to sit and meditate for just ten or twenty minutes, we act as if we are about to die! See that? It is because our patience is so thin. Keep your mind determined, do not slacken in doing good.
I want you to take "anti-defeat medicine" (or "diligence medicine")! Take the medicine of diligence; do not take the medicine of defeat (allergy/giving up). Do you know about "defeat medicine" (Yaa Kae Pae)? If you take it, you will always be a loser (pae). But if you take "diligence medicine" (Yaa Khayan), you will be diligent all the time! So, take the medicine of diligence, and stay away from the medicine of defeat. If you possess diligence, one day you will surely attain the goal. Take plenty of this diligence medicine! Now, prepare to receive the blessing...
Disclaimer
Please Note: This transcript and translation have been prepared by volunteers as a service to the community, aiming to make the Dhamma teachings accessible to English speakers.
While every effort has been made to accurately capture the essence, warmth, and profound meaning of the original discourse, translations across languages and cultural contexts are inherently imperfect. This text should be used as a guide for contemplation rather than a definitive, literal transcript. Any errors, omissions, or misinterpretations are entirely the responsibility of the translators and do not reflect upon the purity of the Dhamma or the teacher.