Kammatthana For Siddhi Powers

● Table of Contents ●

Training in the Dharma Wheel (Phra Thammachak) 9

Training in the Dharma Wheel According to the Method of Ajarn Pathomph Rianmek 20 Training in the Dharma Wheel 23 The Purpose of Teaching the Dharma Wheel 27 How to Train in the Dharma Wheel 28

Training the Power of Dharma Rays 37 One Must Breathe Fully into the Belly 42 Bowing to the Buddha Image to Stimulate Power 48 Being a Teacher — 'Yo Re' Is Necessary 52 Radiating the Power-Rays Outward 55 Testing Siddhi Powers in Chicago 57

How to Train Mind Power to Slow Aging 59

Training Mind Power and Internal Power According to the Secret Tibetan Tradition 75 Training in Lung-gom, or the Basic Technique of Lightening the Body 79 Advanced Training in Lung-gom 81

Training in Lung-gom with the Grand Master 82 Using Mind Power to Make the Body Generate Warmth 84 Training in Tummo with Naropa 88 Testing One's Ability 91

How to Train in Hypnosis 93 How to Hypnotize Others 101 Steps in Training for Hypnosis 104 The Sequence for Hypnotizing Others 108 Controlling and Hypnotizing Oneself 112 Waking the Buddha Image, Waking Oneself 116 Questions Worth Knowing About Hypnosis 119 Words of Caution 126

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[image: a dashed oval frame with a lotus flower decoration inside it]

Training in the Dharma Wheel (Phra Thammachak)

This is another method of kammatthana practice for creating siddhi powers, producing divine power that arises in the mind, giving rise to special personal virtues that may bring benefit in the Dhamma to oneself and others. It can resolve stuck problems in the Dhamma, and solve obstacles and problems in life — earning a living in society, in one's work, and in an existence full of many obstacles and problems. It is therefore considered a kammatthana of great benefit to those who train and practice it.

There is no evidence confirming who the teacher was who first discovered and propagated the technique of training in the Dharma Wheel. It is known only that over the past 30–40 years, the teacher who brought the Dharma Wheel technique into use to help troubled people — whose way of life was full of many kinds of obstacles and problems — also taught it to interested students, training them to become lay teachers and Dhamma practitioners devoted to cultivating perfections (bāramī) in aspiration toward Buddhahood.

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His bringing of the Dharma Wheel technique to help all people was therefore mainly done as a form of assistance (sangkhroh).

There was no collecting of large sums of money as offering fees, whether openly, or collected under a fixed rule stipulating a set amount, or secretly hidden as a deceptive scheme — unlike some teachers who declare themselves holy men, heads of certain 'merit centers' that operate today hoping to grow rich on the suffering of others.

His teaching and guidance in training the Dharma Wheel technique was likewise done to propagate the Dhamma — to give other interested people a path of Dhamma practice so they could learn and practice it themselves to attain higher Dhamma on their own, and be able to help themselves and others in the future. This was the important purpose of his life.

The teacher referred to here is Ajarn Pathomph Rianmek, owner of the Phutthaupatham Printing House, and owner and editor of the magazines Khon Phon Lok ("People Beyond the World") and Lok Tham ("World of Dhamma"), which presented stories on the science of spirit and consciousness, the history of kammatthana and Dhamma practice principles, as well as history, legends of sacred objects, sacred sites, and eminent persons of importance with achievements in religious practice and mind training by Buddhist methods.

He was furthermore a pioneer of religious undertakings, inviting accomplished teacher-monks to give Dhamma talks and practical instruction to those interested in Dhamma training at a temple in the heart of the city, with regular monthly activities at the Dhamma hall of Wat Bowonniwet Vihara. He was also the head of the Maha Chak tour group, pioneering merit-tours that led groups of the faithful to travel and make merit.

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He also trained himself in Dhamma practice with accomplished teacher-monks of good conduct at temples throughout every region of the country, whether at the foot of a mountain or beyond it, in remote areas or in developed ones.

As the owner of the publishing house, owner and editor of the magazines Khon Phon Lok and Lok Tham, and head of the Maha Chak tour group — a merit-tour for offering robes (pha pa) — he organized activities of listening to sermons and Dhamma talks and practicing Dhamma. Most importantly, he possessed deep knowledge of the Dhamma both in theory and in practice, having mastered the Dharma Wheel technique and using that knowledge to assist and help people, teaching and guiding its practice in order to propagate the Dharma Wheel. He therefore had many students and followers, and was admired and respected for his merit and good intentions by monks, revered elder monks (luang pu and luang pho), and people throughout the country who aspired to merit.

The writer, as if blessed yet obstructed by karma, had the opportunity to serve and take part in activities with Ajarn Pathomph during the final period of his life, for the sake of merit and to help build up his accumulated perfections, for only about 3–4 years. But even though it was a short period, not very long, there was still the opportunity to take part in a good deal of meritorious work and Dhamma-propagation activities in Buddhism. Moreover, I clearly witnessed, in concrete form, the benefit of the Dharma Wheel technique that he gave to everyone who came to rely on him.

Most importantly, I had the chance to absorb and come to understand the method of practicing the Dharma Wheel technique for which he was renowned, and there are also documents he recorded explaining the guidelines for its training and practice.

[image: a black-and-white photograph of a monk seated at the center of the frame beside a pillar, with a man seated to the left with hands pressed together or making an offering, a child seated behind, and another man seated to the right]

Ajarn Pathomph Rianmek The teacher who mastered the Dharma Wheel technique, Wat Phra Phutthabat, Lamphun Province

[illegible — scattered ink smudges/dark marks at the bottom of the page, not forming legible characters]

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After Ajarn Pathomph passed away, quite a long time went by. It is known that some people who had once trained with him took his Dharma Wheel technique and taught it to those interested in practicing mind training and kammatthana, but their guidance would be incomplete, or else they altered the method, adapting it anew according to their own understanding and giving it a new name as though it were a technique they had discovered themselves — calling it, variously, the "Rotating Wheel Technique" or "Rotating Samadhi."

Such conduct may stem from having forgotten the kindness of the teacher who passed away many years ago, or from some other intention that cannot be known; but it caused these newly adapted techniques of self-styled teachers to be not very well known or trusted by people.

Most of those who entered training did not receive as much benefit as they should have. Mostly they only got to sit in on a lecture or talk letting them know that such a practice exists in the world — nothing more than that.

Even so, thanks to the virtue of the long-renowned Dharma Wheel technique, which has benefited no small number of people, there are quite a few who still remember or have heard of its properties and who seek the correct method of practice — the training guidelines that Ajarn Pathomph taught and recorded. Many of them happened to mention what they wanted after searching for many years, and the writer would simply photocopy the documents for them to study and train on their own, which brought fulfillment and joy to quite a few people as well.

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As it happens, everyone who received the material from the writer, upon taking the guidance for training in the Dharma Wheel technique — which is the original text the teacher recorded during his lifetime — would often come back to ask, to be sure before practicing, about doubts falling mainly into two questions:

Question 1 asks: "If one trains by oneself, will it work, since in Ajarn Pathomph's writings it is stated that one must train only with a knowledgeable teacher who has already attained the Dharma Wheel?"

On this doubt, I would say yes, it can work. Even though Ajarn Pathomph, who brought and propagated the technique, was known to be the sole teacher instructing and guiding effective, beneficial training in the Dharma Wheel technique, and stated this quite clearly, there is nevertheless an exception made for one who has faith, wisdom, firm determination, and unflagging effort.

I would say that if one possesses the qualities conducive to training in this technique, and already has such qualities of mind, training by oneself will certainly succeed — though the results may be seen somewhat more slowly, perhaps more slowly than training under a teacher who guides, instructs, and helps push one's state of mind along during practice. It requires faith, wisdom, serious determination, and perseverance.

Question 2, following on from the first, asks: "Since one must rely on a teacher to train one, as though one must have someone bestow the technique by giving verbal or written permission — would it not be a transgression against the teacher...

Kammatthana That Creates Siddhi Mind Power Beyond the Human, p. 15

...the teacher (i.e., would it not be a transgression)?"

On this point, I would say that training in the Dharma Wheel is one method of kammatthana practice within Buddhism. Even though it is not explicitly listed among the 40 kammatthana — the basic categories of meditation subjects that the Buddha laid down — it may still be included within the threefold higher-knowledge practices (vijjā-tayo), the techniques for creating siddhi, such as the ten kasina and manomayiddhi (mind-made body), among others.

Since training in the Dharma Wheel is one branch of kammatthana within Buddhism, it is a path of practice carried out through the merit/perfections of the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha, as spoken by the Buddha himself, or as the commentarial teachers (aṭṭhakathācariya) have all clearly established, saying:

"The Dhamma in the Buddha's Buddhism belongs to everyone in common. He discovered it and proclaimed it to all people of the world to know and practice."

The implication of this is, so to speak, that the Buddha has already bestowed his teaching upon all people of the world. Practicing any Buddhist technique of his is therefore not considered a transgression or violation — unlike techniques of the occult sciences (saiyasat), where the teacher who owns the technique guards it jealously, permitting it to be trained and used only by those to whom he has personally granted transmission.

Speaking of the transmission of occult techniques, allow me to say a little more on this matter, which may help clarify and further the understanding of the difference between Buddhist science and occult science.

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Even though the writer places very high importance on the principles of Buddhist science, he does not refuse to associate with practitioners of the occult sciences — people interested in saiyasat, the mysterious, wondrous, and profound arts, which the modern world cannot flatly deny are wholly incapable of giving real benefit as claimed.

As it happens, about 3–4 years before this, the writer was honored by the management of the magazines in the Lok Thip ("Heavenly World") group, Lok Lilap ("Mysterious World"), and asked to serve as editor, managing the production of the said magazines, because the editor who had held the position before had a need to ordain as a monk for a period of time — set at 2 rains-retreats (phansa) or possibly longer, if his accumulated merit was suited to wearing the ochre robe.

Upon taking the position, even knowing it would not be a permanent, long-standing role, I nonetheless resolved to carry out the entrusted duties as well as I possibly could. I improved the approach to presenting articles in both magazines, sharpening their focus for the target readership and speaking to every reader's interest — something I managed to do to the satisfaction of both myself and the senior management who had placed their trust in me.

As part of improving and developing the magazine's work, the writer invited Ajarn N. Nakharat, a teacher of the occult sciences who had studied occult lore (saiya wet) thoroughly and expertly. The important reason the writer invited him to co-write articles under my responsibility was that he was a teacher of the occult sciences who was exceptionally grateful and virtuous, and had a great many achievements helping the suffering and troubled escape from various calamities — helping them for the sake of...

Kammatthana That Creates Siddhi Mind Power Beyond the Human, p. 17

...assistance, rather than seeking wealth, rank, money, or fame. He therefore never opened a formal school and never publicized himself, and yet had a great many students. Help from him would therefore usually come by word of mouth, passed from student to relatives, friends, and acquaintances only.

From the articles bringing occult knowledge to the public as a gift of learning, intended so that readers of the Lok Thip and Lok Lilap magazines could use it to help themselves when facing obstacles and problems, there was an overwhelming response from readers. Many took the methods he transmitted and used them to solve their problems, after reading the articles and writing in to request permission by letter sent through the publishing house — with excellent results in a great many cases.

Those who recognized his worth therefore called on him to gather the branches of knowledge he truly and thoroughly understood, which could genuinely bring benefit to all his students, into a single volume so they could study the complete course. He graciously agreed to fulfill this request, conceiving of producing a volume titled Khamphi Maha Wet ("The Great Scripture of Sacred Formulas"), compiling great sacred formulas of every category — fortune, trade, powerful charm, loving-kindness, warding off misfortune, undoing curses and black magic, protection and self-defense, and so on.

It was published in book form so as to transmit the knowledge to interested people who devoted themselves as students, letting them learn and master it by memory, without needing to depend on anyone or ever be deceived by anyone again — because this scripture contains the branches of knowledge that a student, once learned, can perform entirely by themselves.

It is understood that work is now underway on a complete edition of Khamphi Maha Wet, revised, improved, and expanded to be more accurate and complete than the original edition.

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The Maha Wet spell manual, already printed twice, is now complete. (Not stocked on bookstore shelves, because only a small quantity was printed. If interested in acquiring a copy, call 0-9698-3453, 0-7820-1812.)

But before it could be finished into a complete and fully corrected book, I proceeded according to urgent requests by having it mimeograph-printed and transmitting/empowering the subject to interested students who ordered directly with him, on an individual, case-by-case basis.

But the matter did not end there, because one of his own students, after venerating and acquiring one copy of the manual from him, took that manual and had it mimeograph-printed for sale, advertising it for sale purely in hopes of profit for himself.

What I want to discuss next, dear reader, is something I would like you to consider — the difference between Buddhism and Saiyasart (folk/occult magic). Please give this some thought.

When a student competes against his own teacher, seeking profit for himself without having received permission — whether given verbally or in writing — the sacred power of the incantations becomes corrupted, and this becomes evident to everyone.

The manual that the student took from the original text of Teacher Ajarn N. Nakharat and had mimeograph-printed — even though it contains the same script and powerful spell formulas as the original — lacks the proper authorization and empowerment. Those who acquired it to study and later tried to use it received no benefit from that manual whatsoever, not even a single person.

Manuals and scriptures of the occult sciences (saiyasart), if not empowered by the teacher who owns them, cannot be used to produce any benefit at all. Even where some benefit is obtained, it is only a small amount. This differs from the teachings of Buddhism, which the Buddha himself proclaimed as common property for all people. He...

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...he empowered it for all people, for as long as he lived.

The subject of the Dhammachak (Wheel of Dharma) is likewise one of the Buddha's own Buddhist teachings, one that all people can study and learn, and put into practice to their own benefit at any time. It is a kammatthana (meditation practice) of immeasurable benefit to its practitioners — both at the mundane level, for householders living worldly lives within society, and for practitioners aspiring toward the higher noble Dharma.

Seeing that it is a practice of great merit, both for oneself and as something that can bring help to those beset by various troubles — which is itself another way of accumulating one's own perfections (barami) — I have therefore recorded it here for those who wish to study it to consider.

Teacher Ajarn Patham Rian Mek recorded the method of training in the Dhammachak as follows, in the next chapter. [diagram: a small decorative flourish resembling a flower or lotus doodle beside the closing sentence]

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Training in the Dhammachak (Wheel of Dharma)

The manual of Teacher Ajarn Patham Rian Mek

[diagram: a dashed oval border enclosing a small stylized lotus/flower emblem, set beside the title]

Training in the Dhammachak is a form of meditation practice (kammatthana) following the tradition of Buddhism. However, several so-called 'knowledgeable' people — or perhaps they should be called 'unknowledgeable' — have tried to force the accusation upon it that it is a practice outside the methods of Buddhism.

Having heard this, I felt saddened at the arrogance and self-proclaimed expertise of those people who try so earnestly, quite seriously, to push it aside as something entirely outside Buddhism. But I do sympathize with those people, because the method of the kammatthana of the Dhammachak type that I have brought forth to propagate and teach does not appear among the names of the forty kammatthana that the Buddha himself established.

Therefore, the 'knowledgeable' are only knowledgeable within a narrow scope — those who have studied according to the standard texts — while the 'unknowledgeable' are those who do not know that, beyond those forty root kammatthana, there exist still others.

I once had occasion to pay respects and ask Luang Phor Phra Suphrahmayanthera of Wat Phra Phutthabat Tak Pha, my preceptor (upajjhaya), about this — that the kammatthana...

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...how many types there are. He was kind enough to answer that kammatthana number in the hundreds, even thousands of types, but only 40 are formally designated. Now consider the Buddha's own words, which state:

The Dharma is vast, comparable to all the leaves in a forest, yet what he brought forth to teach amounts to only a handful of leaves.

Next comes the reasoning for why the kammatthana of the Dhammachak type is a kammatthana of Buddhism, and I affirm that it truly is part of Buddhism, because the highest goal of Buddhism is precisely the practice of the Dharma for the sake of liberation from suffering.

Therefore, whatever practice leads toward liberation from suffering must be considered practice within the tradition of Buddhism, without exception.

And in the same way, if any practice does not lead toward liberation from suffering, then even if one practices according to the forty kammatthana, it is not considered practice within Buddhism (that is, it is not practiced for liberation from suffering, but practiced in order to be used for some other purpose — unless it is practiced both for liberation from suffering and, at the same time, also used for another purpose).

In truth, if we look more deeply, the kammatthana of the Dhammachak type can reasonably be considered to fall within the forty kammatthana. For example:

Fire Wheel (Jak Fai) corresponds to Fire Kasina (Tejo Kasina) Wind Wheel (Jak Lom) corresponds to Wind Kasina (Vayo Kasina)

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Water Wheel (Jak Nam) corresponds to Water Kasina (Apo Kasina)

Therefore, all you knowledgeable ones — if you are truly disciples of the Tathagata — do not be hasty to criticize, do not be hasty to condemn the methods of others that differ from your own as being untrue, unreal, or bad. Otherwise you will only tarnish Buddhism itself.

The true and genuine purpose of training in the kammatthana of the Dhammachak type is, like other kammatthana, for the sake of liberation from suffering. But as I have already said, the Dhammachak is of great benefit — meaning that it is of great benefit to whoever receives it, benefit that can be used to help oneself, others, and even the nation as a whole.

Because the Dhammachak is a symbol of the Fully Self-Enlightened Buddha, it is an emblem of his Dharma teachings.

Therefore, when this Dhammachak arises within anyone, that person then bears the duty of helping to support and maintain Buddhism and the Buddhist community. Thus, whatever opportunity you may have to help temples and monasteries, monks, novices, laymen, and laywomen, together with the nation, in ways that are right and proper, you should act upon at once.

The qualifications of one who possesses the Dhammachak: one must hold the Five Precepts firmly in the heart, and diligently cultivate the Four Brahmavihara (divine abodes), especially loving-kindness (metta), so that it arises and remains constantly present in the heart.

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And the final requirement: one must constantly and diligently cultivate the kammatthana, or meditative concentration (samadhi dhamma), at all times.

◉ Training in the Dhammachak

Training in the Dhammachak is not like training in other kammatthana, because the method of the Dhammachak is a special method. This is because, apart from the trainee using his own ability, the Dhammachak itself must also come to assist.

Therefore, for one who wishes to train in the Dhammachak for the first time, starting anew, one should have a knowledgeable teacher, or a teacher who has already passed through the training and already possesses the Dhammachak, to act as a mentor/guide in the training.

As stated above, preparing to enter this training is preparation for a special type of kammatthana practice, so the method must likewise be special, for example:

1. Placement of the Mind (Wang Jit)

For those who have previously trained in other kammatthana, a small difficulty tends to arise: when one wants to train in the kammatthana of the Dhammachak type, one must work against one's previous habit of mind-placement. That is, one must train to place the mind outside, away from the tip of the nose, at a distance of about 1 foot.

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The reason one must place the mind at a distance of 1 foot from the nose is to prepare to receive the Dhammachak — so that when the Dhammachak becomes visible, you can then invite it further into yourself.

If you do not prepare and accustom yourself to this beforehand, a problem will arise at the time you actually train, because your mind will retreat inward, following the habits of whatever other method you trained in before. And if your mind retreats inward, you will have no opportunity to see the Dhammachak — or even if you do see it, the Dhammachak will not enter into you, and you will have no opportunity to obtain the Dhammachak.

Those who have never trained before should try practicing this placement of the mind in advance, for convenience when the actual training begins.

2. Maintaining the Mind, or Controlling the Mind

Since the moment our minds first arose, they have accumulated all manner of defilements (kilesa), cycling through birth and death for countless lifetimes beyond counting. Even considering only this present life, everyone has accumulated defilements — the things that cause the mind to become agitated, restless, and driven by craving through greed, anger, and delusion — stored up abundantly within the heart, to the point that it becomes difficult for our minds to find peace even for the span of two or three breaths.

Because the mind is the knowing faculty, sensitive to the conditions of the environment that come to affect our hearts, we take in and hold onto all these various things, which is why our minds cannot find the peace described above. When we wish to make the mind peaceful, free of agitation, restlessness, and unease, we must find a skillful means, find reasons and causes to...

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[photograph: a group of monks and white-robed laypeople seated in a row outdoors at night, engaged in meditation practice]

Leading the group in practice in the style of thudong (wandering ascetic forest practice) At the forest cemetery, Chiang Saen town

[ink smudges/scattered spots at the bottom of the page; not text]

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...to make our minds understand, according to the true nature of reality, the various things that arise and come to affect our hearts.

We try to teach our own minds to know how to contemplate that everything is merely a convention/designation (sammati); it is impermanent, it constantly changes, and it eventually breaks apart, ceases, and dissolves. That is, it is Impermanence (anicca), it is Suffering (dukkha), and it is Non-self (anatta).

Therefore we should not cling to things; we should relinquish and let go. The fact that we suffer, or feel that we are happy, is simply because we go and cling to things — as the monks call it, 'attachment' (upadana).

For us to be able to release and let go of things so that our minds can attain peace, we must cultivate ourselves and make ourselves people of mindfulness and clear comprehension (sati-sampajanna), constantly aware of what we do, think, and say, and how right or wrong, good or bad it is — by contemplating the Five Aggregates (khandha): form, feeling, perception, mental formations, and consciousness — using as the guiding principle the Three Characteristics (Tilakkhana): impermanence, suffering, and non-self.

In summary, while we train in the kammatthana of the Dhammachak type, we must always use the mental faculties of both tranquility meditation (samatha) and insight meditation (vipassana) together, side by side. And at the same time, the practitioner must possess both faith (saddha) and wisdom (panna) together as well.

In addition, one must also strive to cut off the Five Hindrances (nivarana), because they are a major obstacle to every form of meditation training.

This matter of morality (sila) is a very necessary matter for the training of kammatthana, regardless of the method, because sila is the foundation of samadhi. This is a matter which the Buddha, our supreme teacher, established as a principle — that right conduct...

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The Dharma of Buddhism must proceed according to the principles of morality (sila), concentration (samadhi), and wisdom (panna). Some may argue that a person has a great deal of samadhi even though they observe no precepts at all — it is indeed possible to attain a kind of samadhi that way, but that samadhi is wrong concentration (miccha-samadhi), not right concentration (samma-samadhi).

That is because samadhi arising in the absence of sila is a samadhi that does not lead toward liberation from suffering; it is a samadhi that arises for some other purpose entirely.

◉ The Purpose of Teaching the Dhammachak

The purpose of teaching the Dhammachak is divided into three major purposes, namely:

1. To use it as a path to extinguish defilements, leading all the way to Nibbana (the transcendent, lokuttara). 2. To relieve suffering and promote the happiness of oneself and others (the mundane, lokiya). 3. To serve as proof that hell and heaven truly exist, that this life and the next life truly exist, and that the law of karma truly exists.

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◉ Method of Training in the Dhammachak

The teacher begins by leading the veneration of the Triple Gem, saying:

Imina sakkarena Buddham abhipujayami Imina sakkarena Dhammam abhipujayami Imina sakkarena Sangham abhipujayami [With this offering, I pay highest homage to the Buddha / to the Dhamma / to the Sangha]

Araham samma sambuddho bhagava, Buddham bhagavantam abhivademi (bow) [The Blessed One is worthy, perfectly self-enlightened; I bow in homage to the Blessed Buddha] Svakkhato bhagavata dhammo, dhammam namassami (bow) [The Dhamma is well-proclaimed by the Blessed One; I pay homage to the Dhamma] Supatipanno bhagavato savakasangho, sangham namami (bow) [The Sangha of the Blessed One's disciples has practiced well; I pay homage to the Sangha]

Recite Namo tassa... and so on, three times: Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa [Homage to the Blessed One, the Worthy One, the Perfectly Self-Enlightened One]

Recite the vow of taking refuge in the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha as one's refuge and object of veneration (the Refuge formula, saranagamana-patha):

Buddham saranam gacchami [I go to the Buddha as my refuge] Dhammam saranam gacchami [I go to the Dhamma as my refuge] Sangham saranam gacchami [I go to the Sangha as my refuge] Dutiyampi Buddham saranam gacchami [For the second time, I go to the Buddha as my refuge] Dutiyampi Dhammam saranam gacchami [For the second time, I go to the Dhamma as my refuge]

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For the second time, I go to the Sangha as my refuge. For the third time, I go to the Buddha as my refuge. For the third time, I go to the Dhamma as my refuge. For the third time, I go to the Sangha as my refuge.

Then one recites the words of self-dedication and requests to be taught the kammatthana from the Fully Self-Enlightened Buddha, saying:

'I offer my body and dedicate my life to the Fully Self-Enlightened Buddha, in order to request to learn the kammatthana by the method of the Dhammachak. May the Blessed One please accept me as a disciple, and teach me so that I may have clear knowledge of the Three Worlds, together with all of his Dhamma teachings, in every respect.'

(Bow three times)

Regarding the training in the Dhammachak as it has habitually been practiced, it turns out that few people succeed in attaining it — not worth the time and exhaustion for both teacher and trainee. It has been observed that the reason so few succeed is mostly due to prior accumulated merit (barami) from past lives, which causes those who are just beginning their training to become discouraged and lose the will to train and to learn.

The term 'one with prior accumulated merit' means that the person may have previously performed wholesome deeds (kusala) in practicing the kammatthana of the Dhammachak type before.

Based on this reasoning, I, the trainer, have thought of ways to help those beginning their training have the opportunity to attain the Dhammachak more quickly than before.

Therefore, from this point onward, the training in the kammatthana of the Dhammachak type is divided into two parts, or two stages, namely:

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1. At the very start, after taking up the kammatthana, we will practice the core kammatthana as a way of building the concentration-dhamma that serves as the foundation supporting the later practice of the Dhammacakka-style kammatthana. As far as study has shown, no matter what style of kammatthana we practice, we must first have knowledge of the core kammatthana; otherwise it will not be as effective as it should be.

Because the various special kammatthana methods that teachers have adapted and recommended for use can only arise by relying first on the results of the core kammatthana. For example, one must know how to "place the mind" — because some people, when told to place the mind, do not understand what "placing" means; when told to "fix the mind," they do not know what that means or how to do it.

And practicing the special methods requires drawing on the results of the core kammatthana's concentration. Even though the special concentration practice only requires access concentration (upacara samadhi), one must actually have concentration beyond the level of access concentration. If one can attain concentration from the core practice up to the fourth jhana, the results will be even better.

Therefore, when we are going to practice the special concentration, we begin by sitting in the core concentration until reaching the fourth jhana, then withdraw back down to access concentration; only then will the knowing and seeing come out clear and bright. If the practitioner has not attained the core concentration as described, whatever the practitioner sees or knows will not be clear and distinct, because the practitioner's power of concentration is insufficient.

Some people — or most people — will only be able to see things in the presence of their training teacher; once they move away from the teacher, they get nothing. Or for anyone who does get results but they are not clear, be aware that your concentration is not enough — please build up the core concentration

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...abundantly, and clarity will come by itself.

The core kammatthana is the kammatthana practiced by the method of noting the in-and-out breath. It is a method of using mindfulness simply to note and know the breath entering and leaving, called Anapanasati-kammatthana; or it may be recited as "Buddho," or as "Na-ma-pha-tha" — either way, all of these equally involve noting the in-and-out breath.

But for practicing the Dhammacakka style, the practitioner is asked to note the in-and-out breath and then recite "Jak-khao, jak-khao" ("Wheel, enter").

Whereby: on the out-breath, say "Jak" (Wheel); on the in-breath, say "Khao" (Enter).

While reciting "Jak-khao" in this way, keep mindfulness fixed on noting the in-and-out breath at the nostril opening at all times, maintaining the breath appropriately — do not let it become tiring. Whichever way of breathing feels comfortable and suitable to oneself, breathe in that way.

◉ Note

1. In practicing this core kammatthana, use the method of sitting in the meditation posture with the right foot resting on the left foot, and the right hand placed over the left hand, as usual. 2. When we have practiced sitting in the core kammatthana until the concentration is firmly established, for about 15–30 minutes as appropriate, we then proceed to the second stage — practicing the Dhammacakka-style kammatthana. At this point the practitioner must withdraw from the concentration, then settle the mood at ease; there is no need to think of any worries or concerns — let go of all such matters completely

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And do not become excited or eager to obtain the Dhammacakka. Shift the body to a comfortable position, then sit in meditation as before — except this time the hands must be raised and held palms-together in front of the chest.

This is done because it expresses reverence and constitutes an invitation, requesting the Dhammacakka to enter into the body. Breathe normally as usual (there is no need to pay attention to the in-and-out breath); recite "Jak-khao, jak-khao, jak-khao" continuously, at even, regular intervals. Keep the mind under control and normal — do not become agitated or restless with eagerness to see or obtain the Dhammacakka.

During this time the training teacher will continuously call out "Jak-khao, jak-khao, jak-khao." The trainee need not pay attention to whether the teacher calls slowly or quickly; the trainee's only duty is to recite "Jak-khao" evenly and continuously the whole time.

As the recitation continues, a light of the Dhammacakka will appear in front, at the spot where the mind has been placed.

At this point the practitioner will often feel joy at having seen the Dhammacakka or its light. Be careful here — this is one important critical juncture: when the practitioner becomes glad and eager to obtain the Dhammacakka, the Dhamma will disappear. The practitioner must maintain a good, steady state of mind, holding it so that no craving arises. If this can be done, the Dhammacakka will begin to shine brighter and clearer.

When the practitioner recites "Jak-khao... jak-khao... jak-khao" continuously, without either delighting in or being averse to it, at this point it becomes the duty of the training teacher to call out to the Dhammacakka faster and more frequently, in order to hasten the Dhammacakka's entry into the practitioner's body.

Remember that the duty of hastening the Dhammacakka's entry belongs to the training teacher

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— that is not our duty as the trainee.

As the practitioner continues reciting "Jak-khao, jak-khao," the wheel will begin to spin and move, resembling a cone or a drill boring toward the practitioner's forehead. When the practitioner feels or perceives that the Dhammacakka has entered and now resides in their chest, that indicates that the Dhammacakka has been received.

A point to note: before the Dhammacakka appears visibly to us, or before it enters into our body, there are usually several perceptible phenomena, such as:

1. A bright light will appear shining into the eyes, causing the practitioner's eyes to blink rapidly. Sometimes the blinking becomes so rapid that the eyes appear to roll upward.

If this kind of symptom occurs, do not be alarmed and do not resist it — let it proceed according to what is happening, because that is one manifestation of the Wheel, appearing as a witness that we are about to receive the Dhammacakka. If the practitioner resists, the opportunity to receive the Dhammacakka will be lost.

2. While the practitioner sits reciting "Jak-khao, jak-khao," it can be observed that the hands held palms-together at the chest will begin to tremble and rotate in a circular motion — that is, begin to spin; or the head will begin to spin; or the body in which one is sitting will begin to spin; or both the hands and the body will begin to spin together.

At first the spinning will begin gently and slowly, and will increase in strength according to the power received.

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This spinning phenomenon is the manifestation of the Dhammacakka moving toward the practitioner, which we call the "current" of the Dhammacakka, even though the practitioner may not see the Dhammacakka at all — because it is the nature of a wheel that, whenever it moves anywhere, it must spin continuously, and so our own body spins along with it.

If either of the two phenomena described above occurs to any practitioner, do not resist — let it proceed according to what is occurring. If you resist it, you will lose the opportunity to receive the Dhammacakka.

Suppose the practitioner has the sensation of seeing the Dhammacakka enter and reside within the body; then make a mental resolve (adhitthana) asking the Dhammacakka to carry you up into the heavens, beginning with the first heavenly realm, the level of Catumaharajika.

Once this resolve has been made, it will be observed that the Dhammacakka residing in the body begins to spin, and at the same time the practitioner's body spins along with it, and one will feel the body floating upward, rising continually, passing through layer after layer of clouds, up until reaching the heaven, at which point the Dhammacakka will stop spinning.

At this point, let the practitioner make their own mental resolve as to what they wish to view — for example, asking to view the celestial mansion of Lord Catumaharaja, asking to view the heavenly gardens, asking to view the dancing performed in heaven, and so on.

Sometimes the practitioner will feel a desire to dance; merely by thinking of it, the arms will spread out and perform a dance in time with the divine music of heaven. Anyone who is a dancer/performer by profession can bring these extraordinary, beautiful forms of dance down for use in the human world.

As for those who observe or feel that the Dhammacakka has entered and is residing within

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— that is, within the chest — but is still unable to float up into heaven, then set the mind to make a resolve toward the Buddha, asking for the sacred crystal slippers, holy and divine objects. When one has put them on and then resolves to ascend into heaven, one will feel that the practitioner's divine body (kaya-thip) immediately floats up into heaven.

And once one has floated up into heaven, if one still cannot see anything, or the vision is not clear, then make a resolve asking for the "divine eye" (ta-thip) from the Fully Self-Enlightened Buddha. At the moment of this request, the Dhammacakka residing within the body will compel the hand to reach out and receive the divine eye and place it into the practitioner's own eyes.

A point of caution here: one must be certain that one's hand is being controlled by the power of the Dhammacakka, both in reaching out to receive it and in putting it in.

If the practitioner reaches out with the hand on their own accord, it will not work.

And if it happens that, after resolving to ask for the divine eye, one is still unable to receive it, that indicates that the practitioner's concentration is not yet sufficient to receive the divine eye. One must diligently practice the core kammatthana again, using the method of reciting "Jak-khao, Jak-khao," according to the form resolved at the beginning.

When it is observed that one's concentration has progressed sufficiently well, one may then return to practicing the Dhammacakka method a second time, and it should succeed.

At this point — that is, while the practitioner is floating in heaven — the practitioner's mind becomes light, and thus is able to converse and respond with the training teacher. Therefore, whether the vision appears clear or unclear, tell the teacher; or if there is any wish, please say so — for example, if you do not know where to go, or cannot decide what to view, tell the teacher.

But normally, in the earlier stages, the teacher usually must lead the way to wherever one goes, at first

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— until one becomes well skilled, at which point one will be able to go there on one's own.

The highest destination one can reach is Nibbana. However, some people are unable to go there; if this is the case for someone, it indicates that their original store of merit is insufficient. They must diligently pay homage, chant prayers, keep the precepts, and calm the mind from defilements as much as possible.

What has been related above is drawn from the original manuscript "The Practice of the Dhammacakka," recorded by Achan Pathamp Rian Mek. Previously, the writer had photocopied this document for certain interested persons to study and practice with, and had already seen the benefit of practicing this kammatthana for the purpose of developing iddhi. It is therefore left here for interested readers who wish to conduct themselves according to the Dhamma and practice it, to study and consider for themselves. [illustration: a small line-drawing of a lotus flower marking the end of the section]

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[illustration: a lotus flower within a dashed oval border]

Training in the Power of Dhamma Rays

Luang Phor Dr. Singhathon Narasobho of Wat Phra Phutthachinnarat, Chino Hills, California, USA, came to lead relatives and lay devotees in training in the power of Dhamma rays, so that their mental power would become strong enough to be able to cure cancer and other diseases — following what he himself had practiced, through which the cancer that had arisen in him disappeared.

Not only that, but there were also monks and lay devotees, both foreigners and Thais, who practiced according to his method and were likewise able to eliminate various serious illnesses, living on with strong health and long life up to the present.

Seeing that his training in the power of Dhamma rays is a Dhamma practice that trains the mind to generate power/iddhi bringing great benefit to the practitioner — enabling one to bring one's own mental power to serve as a refuge, and moreover to be able to serve as a refuge for other people as well — [the author] wishes to bring forward his method of training in the power of Dhamma rays

[photo: an elderly Buddhist monk shown from the waist up, looking directly at the camera, wearing monastic robes with the outer robe draped over one shoulder] Phra Achan Dr. Singhathon Narasobho Discoverer of the technique for training in the power of Dhamma rays

Kammatthana for Creating Iddhi Mind-Power Beyond the Human 39

— recorded here for consideration.

The power of Dhamma rays is another method of kammatthana for developing iddhi, which Luang Phor Dr. Singhathon Narasobho has explained for those interested in studying it, so that they may know it, commit it to memory, and put it into practice — making this power of mind a refuge for oneself and, according to one's capacity, for others as well.

The various accounts recorded here are drawn from his lectures, which he summarized as follows:

...In the present age, people want to believe only in what can be seen and directly verified. But the practice of Dhamma that bears fruit, or what is called the attainment of the path and its fruit, is a matter specific to the individual.

Given this, it becomes difficult — especially since the Buddha laid down a precept for monks forbidding them from boasting of what they themselves have attained or received through their own practice, a matter specific to the individual, which is called "boasting of superhuman states" (uttarimanussadhamma). People then tend to doubt why they themselves do not see the same thing. This is the reason the propagation of Buddhism becomes a risky matter as to what a monk may say.

"Power of Dhamma rays" is a new term which I myself have coined; no one has ever used it before, nor, among those who have practiced since ancient times up to now, has there been any use of this designated term or method called "power of Dhamma rays."

Why, then, must this designated term or name be used?

The reason is this: I came to take an interest in the matter of training in power because I myself

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— was someone who, once born, was difficult to raise; from birth I was already beset by sickness and disease.

The name "Thon" ("Endure") was given because, from childhood, I kept nearly dying, afflicted by all manner of illness; my parents had to endure great hardship to nurse and treat me.

The name "Thon" alone was not enough; when I reached school age, in primary school, the word "Singh" ("Lion") was added to it as well.

"Singh," meaning "lion," meant "enduring like a lion," or "enduring like the Lord of Lions" — not ordinary endurance.

This was so precisely because of the illness that afflicted me. The more I became interested in studying from childhood on, the worse my health became, because I did not know how to care for my own health properly, and the methods taught nowadays are of little use.

After I was ordained as a novice, I came to live in Bangkok — that is, having studied in the North, I obtained the Nak Tham Ek certificate and the 4th grade of Pali studies (Parian 4); Chiang Mai only offered instruction up to that level, so it became necessary to come study in Bangkok. I came in without realizing that, even though Bangkok has many temples, finding a place to stay would be difficult; being a Nak Tham Ek and Parian 4, I thought finding a temple would be easy, but it turned out to be the opposite — I searched for a temple to stay at for 3 months and still found none.

Just as the Rains Retreat (Vassa) was about to begin, I went and registered to study at the Sangha university, and then had to find a place to stay regardless. A friend, who was both a friend and a teacher, of the same age as me, but who had studied Pali before me, gave me the opportunity to study Pali from him, and since he had already come to stay in Bangkok first, I followed and asked to stay together with him at Wat Samre, or Rajavarin, in the year B.E. 2500 (1957 CE).

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This temple was likewise the same. Luang Phor said this temple had no vacant rooms; every room was reserved for newly ordained monks. The only place I could stay was the corpse-storage room, which was a small room.

That is, in those days, coffins were not brought there to be kept neatly and properly stored — it was essentially a warehouse for the dead. Coffins were simply lined up one after another, and there was a small room among them; if one could manage to stay there, one stayed in that room.

Out of necessity, since I had to study, I had no choice but to stay there. It turned out that the coffins from the year B.E. 2500 (1957) had not been well preserved — fluid was oozing and dripping from them; the poorly made coffins cracked open, and there was a foul stench. Being someone already afflicted by illness, all manner of disease then came pouring in upon me.

I lived in this suffering and torment for one Rains Retreat, then sent word to Luang Phor Thongkham of Wat Tham Chiang Dao, who was a person of great kindness to me. Luang Phor was acquainted with a well-known doctor, Dr. Saner Indrasukhsri, who respected Luang Phor as his teacher. Luang Phor took me along to see Dr. Saner and Dr. Prasit Chamnanwet, who prepared various medicines to help relieve the different ailments.

When the Rains Retreat ended, Luang Phor placed me in the care of a lay supporter of Wat Phra Chetuphon (Wat Pho), Tha Tian, and I had the opportunity to go stay at that temple. I studied there until I graduated from the Sangha university, and had the opportunity to go on to further study in India.

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One Must Breathe Fully Through the Belly

When I went to study in India, illness and sickness were still the same as before. It was fortunate that I got to study at the "Natural University" — a university connected with the great sage-teacher Devendranath, who was the father of Narobindranath Thakur. This university was built as a natural university where one sat and studied beneath the trees; the shade-giving trees were mango and bael (wood-apple), and various other trees, the most numerous being mango and bael.

While studying, I would keep pulling out medicine to take, again and again, until one teacher — who perhaps had an "inner eye," or perhaps had something special about him — said, half in jest, seeing that I took medicine as if it were food:

"If medicine could really help you, you would have recovered from your illness by now. People have something good with them already and don't know how to use it."

It was that last sentence that struck me.

After class I followed him to where he was staying and asked him, "What you said about having something good with oneself and not knowing how to use it — what does that mean?"

He said, "Take off your robe, and take off your under-robe too, then breathe and let me watch."

So I did as he said. Once I had taken off the outer robe and the under-robe, I breathed for him to watch. He laughed, pleased: "Just as I thought — that's exactly it."

At that time I was still breathing short, shallow breaths, and breathing incorrectly, by breathing

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...breathe in, the belly contracts; breathe out, the belly expands. This goes against nature. If I had known this, I probably would not have suffered so much since childhood.

This too is a thought I would like to leave with everyone.

If your children, grandchildren, or great-grandchildren breathe short and shallow breaths — what old-time Thais called breathing that does not fill the whole belly — that is a cause of illness and disease.

Breathing must fill the whole belly: breathing in, the belly should expand; breathing out, the belly should contract.

But at that time, unfortunately, though I had a nose meant for breathing, I could not use it — I had to breathe through my mouth, because I had an allergic condition that had turned into a kind of inflamed sinusitis. It was so bad that neither nostril could breathe at all; there must have been pus or something inside.

This teacher told me I had to do this with my hand. First I had to clear the nostrils. Press the left nostril closed with the little finger of the right hand, breathe in through the right nostril, breathe in fully, then hold the breath for as long as possible. Then close the right nostril with the thumb, release the little finger from the left nostril, and blow it out. At first, if the nostril is blocked, it is hard to get the air out — you must let it come out little by little.

Then breathe in through the left nostril, hold the breath as long as possible, close the left nostril with the little finger, then release the thumb and breathe out through the right nostril.

Breathe in through the right nostril and out through the left, breathe in through the left and out through the right. Do this so that the nostrils become clear. The nose especially is meant for breathing

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People living in Bangkok have a great many problems. Bangkok people mostly cannot breathe well through the nostrils, so they breathe through the mouth, because most of them have allergic conditions.

If breathing does not come easily, find young coconut water to rinse the nasal passages (gently, dipping it in, or using something that can draw it up) — this will help make breathing easier, and may even help with treatment. As for me, the teacher advised me to use young coconut water, because my condition was so severe; eventually my breathing became free. Once breathing became free, he told me to do this with the hands.

If we can sit in full lotus position, or diamond lotus position, all the better. If not, that is fine too — ordinary cross-legged sitting is also good. This is called "circulating the wind-element power." What matters for a person, whether weak or strong, is power/energy — the wind-element power is very important.

Doing this is called circulating the wind-element power: place the hands on the knees, breathe in, hold the breath for as long as possible, then breathe out and let it release, emptying out.

Why do this?

Because when we breathe in, combustion occurs — a kind of burning takes place. Once there is burning, we must breathe out for a long time, to expel what remains from the burning — that is, the toxic substance, what we call carbon dioxide — to expel it all completely.

Breathe in... hold. Breathe out... release, empty.

If one wanted to make it rhythmic, it would go like this

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Breathe in — count silently in the mind, starting from 1 to 5. Hold — count 1 to 10. Breathe out — count 1 to 5. And release, empty — count 1 to 5. The phrase "release, empty" means that when we breathe out, it is still not fully complete — we must let it empty out; it will come out automatically on its own. Try to let it all come out. Therefore the out-breath must be longer than the in-breath for it to be good.

5-10-5-5 5... breathe in 10... hold 5... breathe out 5... release, empty — that is, expel the breath completely, in truth. If we want to lengthen the breath further, it becomes:

6-12-6-6 7-14-7-7 8-16-8-8 9-18-9-9 10-20-10-10 The longer one can hold the breath, the better.

When this is finished, clench the hand into a fist, and brace it behind the left hand

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Hold [the fist] at the right wrist. Breathe in, and tilt the head back — tilt back gradually, gradually, until the breath is fully in, then hold it. Use the same rhythm recommended above: 5-10-5-5, 6-12-6-6, 7-14-7-7, or increasing further; then breathe out, bowing the head down until the forehead touches the floor.

A point of caution: if you have just eaten, do not do this yet, or you may vomit. Do it on an empty stomach.

Breathe in, tilt the head back fully, and hold the breath for as long as possible. Breathe out, lower the head, bowing down until the forehead touches the floor.

When this has been done sufficiently, place the hands on the knees, then draw in the belly to expel the breath — the belly will move like waves. There is no need to breathe; draw in the belly, and the belly will ripple like this — this will be the final expulsion. Let whatever bad remains hidden within come out completely. Draw the belly in and expel it.

Let us review once more. First step: breathe in through the left nostril first (thumb closes the right nostril, little finger open). Breathe in through the right nostril, hold the breath, breathe out through the left nostril; breathe in through the left nostril, hold the breath, breathe out through the right nostril; breathe in through the right nostril, hold the breath, breathe out through the left nostril — blow it all out.

If we do this as a regular practice, the nose will stay clear at all times.

And after that, what should one do? Do this with the hands: turn the palm upward, thumb touching the middle finger, resting on the knee, breathe in through both nostrils

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Breathe in, hold the breath. Breathe out, then release, empty. Breathe in — count silently 1 to 5. Hold the breath — count 1 to 10. Breathe out — count 1 to 5. Release, empty — count 1 to 5.

When finished, brace the fist behind the back, hold the wrist with the left hand, then tilt the head back — hold the breath, breathe out, bow down until the forehead touches the floor.

Then, as the final step, draw in the belly and expel the air. 6-12-6-6 7-14-7-7 8-16-8-8 9-18-9-9 10-20-10-10 The nose will become very clear. Do this together with certain yoga postures.

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Bowing to the Buddha to Stimulate the Power

What matters most for a person is the heart. Those who have not studied the chakras do not really understand why one must press the palms together — this in fact stimulates the power center at the heart.

And why does our way of paying homage also follow a rhythm/sequence? The highest form of homage is directed to the Triple Gem: we place the thumb touching the space between the eyebrows, with the index finger positioned roughly [at the hairline] — if you have a normal hairline, the index finger rests at the hairline and the thumb at the space between the eyebrows. This stimulates the crown center and connects it with the forehead.

Next, the thumb rests at the nose and the index finger at the forehead — this is the gesture for paying homage to teachers or to those of higher standing in virtue and age. And this next gesture is for paying homage to equals (palms held at chest level) — it stimulates the power center at the throat.

Buddhism does not boast; one practices and comes to know for oneself — this is a principle of Buddhism, expressed as paccattaṃ veditabbo viññūhi ["to be known individually, for oneself, by the wise"]. Only the one who practices comes to know it personally.

And the act of prostrating we call abhivāda. The prostration must be done in the form called the "five-point prostration" (bencha-ang-pradit) — this too, in the same way, stimulates the power center. Tibetans prostrate using the "eight-point prostration," lying the whole body flat on the ground — that is also a yoga posture, found within the sun salutation, or the posture of paying homage to the sun.

As for our using that posture — instead of it being homage to the sun, we make it homage to the Buddha; it is not at all unseemly. This is a minor supplementary point added in.

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Once I received this instruction and began to practice, I wanted to be free of illness and disease, so I resolved to practice.

In less than a month, it turned out I was able to give up every kind of medicine. Whatever medicines I had been taking — allergy medicine, stomach medicine — at that time I also had jaundice, yellow eyes, and all manner of things — but I was able to stop all the medicines.

Once I could stop the medicines, I lived in comfort and well-being. It turned out that my hand felt like a kind of channel; I felt a whooshing sensation, as if something were coming out from the hand.

Visva-Bharati University was a university that used the old system: writing the exam and answering the questions for one subject took 5 hours of exam time — the 5 hours we used had no multiple-choice questions. Mostly, those who studied there finished in 2 years very rarely; mostly it took 5-6 years, or even 8 years. Especially for a doctorate — some studied so long they nearly forgot [what they came for].

But, fortunately, because I had trained in this power, it gave me strength, so that the exam I finished with 3 hours still remaining. So I was able to complete things in a condensed span of time — the master's degree, which by regulation takes 2 years, [I completed accordingly], and the doctorate I finished in just over a year.

When I graduated, I went out to take on many duties. At a certain point, my life changed. I resolved to help the Buddhist religion in every kind of work that the Sangha university was trying to carry out. But before that there was no salary — whatever I received, I used to establish a Sunday Buddhist school. They gave me a stipend (nitayaphat) of 450; whatever I received, I used to support the children. I worked together with Chao Khun Prayudh, or Chao Khun Phra Dhammapitaka, and several other monks helped as well. At that time the Sangha university system still used the "secretary-general" system, which served a function similar to a rector; at that time I was deputy secretary-general of Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya (MCU).

Sādhana that Builds Siddhi Powers 50 Mind Power Beyond Ordinary Humans

Then when I came to take on many more duties — deputy of the regional ecclesiastical council and right-hand secretary to the Supreme Patriarch "Pa," that is, Somdet Pun Punnasiri — I came to know what the Sangha administration was like, but I will not say [more about it]; I will only say that it had its problems, that is all. When the Supreme Patriarch fell ill and passed away, I tried to help to the utmost of my ability. In trying to offer suggestions, I ended up writing a book titled "The Method of Consecrating the Sacred Somdet Buddha Image of Wat Pho."

If one reads only the title of this book, one would probably think it a book teaching how to make Buddha images potent, something along those lines. But once it was written, it turned out that M.R. Kukrit Pramoj wrote about it in the Siam Rath Weekly Review, in a manner agreeing with the suggestions concerning the Sangha administration written in the book.

This book, Ajarn Sathian Phanthurangsi also wrote about — in Chaiwat Yon Piam, Sati Thara — agreeing with it in nearly every issue, quite extensively.

But then, instead of receiving a response from the Sangha administration in the direction of reform, it was not like that at all. All of my lay supporters everywhere became troubled; my teachers became troubled too; the telephone could not even be answered — I was being squeezed indirectly. That is, they knew I was not afraid — had I been afraid, I would not have written it.

But when I considered that my teachers and the lay supporters who had shown me such kindness were suffering trouble because of this, I had to make a sacrifice. At that time I had been invited to teach at the University of Miami, Florida. They sent a letter telling me, with concern, that [my opponents] were trying to fabricate a story to make me out to be a danger to society. So I wrote a letter resigning from all my positions — because being a Chao Khun, being deputy of the region, or holding any such position, all of it had to be resigned.

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Especially in this matter of ecclesiastical rank — if one does not formally resign it, it is considered a disrespect to the royal majesty, since it was bestowed by royal grant.

When I resigned, I arrived back in Thailand on the 21st; on the 22nd I went to see Luang Phor at Wat Tham Chiang Dao, the monk who had shown me such kindness, and told him what had happened. [I said,] "If Luang Phor wants me to remain a monk, I can remain — I am ready to stay — but as an ordinary monk, without rank, without anything; I have already resigned from every position." But he had not yet made a decision.

Luang Phor said, "If you remain a monk, then please remain within your ecclesiastical rank and stay in your position as before. Otherwise, disrobe. It is up to you — but if you disrobe, please stay in Chiang Mai."

On the 23rd, I went to buy ready-made lay clothes. On the 24th, I disrobed without anyone knowing. I invited the monks to gather together at Wat Tham Chiang Dao; as soon as the midday meal was finished, I asked to take my leave — the lay disciples were bewildered, the monks were bewildered too, since I had not told anyone beforehand.

After I disrobed, Luang Phor told me to stay in Chiang Mai. As soon as it became known that I had disrobed, various universities that knew I had many accomplishments invited me to teach — but I accepted the teaching post at Chiang Mai University.

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Becoming a "Yore" Teacher Out of Necessity

What I have told so far is meant to lead into the topic of training in this power.

While I was in Chiang Mai, it happened that the practice of "Yore" power had come into Chiang Mai. Khun Charn Sirotos, a well-known person in Chiang Mai, said, "Teacher, there is a new [healing] faith/practice that has come to Chiang Mai — let's go have a look at it at Wat Suan Dok." This was the occasion that led me to learn about Yore power, so I went to Wat Suan Dok.

When we arrived, it turned out that Khun Charn asked the senior Yore teacher for a Yore medallion — he asked that one be given to Ajarn Singh Thon. Out of politeness/deference, the teacher picked up a medallion and gave it, even though in truth this medallion was only meant to be given to those who had already received training in the method of healing, that is, the method of training in Yore power.

Once I had the medallion, I put it in my pocket. Some days later Khun Charn invited me again; that day the crowd was unprecedented, overflowing the vihara of Wat Suan Dok — the vihara of Wat Suan Dok is very large, yet still it overflowed. People do get excited — whenever something new comes along, they tend to get excited. I went too, going along with Khun Charn.

That day, as it happened, there was someone quite seriously ill; relatives had carried the person there, but seeing the queue of people coming to receive Yore power, I thought there was no way this person could be treated, and I felt pity — I wanted to help. So I took out the Yore medallion, having observed the Yore teachers to see how the various Yore teachers made use of their medallions.

When the sick person saw that I had a Yore medallion, the relatives brought the person to me. This led me to draw on my own knowledge of the Pali language, since there were verses/formulas that we regularly chanted when we were

Sādhana that Builds Siddhi Powers 53 Mind Power Beyond Ordinary Humans

...a monk — such as the Yathoham verse, the Sirimanonda Sutta text. As for Yathoham, this also includes the Angulimala Paritta, the Bojjhanga Paritta, and then the Ratana Sutta. And especially in the northern region there are chants called the Unhissavijaya and the Bhesajjang chants, which point directly to healing.

I watched how the Yore teachers did it and did the same, but without using the actual Yore method — instead I set my mind in resolve and used a chanted formula: "Sakkatvā Buddharatanaṃ osadhaṃ uttamaṃ varaṃ" ["Having paid homage to the Jewel of the Buddha, the supreme and excellent medicine"], reciting it silently in the mind, and then the Yathoham Bojjhanga [chant], using the northern-style versions of the Unhissavijaya, the Bhesajjang, and then the Ratana Sutta.

As I recited these formulas, it turned out the sick person began to sweat as though drenched all over the body in a bath of sweat. Then he bowed down and said, "I am cured."

The very next day, it turned out that people came in whole carloads — word spread instantly, and crowds came searching everywhere. Those people said Ajarn Singh Thon was not there, that he was not a Yore teacher — that he was at Chiang Mai University. So they followed on to the university, and I used the old method to treat them there — and so I became a "Yore teacher" by default, even though in truth I never used the actual Yore technique at all.

This matter is an important one. Once the practice of Yore became the subject of publicity, once people spoke of its benefits — that treating with Yore was so good, that whoever received Yore treatment would surely recover from illness, that even someone with no illness would gain strength and power as advertised — once there was such advertising, people came to believe it.

At that time there was still no medicine to relieve the pain of cancer. Among the circle connected to the professor at Chiang Mai University, it was rare for anyone to fall ill [without receiving help]. People with cancer would call as late as midnight, and I had to go and attend to them — to make them comfortable.

...gone missing. For some, when it reaches its final stage, [the illness] simply fades away peacefully. Afterward I reflected that, being a teacher myself, most of my time would be better spent doing research or writing something, so as to be more useful than spending time going around helping people. So I just cut it short, simply saying the Yohre coin had gone missing. Once I said there was no Yohre coin, no one came anymore — and this itself is a form of healing: making people have faith, from which power then arises. In truth, being healed is also the merit of that person themselves, one who knows how to put their merit to use. Many teachers likewise stress something similar: what we have gathered and stored up (power) in our subconscious mind is 100% [of the source] — nothing more. If anyone has a way of drawing out the power that has been stored up and using it, it becomes an immense power. When someone comes and rouses or mobilizes [that power] until faith arises, it is that very faith which gives rise to power. In Buddhism, the five spiritual faculties (bala) begin with faith (saddha). To build power or inner strength, one must first have faith.

Radiating the Halo of Power

There is also the matter of the teacher's first year working at Chiang Mai University. Normally, the person who presents (thun kla) the diploma certificate to His Majesty the King — that is, at the time His Majesty confers degrees, someone must hand up the diploma, called "thun kla" — used, before this, to be a member of the royal family, for safety's sake. The royal family member with that duty was Mom Chao Amnuaisawat Sawasdiwatana. As it happened, that year he had an accident and sprained his leg, so he could not sit [for the ceremony]. He asked the teacher to help out, saying "This year I can't do it. I heard the teacher was once ordained as a monk, so he should be able to manage the sitting." Sitting to present the diplomas means sitting in the phap-phiap [kneeling-to-the-side] posture for five hours without being able to shift position. A prince is permitted to shift, but I felt that if I shifted I would encroach upon the carpet before His Majesty's feet, which would be improper. Out of my own sense of propriety, I sat in that same phap-phiap posture without changing for the full five hours, presenting diploma certificates throughout. When it was over, His Majesty the King said, "Don't get up yet — if you get up now, you will surely fall, since you haven't moved at all." (But during the rehearsal, once finished, one had to get up quickly, since other processions would follow.) As soon as it was over, I simply got up and walked away as if nothing had happened. His Majesty then remarked to those in attendance — ministers, rectors, and deans — that this year he felt fine, with no aches or pains anywhere, and did not need to take any royal medicine. He said that if it were always like this, he would come every year. Her Majesty the Queen also remarked...

In the same manner, Her Royal Highness Somdet Phra Thep [Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn] remarked the same thing. I too was puzzled as to what it could be. It was simply through our own intention that we would do everything well and let nothing become a problem, and through that sincere determination, it turned into a kind of power — one that also brought ease to His Majesty the King, Her Majesty the Queen Mother, and Her Royal Highness Somdet Phra Thep nearby. They remarked that it had never been like this before, and asked what discipline the teacher had trained in to be able to do this. I hadn't done anything special. As already mentioned, after having gone through illness, I trained myself at the "university of nature," and at Visva-Bharati University, Santiniketan — that was the reason. The fact that something emanates from oneself is enough of a cause and condition to know that this is a kind of power, though I do not know what to call it. Ordinarily I have always liked to chant. Especially Luang Pho Thongkham of Wat Tham Chiang Dao — he was a teacher who loved to chant. He said that if a novice wants to have a good life, he must never abandon chanting, and must chant every single day; he should chant the Karaniyametta Sutta. He stressed this point strongly, and I believed him and chanted every day, always ending with the Karaniyametta Sutta. If one were to say it had a good effect, then in the matter of power, there is indeed something worth noting.

Trial of Power in Chicago

When I was ordained again, I went to stay in Chicago. I taught there, and more and more foreigners came to study. They took notice, no doubt worried I would convert their own followers to Buddhism. So they gathered together a group of people trained in various powers, in a kind of challenge match, and said that I was teaching people to be selfish — teaching people just to sit with eyes closed meditating, instead of going to help at hospitals or nursing homes. [They said that] instead of going to help where help was needed, I brought people back to sit with their eyes closed, wasting time — that this was selfishness, and that I could not compete with them. This one is skilled in Yohre power, this one is skilled in Reiki power, this one is skilled in Prana power, Qigong. They came as a team, as a group. I thought that I too had used power before — and the idea of using the name "Dharma-Ray Power" [phalang rangsi tham] arose at that very moment. "I too teach the training of power. In that case, choose your own person — whoever tries the training will have power just like mine." It was a gamble on my own reputation, since they had come to challenge me. They sent someone; I worked on him. Once I had done so, they went off to whisper among themselves. They sent a second person; again they went off whispering. They sent a third person, and this time they said, "Your discipline is strange — it isn't like our powers. It's not Yohre, it's not Prana power, it's not Qigong power, it's not Cosmic power either." They asked what it should be called — "what power is this?" So I told them:

"This is Dharma-Ray Power. If anyone wants to practice it — like the way you all have come here to train — then come. Practice it, and I will reinforce the power for those of you who come."

That gave me the chance to meet outstanding students of all kinds, such as Diana Volia, who took part in this event. At first she too came to test the power. She had studied and completed every system there was. She was an open-minded person — whoever taught with a reputable name, she would go and study with them. When asked what religion she followed, she said she followed them all; whoever gave her knowledge, she respected. She was open-minded, and all of this is the origin of the use of Dharma-Ray Power.

What has been related above is an account of the origin, the method of training, and the virtues of training in Dharma-Ray Power, given by Luang Pho Dr. Singthon Narasobho of Wat Phra Buddha Chinnaraj, Chino Hills, State of California, United States of America. Anyone interested in training may take note of it and try to practice it, according to the results he has described. [diagram: small line-drawing of a lotus flower]

[diagram: a lotus flower inside a dashed oval border] Method for Training Mental Power to Slow Aging

For those aged 60 and above, society calls them elderly or senior citizens; put simply, they are simply called "old people." At this age, some people still carry on working as usual, but there is another group of elderly people who no longer wish to do anything or go anywhere, and instead simply wish to live out their lives peacefully, because in their past life they have already worked enough to be sufficient for a lifetime. Therefore, in the final stretch of life, there arises a desire to seek quiet happiness, together with a struggle to keep on living for as long as possible. For the reasons stated above, elderly people of every kind try to search out various methods to help support their bodies, which are beginning to deteriorate,

...deteriorating naturally, by seeking out various texts, such as manuals of yoga exercise, manuals of Chinese boxing, and many other branches of learning, in order to help strengthen the body and resist the various illnesses that may beset a body whose capacities decline more each day. As for slowing a person's aging, besides the methods already mentioned, there are still many other principles that would help promote a long life. Generally speaking, the main principles are as follows:

1. Air

It is commonly known that human life, in order to continue day to day, depends on air, used as the breath drawn in — and this very breath is life itself. Air here refers to pure air, the kind found in rural areas, such as in the rice fields, forests, mountains, wilderness, or along the seashore, for example. At present, the air in large cities generally, where the population is dense — such as Bangkok, Chiang Mai, etc. — is mostly impure, because besides having factories scattered everywhere, there are also vehicles rushing about crisscrossing one another. The traffic has nearly become a kind of chaos every time.

Especially in the Bangkok metropolitan area, where every kind of vehicle runs along the various streets throughout both day and night, the pollution — the poison from vehicle exhaust pipes — mixes together with the toxic smoke from various factories, and this is the reason present-day Bangkok is saturated with toxic fumes from morning until evening, including at night as well. Bangkok has thus become a city in which poison is mixed into every particle of the air. When such a problem arises, how should the people of large cities conduct themselves? Some recommend waking up early in the morning, or before dawn, because at that time the air up in the sky is still pure and clear. One should hasten to draw it into the body by breathing in long, deep breaths, while at the same time forming the awareness that all the sacred powers dwelling in the sky should please be granted entry into the body, right at the pit of the stomach [lin pi], which is the center of the body. As one breathes out, one forms the awareness, as before, that the sacred power has now been spread out to protect and guard every cell of life within the body, so that it may be cured of all illness and disease. This practice must be carried out consistently, and one must rouse one's own mind every day, [affirming]: We must have sacred power within ourselves. Whatever illness or disease is currently present in our body must certainly be cured, so that our life may continue on for a long time.

And on this occasion I would also like to explain, so that it is understood, that within the human body there is mental power (phalang chit), which has arisen in every person from the moment of birth. This mental power holds power in both supernatural potency (itthiridhi) and merit-potency (punyaridhi), and is the foundation of all things whatsoever. If we are able to direct this mental power within ourselves toward what is beneficial, then our bodies will become free, and our life will continue on indefinitely, without limit. In summary, whatever deterioration occurs within our bodies — if this mental power is brought in to blend with it — the body's strength and freshness will undoubtedly increase manifold. You must try it and see for yourself, because everything must be known through one's own experience.

2. Physical Exercise

Exercise is something extremely necessary for human beings. It may be compared to a kind of food that helps promote additional movement of the body, beyond the body's ordinary movement. Especially for the condition of the elderly, the necessity of exercising must undoubtedly be maintained regularly. Because as a person grows older and older, the deterioration of the cells within the body naturally and inevitably occurs, following the course of nature.

For instance, the knee joint bends or bows because it must bear the body's weight throughout life, causing the tissue at the knee to deteriorate. Exercise helps prevent disability from occurring at the knee joint, and so on. At present there are many forms of exercise. Generally speaking, there is calisthenics [kai borihan], such as exercises for the face, eyes, neck, arms, palms, fingers, back, stomach, thighs, knees, etc. Besides calisthenics, nowadays there is also exercise in the form of Chinese boxing [muay Jin], which appears to be widely popular, both in Bangkok and generally in the provinces. This form of Chinese-boxing exercise consists of slow, dance-like movements, and is especially well-suited to the elderly, because it causes the body to expel various waste products along with increased sweating beyond normal. Bodily aches and pains are reduced, and it helps improve the functioning of the digestive tract, preventing bloating, distension, or constipation of any kind. Besides this, it can also help remedy high blood pressure or certain other conditions without the need to take medicine. Among the most famous forms of Chinese boxing at present is the kind called Tai Chi [Thai Kek], whose history goes back about 600 years, to China in the Song dynasty. There was a Taoist ascetic living in the region of Wudang who heard the cry of a cuckoo near his hermitage, crying out with unusual intensity, so he came out to look. He saw that cuckoo, perched in a tree, staring fixedly down at the ground. When the ascetic likewise looked at the ground, he saw that there was a snake there, and at that very moment the cuckoo swooped...

...down repeatedly to peck at the snake, but the snake likewise managed to dodge the bird's attacks time after time. In the end the cuckoo must have grown weary and flew off. These events led the Taoist ascetic to the thought that in order for life to endure, there must be movement — that this is a law of nature. This very thought became the origin of the Tai Chi school of Chinese boxing. The fighting principle of Tai Chi is: "stick to and yield with" [the opponent]. Besides this school of Chinese boxing there are many other schools, such as the practice of Wai Dan Gong, another type of Chinese exercise that keeps the blood and vital energy [lueat lom] in the body functioning normally — a manual of body training for long life, handed down from Taoism for a thousand years. In more recent times, the one most prominent in spreading the practice of Wai Dan Gong has been a renowned senior teacher based in Taiwan, who brought this form of body exercise from China and established a large association in Taiwan, from which it then spread to Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, and so on. This discipline is a simple form of exercise for maintaining health, suitable for those of middle age and the elderly. There is yet another form of Chinese-boxing exercise called Lian Gong. This last type of Chinese boxing has been adapted by combining Tai Chi and Kung Fu together, and serves to treat pain in the neck and shoulders, pain in the back and waist, pain in the hips and legs, and pain in the joints of the arms and legs — preventing and treating abnormalities of the internal organs so as to keep them as good as before.

Nevertheless, exercise in the form of Chinese-boxing forms, regardless of which school it belongs to, mostly consists of slow bodily movements, with the mind required to remain calm. In particular, if one is able to use one's mental power to control this exercise as well, it will make this form of exercise even more effective. Some people perform Chinese-boxing forms without using mental power to control them, which makes the exercise not very beneficial to the body. The breathing system is one part that can generate mental power quickly, and one must also maintain mindfulness, following the movement of the body throughout. If one is able to practice as described above, the exercise will yield fully complete results in every respect, undoubtedly slowing aging and prolonging life. Therefore, mental power plays an important part in helping to promote greater effectiveness.

3. Food

The general rules of nutrition from qualified physicians at present are that one should receive nutrients from all five food groups completely, which will be reviewed here once again, as follows:

Group 1 consists of: meat, beans, eggs, milk, etc.

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Group 2 includes rice, flour, taro, tubers, and sugar, etc. Group 3 includes green vegetables and various vegetables, etc. Group 4 includes various fruits, etc. Group 5 includes fats and oils from animals and plants, etc. These five food groups provide nutrients such as protein, carbohydrates, various vitamins, minerals, water, and energy, which the body needs.

Especially in Thailand, these five food groups can be found at very inexpensive prices, because our country is still very abundant. For example, fruit is available to eat all year round and is entirely beneficial to the body — such as bananas, oranges, papaya, etc.

Likewise, fresh vegetables of all kinds are found throughout the country, all being plants that are easy to grow, so much so that foreigners who come to tour Thailand praise it, saying that Thailand is one of the countries in the world most abundant in crops and grains.

Some people are even willing to pay for airfare just to come eat food in Thailand, because it is food capable of strengthening the body. In contrast, some wealthy people in Thailand often fly abroad because they want to eat certain foods not found in Thailand, not knowing that such food cannot compare to ours in nutritional value, yet they are still willing to spend the money to travel there.

Such behavior might well be called eccentric or deranged, one could say.

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But in any case, if we think of eating this food as "eating in order to live," rather than "living in order to eat," this will give rise to a good awareness of knowing moderation in the taste of food, which accords with the Buddhist saying:

"Bhojane mattaññutā"

Being one who knows moderation in consuming food; knowing moderation in eating.

That is, eating in order to nourish the body so that life can go on peacefully — not eating for the sake of pleasure and indulgence. Especially for elderly people who eat food in order to slow aging, one should be as careful as possible about this matter of eating and living.

Because the need for food in elderly people is not as great as in young people who need to build growth for the body; elderly people need food only to repair the body's structure enough to keep it standing.

In summary, for elderly people, one should avoid fatty foods and sweets, and should not eat to excess, as this can easily lead to obesity, diabetes, or high blood pressure. But one must still eat enough food; otherwise, it may result in low disease resistance because of a lack of protein and energy, which can be dangerous to the body.

Every time we eat, if everyone incorporates the principle of using mental power mixed in as well, it may make the food's benefit multiply.

That is to say, while we are chewing food, we use mental power to help...

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...grinding the food further, this will make the food finer than before, because mental power is itself a form of energy.

When the food becomes finer it becomes easier to digest in the stomach, and this can happen without taking as long as before.

After that, the various cells will help absorb and convert it to nourish the body quickly, benefiting the body in the best way, and there will be no food left lingering in the stomach that could easily give rise to illness.

4. Feces

The food residue left over from digestion is expelled through the anus. Everyone, once they have eaten food, will in due course need to pass stool, which is the food residue coming out from the large intestine, and this passing of stool may need to happen every day.

But if a case of constipation occurs, this means the condition of not passing stool, and the stool will remain lodged in the large intestine, creating the problem that the food will become toxic and harmful to the body.

Therefore, in order to slow the body's aging, one must be able to pass stool every day as a regular habit.

But sometimes, if the stool becomes drier, it may be because the body's mechanism reabsorbs the water that moistens the stool. If this happens...

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...then it is guaranteed that severe constipation will occur — meaning the stool will absolutely not come out. Apart from having to resort to enemas or laxative medicine, another way that may be tried has been considered.

That is: one must use the mental power existing within oneself as an aid, by first calming the mind. Once the mind is well calmed, use that very calm mind and direct it straight to the large intestine, which connects with the anus, while saying inwardly:

"May wind come and help squeeze the large intestine."

Then extend loving-kindness to all the feces: "May you be happy. Do not lie there still any longer. Hurry and leave the intestine — come out now, little one, please come out."

Use the mind to plead, inviting whatever spirit is present there to join in and hear the mental power we are requesting as well.

This has been practiced before, and it turned out that afterward there was indeed wind in the intestine and the urge to defecate arose at once. After a short while the stool gradually moved out from the anus smoothly. Even if not much came out, it is still better than nothing coming out at all, because if stool remains lodged for a long time it will certainly not be good for the body.

This is one method which I would like you to try.

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5. Emotion

Ordinarily this means clinging/attachment, or thoughts and feelings that keep changing at all times; sometimes it may also refer to a person's temperament — for example, being a person of a calm disposition, or a person with a sense of humor, and so on.

Thus it can be seen that emotion is one part connected with the course of each individual's life, which continuously affects mental health as well.

If a person's mental health is not good, illness will follow in sequence. It may be said that emotion is what leads the defilements and cravings — namely greed, anger, and delusion — into ourselves.

Therefore it is extremely necessary to guard against these thoughts a great deal. Especially in this stage of being an elderly person, one must increase caution as much as possible, because at this age emotions become unstable most easily.

The best way is that one should practice looking at the world in a positive light; everything must proceed according to the time that has been set for it.

Try to look at yourself as much as possible, using mindfulness to examine and correct yourself, because no one can remind you to correct your own mind better than you reminding yourself.

Another important thing is not to cling to the notion that oneself is important; one should let go as much as possible, holding the thought that oneself...

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...that self does not truly exist; it is merely the six elements combining together to form a shape and a body only. It has been fashioned to come out and act in the drama of life for only a certain span of time. After that, this beautiful, splendid body that everyone extols will have to be left behind on the surface of this earth, becoming filth heaped upon the ground.

Try to reflect and contemplate like this every day. Keep the mind full of loving-kindness at all times. When stressful matters come, when gloomy, sad matters come, once acknowledged, let them pass. Take it merely as something heard, merely as something seen, nothing more.

From this we will then encounter and experience calm, emptiness, and also the cleanliness and brightness shining within our own hearts, without any problem.

Furthermore, if we cultivate concentration through samatha or vipassanā meditation — which are means for producing calm or wisdom — as a further addition, the happiness of mental health will become even more intense. It is by this very path that aging can be slowed 100%.

Because the results of meditation practice, which is considered an indirect use of mental power, have already produced their effects.

That is, becoming a person of long life; when the time comes to depart this world, one will depart correctly, with complete mindfulness and full awareness, and the final destination is the land of eternal, everlasting happiness.

The matter of regularly checking and maintaining bodily health is also considered an important component. Especially for elderly people at this age, it is all the more necessary to examine in detail — for example, checking how the respiratory system is functioning, or whether the pulse or heartbeat shows any abnormal irregularity...

Kammatthana Sang Rit 72 Mental Power Beyond the Human

...or not.

Following this there must also be a general physical examination, which might be done regularly every 6 months or once a year, etc.

The reason for this, put simply, is that the condition of the body changes every day. Elderly people are constantly on a path of decline, and there should be some repair or replacement/correction of whichever part of the body needs it. This is normal for everyone and must be attended to, and the one who can examine these things is, of course, the doctor.

Some people may have heard about another kind of human being: the yogis who live in the mountains, such as in the Himalayas, where hermitages of various yogis are found lined up everywhere; or sometimes in caves on high mountains in Thailand, where noble monks go to practice in order to escape the dangers of the cycle of rebirth, in order to attain the highest peace.

It can be observed that these people mostly live to a great age, without needing any physical health check-up whatsoever.

This kind of case is a special one, differing from ordinary human beings, because in the area where these people reside to carry out their ascetic practice, the surrounding environment is nothing but pure.

The air is pure; eating and living follow nature — eating various fruits beneficial to the body; the mind and emotions have nothing but calm, brightness, and cleanliness; exercise consists of walking meditation in various yogic postures, etc.

And the thing that can sustain life for hundreds of years is...

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Using mental power together with the breath, or "lom prana" (vital breath), to nourish this life so that it may have nothing but immortality, without any problem.

In such a case, this is considered a special case in which such persons are regarded as having already gone beyond the world.

Allow me to summarize once more, as a final point: slowing aging normally requires living in accordance with the various matters already discussed — such as having good air, having sunlight to help strengthen the bones, having good food, exercising regularly, keeping a cheerful mood, etc. — but all these various factors are merely supporting components.

But if one truly examines the real matter, it is this:

If mental power is brought in to combine with these practices as well, then the slowing of aging will be achieved to an enormous degree.

Because everything in this world already agrees that the mind is the master, and the body is the servant.

This means the mind is supreme, the foundation of all importance. Whether the body is well and happy, or the body suffers, is afflicted with illness — all of this depends entirely on the mind.

Nowadays it can be seen that there are mental-power-enhancement centers everywhere, both inside and outside our country, which gives rise to the expectation that, one day in this future, our world will no longer need to use any technological tools at all — there will only be the use of mental power as the important element in practice...

Kammatthana Sang Rit 74 Mental Power Beyond the Human

...normal activities in general. All human beings, too, will be able to slow aging in the best possible way, and it is expected that in the future there may be no elderly people at all.

Because mental power can be used to harness the various forces existing in this world — such as electromagnetic force, gravitational force, etc. — adapting and modifying them so that various activities in this world can achieve effects of the most astonishing power.

Even wars that will occur in the future — who knows, they might even be wars of mental power, because nowadays the great powers of the world are all earnestly researching and experimenting with the use of mental power.

And in this near future, all of us may well have to experience this for ourselves without doubt.

[end-of-section mark: small decorative floral ornament]

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[diagram: an oval dashed-line frame containing a drawing of a lotus flower, placed to the left of the chapter heading]

Training Mental Power and Internal Power

According to the Secret Tibetan Treatise

The stories concerning the countless wondrous mysteries — a hundred and eight thousand of them — of the Tibetan people, from ancient times up to the present day, remain a matter of great interest and are constantly discussed, whether concerning religious rites, customs and traditions, or even the strange rituals connected with beliefs about spirits and various kinds of ghosts and demons.

But the story to be presented to readers here concerns training internal power according to the secret Tibetan treatise, which, it is believed, if anyone trains in it sincerely, they will achieve success by themselves in an astonishing and marvelous way. Acharn Taweewat recorded this in the magazine Phon Lok ("Beyond the World"), issue 15, B.E. 2535 (1992), at which time the writer served as assistant editor of that magazine, and considered it an interesting method for training mental power. Moreover, the magazine...

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...Phon Lok magazine ceased operation several years ago, which may have caused the meditation practice method recorded by Acharn Taweewat to be lost along with it. It is therefore compiled into this volume, "Kammatthana Sang Rit" (Meditation Practices for Creating Siddhi Powers), so as to be of benefit to those interested in training mental power, as follows:

...The training of internal power to be described below is considered "the art of the light body" (wicha tua bao), similar to training in martial arts according to Chinese treatises on internal power. Tibetans of an earlier era believed that one who succeeded in this training could travel very swiftly while on pilgrimage/wandering, like a runner called a "miraculous whirlwind human," no less.

Furthermore, it is also believed that Tibetan lamas who undergo mental training for as long as decades, until skilled in using mental power to control their own behavior in various ways, are able to make the body free of sensation and hold the breath for many hours.

The word "lung-gom" in the Tibetan language refers to the practice of concentrated meditation through regulating the breath in various bodily exercise postures, each posture having a purpose that produces benefits differing in both body and mind.

But in truth the word lung-gom is a term used specifically for training mental power to control one's own movements so as to achieve exceptional swiftness and speed. Those who have trained until skilled are able to travel to their destination many times faster than normal.

This is a belief of the Tibetan people dating from ancient times.

It is said that certain sacred lamas can travel from one village to another very swiftly, almost like a miracle, in only...

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...only 2-3 days, whereas before lung-gom training the journey used to take as long as a month. One who has mastered lung-gom training perfectly is called a "lung-gom-pa."

Caravans of merchants traveling through forests, mountains, and wilderness, or even through desert regions, would always encounter lamas moving about with great speed, their manner resembling running and leaping over tall grass or bushes swiftly, like a "whirlwind human" — quite different from ordinary people indeed.

It is well known that if a lung-gom-pa runs past, one must absolutely not call out a greeting, and must instead bow down and prostrate, because each lung-gom-pa running past like a storm has his mind deep in concentration (samādhi). Therefore, if anyone calls out to him it is equivalent to startling him into sudden alarm, which may cause his concentration to break or cause severe nerve pain; in some cases it has even caused convulsions and instant death.

The lung-gom-pa's appearance while running has a stern, solemn expression, with wide-open eyes fixed on some point in the sky ahead, and it seems as though the lung-gom-pa's body is lifted up off the ground and moves forward in a leaping stride as if with springs, or with elasticity like a football — as soon as the foot touches the ground it bounces back up again immediately.

The pace of the footsteps proceeds in a steady, even rhythm. The clothing worn is an old monastic robe, so worn it is tattered and full of patches. In his right hand he holds a short, sacred sword.

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It is not only across flat, open ground that the lung-gom-pa move so swiftly — even steep, towering cliff faces can be scaled by a lung-gom-pa with practiced ease.

The native Tebkiya people in the Tibetan border region adjoining China have long wondered whether the most accomplished lung-gom-pa come from the training school of one particular monastery in the region of Tsang, since the monasteries of Tsang are for the most part renowned for their skill in training lung-gom practitioners.

The training school with the greatest reputation for transmitting the lung-gom martial art of mind-power is the Khan School.

The key figures who built that school's greatest renown as lung-gom-pa were two eminent lamas:

The venerable Yangton Dorje, honored as a great master of magical arts, able to subdue evil spirits and malevolent deities. Tibetans further say of him that he was a disciple of the Lord Buddha, reborn into the human world for the seventh time.

The other is Lama Buston, renowned as a scholar of the scriptures. The most notable point in the history of the manifold esoteric sciences attributed to him is that he compiled the Tibetan-language Tripitaka, translated from Sanskrit — today known as the Buddhist scripture of Tibet called the "Kangyur," gathered together into as many as 108 volumes, covering the Vinaya, the Sutras, and the Tantras.

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◉ Basic Training in Lung-gom, or the Art of the Light Body

First, one who wishes to train in lung-gom must practice regulating the in- and out-breath until able to slow the breath into an even, steady rhythm — from fast down to slow, from strong down to light.

Most demanding of all, this must be practiced inside a completely dark room, continuously, for as long as 3 years and 3 months.

Posture: the practitioner must sit cross-legged in meditation on a fairly thick, large cushion. Settle into a comfortable position and breathe in very slowly over a long span of time, as though drawing air in until the lungs are completely full. Hold the breath, then release it slowly.

At the same time, one tries to leap up and hover while remaining in that same cross-legged posture — the hands must never be used to assist. Once airborne, one lands back on the cushion in the same position. This is practiced repeatedly, with the duration gradually increased, until reaching at least 1 hour.

It is said that some lamas are able to leap as high as treetops, or even the rooftops of houses and buildings.

The purpose of training in this way is to use mental power to compel the body into a weightless state — what is called the Art of the Light Body. It can be practiced by men, women, children, and adults alike.

There is an amusing story told that some lung-gom-pa become so skilled at this light-body practice that they are able to leap up and sit —

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— and eat rice porridge balanced atop a stalk of wheat, without the stalk bending or breaking in the slightest. Some, it is said, can even leap up and play a flute atop a heap of grain as though it were as light as cotton fluff.

Whether it is true or not is a matter for the storytellers, of course.

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◉ Advanced Lung-gom Training

Some lung-gom-pa practice the light-body art inside a large pit, dug to a depth equal to their own height and wide enough to move about comfortably within. A cone-shaped roof is then built to cover it, with a small hole pierced at the point of the cone — just large enough for the practitioner to pass through, or else only for breathing.

The training proceeds as follows: first sitting in vajra (diamond) meditation posture, then regulating the breath alternated with breath retention, all while attempting to leap and pass out through the small hole at the peak of the cone. This basic exercise typically takes years to complete; some lamas take as long as 3 years before succeeding.

Stage 2: practicing leaping over rocks and low trees, launching oneself forward as fast as possible. The posture may be changed to standing, in cases where the practitioner has already mastered and become skilled at the basic seated-meditation leap.

Some lung-gom-pa become so expert at the light-body art that they can reduce their weight to an extreme degree, to the point that they must bind their waist with an iron chain.

This is because, when leaping while entering trance, they tend to drift and float through the air at very high speed, often to the point of colliding with trees, boulders, or cliff faces — which is why it is commonly rumored that lamas who trained in lung-gom carelessly met their deaths, almost invariably from causes of exactly this kind.

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◉ Training in Lung-gom Under a Master

Between training oneself in lung-gom and training under a truly expert teacher, the second method naturally achieves results faster, because the trainee receives close, attentive supervision and is also compelled to train according to correct principles.

Normally the initial training begins with a highly potent and sacred rite called the Angkra Rite, in which the trainee must chant according to the verses prescribed in the scriptures. The teacher then recites accompanying incantations. At the same time the trainee must fix the mind in concentration while continuously chanting silently within.

Next comes training in walking with rhythmic steps and rhythmic breathing. While walking or running one must not glance aside in any other direction, for fear of losing concentration.

When one enters trance and reaches a point of stillness, a drowsy, dreamlike sensation arises, resembling the onset of sleep. Those experienced enough to have mastered the practice retain full awareness controlling the mind at every moment, and are able to use mental power to compel the body to move in whatever direction is desired.

Terrain suitable for lung-gom training tends to be vast open desert regions, broad open plains, and forest — whether sparse or dense — only. Mountainous areas or deep ravines, as well as rough, uneven ground, are unsuitable for training.

The time most favored for lung-gom practice is generally the dim hours before sunrise, or the period as the sun is setting.

A lung-gom-pa who has traveled all day over long distances, although —

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— worn out with fatigue, once the time for lung-gom training arrives, an air of freshness and vigor arises in them immediately. The concentration or mental power generated becomes abnormally elevated and more effective; the fatigue and exhaustion gradually diminish and eventually vanish altogether.

Furthermore, moonless nights are considered the period best suited to lung-gom training, since it is on such nights that the stars can be seen shining brilliantly across the sky. The practitioner practices fixing their gaze on a single star, using it as a device for concentration — an object to focus on so that samadhi may arise.

Some practitioners will stop walking the instant the star they have fixed their eyes on disappears below the horizon ahead. As for the results obtained from lung-gom training, the more one practices, the more experience accumulates.

It is said that those who train in lung-gom for many years, until fully skilled, can travel great distances of many thousands of miles in far less time than normal, their feet never touching or brushing the ground at all — moving instead as though drifting on the force of the wind, at exceptionally high speed.

What is worth pondering is this: all the lung-gom-pa have stated with confidence that, in truth, the peace and happiness of human life is something far greater than what exists outside those very moments when the mind attains the deep concentration so difficult to achieve through lung-gom training — reckoned the greatest happiness, giving rise to the most profound sense of rapture in all of life.

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◉ Using Mental Power to Compel the Body to Generate Warmth

Living in a cave or hut through the bitter cold of winter, amid snow lying no less than 5 feet deep, at elevations of 11,000–18,000 feet above sea level, wrapped in no more than 2–3 pieces of clothing — or at times going entirely naked in the manner of a forest hermit — this is reckoned an astonishing feat indeed.

But for lamas, hermits, and ascetics skilled in the training of mental power, this is considered altogether ordinary.

Tibetans believe that one with highly developed mental power can compel the body to generate warmth marvelously, as though sitting warming oneself before a blazing fire. This ability the Tibetans call tummo.

In fact, tummo is divided into 3 categories.

Category 1 is called basic tummo, or the tummo generally known to most people — the use of mental power to compel the body to feel naturally refreshed amid stifling, hot weather, or to generate warmth amid bitterly cold air.

Category 2 is called intermediate tummo, the stage at which one of elevated mental power —

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— compel the body to feel comfortable amid the snow on a mountain peak or high altitude. This stage is one where the effect must be sustained for a longer duration than the first stage.

Category 3 is called advanced tummo, the stage that renders the mind at its most tranquil — one who attains it becomes the happiest person in the world.

In the early period of tummo training, the teacher first recites incantations and radiates loving-kindness toward the trainee. The trainee is then advised to travel and train alone at high altitude in an area of intense cold. One must first bathe in a pool of water; once the body has been washed, it is strictly forbidden to towel off or put on any additional clothing — one must sit in meditation, cultivating calm concentration, throughout the entire night.

In the early stage the trainee will feel the cold is so severe as to nearly take their breath away, but once night deepens and the mind settles into firm, still concentration, the feeling of bitter cold vanishes in a marvelous way.

The trainee must begin practice every day starting at first light of dawn, sitting in meditation in the open air at a high place — usually a mountain peak. Practicing indoors is absolutely forbidden, and the session must be completed before the sun rises above the eastern horizon.

The essential point is that in the early stage the trainee must be completely naked; if clothing is worn at all it should be no more than a single piece. A seat for a new trainee may be a wooden bench, a log, a stone, or a straw sack or grass mat to sit upon. Those who have advanced to the higher stage must sit directly on bare ground with no seat at all — sitting on ice or snow is considered most fitting of all. Before practicing, one must not drink hot water or eat food.

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There are 2 postures for training: sitting in ordinary cross-legged meditation, or sitting with the legs relaxed on a bench, log, or stone, both hands resting on the knees, fingers spread apart from one another, while the thumb and ring finger curl toward each other without quite touching.

Regulating the breath: begin by drawing a deep breath in, then slowly release the breath out. This is regarded as cleansing the nostrils, windpipe, and lungs within the body. While drawing the breath in, one should call to mind the sacred Dhamma, together with the incantations and all things good and wholesome as meritorious deeds, drawing them into the body as well.

As for the out-breath, this is to be regarded as casting out greed, anger, and delusion — the defilements and cravings within one's own mind. It may be said to be the act of taking the evil within the mind and discarding it outside.

The next stage of practice, after breathing in and breathing out, is to hold the breath for a moment, alternating in this way until the practice is complete.

In the final stage, one must contemplate one's own bodily formations until a visionary image arises: a sacred golden lotus appearing within the body, just above the navel. This golden lotus is to be regarded as a source of fire, like the rays of the sun radiating heat — its warmth spreading out through the entire body.

Next, one is to form a mental image of 3 special channels (nerve-lines): Channel 1, running from the tip of the right foot up to the tip of the right arm, is called roma.

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Channel 2, running from the tip of the left foot up to the tip of the left arm, is called kyangma.

Channel 3, running from the middle of the torso up to the very top of the head, is called uma.

These three special channels are regarded as the conduits carrying the current of mental power and the current of flame throughout the entire body, and are made, through focused concentration, to expand until each channel grows as thick as the little finger, then as thick as an arm, in succession.

Finally, once the flame of warmth has spread through every pore of the body, one compels it to shrink back down to the size of a hair, as before, until it gradually fades away — and in the end all that remains is a single point of mind, radiant and shining like the sun.

What has been described above is the approach to tummo training relying above all on one's own mental power. It may indeed be said that the mind of a human being holds power greater than anything else in the world.

In truth, the wise have said that it is not necessary to go so far as to train in tummo at all. If most people in the world simply knew how to meditate, cultivate concentration, and purify their own minds to stillness through even the most basic virtue, the whole world would surely be steeped in far more peace than it now is.

But in general, certain groups of people are intent on purifying the minds of others, while forgetting to purify their own minds — allowing the defilements born of greed, anger, and delusion to accumulate thick and heavy. One might say that people concern themselves only with the outward physical form, their own and that of others, worrying anxiously whether they will be at ease and comfortable, or whether they will eventually die — while the mind, that jewel which...

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— that miraculous quality of their own, is a thing sadly overlooked by so many.

Some forget to purify their own minds right up until the final moment of life. If this is not to be called a wasted human birth, then it is hard to know what else to call it.

◉ Training in Tummo According to Naropa

Training in tummo according to the tradition of Naropa, the great master of magical arts of Tibet, is a subject well worth attention.

Tummo training according to the tradition of Naropa proceeds as follows:

Posture: sit in cross-legged meditation, with both hands resting on the knees. Then proceed as follows:

Twist the body so that the abdominal region bends from right to left 3 times, and from left to right 3 times.

Draw the stomach area in as forcefully as possible, breathing in and out alternately 3 times.

Shake or tremble the entire body, similar to the way a horse shivers its body while standing still in one place.

While remaining seated in cross-legged meditation posture, force oneself to leap up from the ground as high as possible. This sequence of movements must be carried out continuously —

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— until the body feels warm.

Maintaining warmth within the body — or, as some of the wise put it, awakening the fire element (tejo-dhatu) and sustaining it for a long time — requires being compelled by a highly developed power of concentration.

In the Naropa tradition, the method is to hold the breath repeatedly, alternating back and forth, until the mind settles into concentration. One then visualizes a ball of fire, radiating light and heat, on the palms of both hands, the soles of both feet, and the area just below the navel.

One compels the light and heat at these five points to fan and blaze up more and more intensely, until the body comes to feel warm, and sustains it in the desired state continuously, even amid the most intense cold.

Is training according to the Naropa tradition the same as the practice of Indian yogis?

Naropa's tummo training was in fact adapted from the hatha yoga postures of Indian yogis.

What is hatha yoga?

Hatha yoga, in its general meaning, refers to the process of controlling the body, or training and disciplining the body, according to yogic philosophy, which holds that: the human body remains alive by virtue of two natural forces — the force of heat and the force of cold (or, as some put it, positive force and negative force).

Whenever these two forces are correctly balanced, a person attains the most complete health. Illness and sickness arise precisely because —

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These two powers are simply not in balance with each other. The word "ha" refers to the sun, which is considered the hot power (or positive power). The word "tha" refers to the moon, the symbol of the cool power (or wind power).

As for the word "yoga," it therefore means the joining of the hot power and the cool power so that they are in balance, or it refers to a human being's ability to control both of these life powers so that they remain in a state of balance. The key principle of hatha yoga is this: fixing the mind, or sending a current of mental energy to control every part of the body. Achieving this path requires diligence and time above all. Some yogis are able to make their own heart stop beating for as long as 10 days. Some are able to force their bodies to sit on a plank covered with sharp iron spikes. Some are able to bury themselves in a pit filled with soil for a period as long as a month. This matter is true, sir. Many learned people from the West have traveled to test and verify the marvels of the yogis in India using modern scientific methods, and they have all accepted that it is a real phenomenon lying beyond the laws of nature. Another fact is this: if the reader travels to see the yogis, sages (ruesi), or ascetics in the town of Rishikesh, or as it is called "Ruesi Kes" [Sage-town], in the

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northern part of India, one will find that some yogis, though nearly 100 years old, look as if they were only 30-40 years old. And that is an example of what results from the ability to control the body and mind of a person.

◉ Testing of Ability

Some groups of lamas have established a very strange ceremony to test ability in the practice of tummo — namely, a tummo competition held on a sheet of ice, held in Tibet during a period of intensely cold weather, with strong winds blowing, on a bright moonlit night. Every lama must sit in meditation on the ice field in a state of nakedness, and each one must take a blanket, soak it in the freezing-cold water, and then wrap it around his own body. He then practices tummo until the blanket becomes completely dry. Once it is completely dry, it is dipped in the water again, wrapped around the body once more, and tummo is practiced again — alternating back and forth repeatedly until dawn breaks. Whoever can dry the blanket the greatest number of times is considered the winner.

It is said that some lamas have been able to dry the blanket as many as 60 times!

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In truth, doing it only 5 times is already considered to have passed the test, and one receives a white robe as the reward.

It can be seen that the path of training mental power and the art of the "light body" according to the secret sciences of Tibet requires, before one can succeed through each stage, the utmost diligence and endurance. But the most important thing that will carry one through the obstacles is the mind or the heart itself — isn't that so? [diagram: small decorative flower/leaf ornament]

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[diagram: a dashed oval frame enclosing an illustration of a lotus flower] ### The Method of Practicing Hypnosis

The method of practicing hypnosis is an approach that uses the power of the mind to control oneself or others, by means of one's own mental power arising from concentration — a firm, unwavering mental power that arises as a result of practicing the dhamma, practicing samadhi kammatthana. Although this is not, strictly speaking, a path that will lead the mind and heart of the one who practices by this approach to reduce and abandon defilements and craving, and the clinging to the five aggregates that are the very essence of suffering in the path of the Buddhist religion of the Lord Buddha directly, it cannot be denied that it is one method that can cause the mind of the practitioner to attain concentration, and to generate a power that may lead onward to the practice of higher-level dhamma kammatthana. Hypnosis, generally speaking, we may tend to see merely as a performance by illusionists — the various magicians who demonstrate their strong mental power, showing that they can dominate the minds of others, or dominate the animals used in their performances only. This has become so widespread that it has become a familiar, ordinary sight,

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it is usually a performance by foreign illusionists. Western-style illusionists commonly use the method of hypnosis widely. Apart from performing it for entertainment, some practitioners of mental training are also able to apply the art of hypnosis in the field of modern medicine — for example, in psychotherapy, and in hypnosis used for surgery, and so on. These are methods that have received a rather sensational and remarkably favorable response. But in reality, hypnosis is a form of kammatthana practice for building siddhi — for generating, at a foundational level, a power of mental siddhi in the practitioner. It is one method which, it appears, has been used by teachers or mind-practitioners in the Buddhist tradition, both among the ordained and the laity, across many schools, to train their students widely — especially those approaches that claim to be practices for "recollecting karma" or "purifying karma." All of these have, in the same way, taken up the method of hypnosis training as their approach to instruction, and have used it for a very long time as well. But as to which particular schools teach along this approach, I will not go into that here, sir. Let it merely be mentioned, as a hint, that the art of hypnosis is not something new; it has existed and been used in our own country for a very long time — only it was not called "the art of hypnosis." This method of practice appears to be a Western, foreign method, and indeed Westerners have composed a great many books on the subject of hypnosis, and it has become widespread. On this matter, Colonel Chom Sukhanthirat wrote about it in his book series Wittayasat Thang Jai [Science of the Mind], in a passage worth reflecting on. In one part, he recorded the following:

[diagram: a black-and-white photograph of a man in white robes seated cross-legged in front of an altar table adorned with Buddha images and offerings]

Colonel Chom Sukhanthirat Teacher who instructs mental-power training by the scientific approach Wittayasat Thang Jai [Science of the Mind]

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Many books on hypnosis have been written by Westerners, but upon researching and reading them, those textbooks do not clearly state how a beginner should start practicing the method of hypnosis. Some volumes give a step-by-step training scheme; having read it, one still cannot find a good method for getting started. A great many Western textbooks discuss what forms a successful act of hypnosis has taken; what kind of person can be hypnotized; what kind of person cannot be hypnotized; how to test whether hypnosis is working; how to release someone from hypnosis; how to prevent dangers that may arise during hypnosis, and so on. These seem to be written so that people who can already hypnotize will gain broader knowledge — written so that others may learn of the successes these practitioners have achieved. But content specifically about how to begin training in hypnosis, or how to build up the capacity needed to become a hypnotist, is found only very rarely. Some volumes give a starting method that is actually flawed; even when followed completely, it does not work. Sometimes what should be labeled as "a method for beginning to train the mind" is instead given some other heading entirely. Regarding the art of hypnosis, or the practice of hypnosis training, I therefore wish to gather together here what has been written by Westerners concerning the beginning stages of hypnosis training, or the building of capacity for hypnosis, and then consider what in it is correct and what is mistaken, as follows:

1. Train the eyes to be hard/piercing. A hard, piercing gaze is considered the most important tool in hypnosis — for example, one should practice by staring at a mirror, staring at bright light, starting from mild sunlight and progressing up to strong, intense sunlight.

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On this matter, I wish to state that hypnosis does not actually require a hard, piercing gaze. What Westerners like to emphasize — that if the gaze is not hard/piercing, the hypnosis will fail — contradicts both the actual truth and their own later statement, namely "long-distance hypnosis" or "hypnosis by waving the hand while speaking," which are methods of hypnosis that do not require the use of the eyes at all. Furthermore, self-hypnosis likewise does not require the use of the eyes. Some people who hear me may want to object on this particular point, and may become displeased, assuming that I am mistaken. But this is not a matter in which I intend to force anyone to believe me — I am merely offering reasons for consideration, for study, so that those who are still under the misapprehension that a hard gaze is necessary for hypnosis may come to know whether that is so or not.

I wish to reveal here the thing that has blinded people into this mistaken belief about the hard gaze, namely: the truth is that a hard, piercing gaze serves no purpose.

In cases of hypnosis where it happens that a hard, fixed stare helps to bring about a successful hypnosis, this is because it is actually the stillness of the eyes that serves as the tool that assists in hypnosis. That is, eyes that remain open and unmoving reflect light into the eyes of the person being hypnotized, causing that person to want to squint or close their eyes; and the stillness of the hypnotist's eyes helps serve as a target for the gaze, or as a focal point that helps to fix and steady the mind of the person being hypnotized, causing them to become still and calm. If the hypnotist has the hardest possible gaze but the face keeps swaying slightly back and forth, or the eyes keep moving even while staring intently, this will not help to promote successful hypnosis at all.

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On this point, if anyone still believes it is necessary, they should change from training the eyes to be hard/piercing to instead training the eyes to remain open and still for long periods, which is better than practicing staring at a mirror or staring at bright light for long periods — which is actually harmful and damages the eyesight.

2. Have confidence in yourself — believe that you will be able to hypnotize the other person, and believe that you possess within yourself sufficient power to hypnotize others. When using the hand to stroke, or the eyes to stare, believe that power is flowing out from the hand, from the eyes, helping to force the other person to fall asleep. On this point, I agree, and it is one trick that will help bring about success. The method of training is to try to find reasons that will produce as much self-confidence as possible. (Practice using mental power in other ways — see elsewhere.)

3. Practice controlling others at all times. Whenever you meet someone sitting nearby, or whenever anyone speaks with anyone, keep practicing forcing them to act according to your own wishes — for example, forcefully willing that they turn their face toward you; or, when passing someone while walking, mentally will beforehand that they will step out of your way, to the right or to the left; when asking someone a question, send your mental force to compel them to tell the truth, and so on. On this point, I consider it a method that should indeed be practiced, but it is not, in fact, the starting method.

The true starting point is this: to know how to calm and still the mind, or to bring the mind into a state of concentration (samadhi). If the mind is not in samadhi, then trying to mentally compel something will produce no result at all, except by mere accidental coincidence.

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As for beginning to train in other aspects of hypnosis that should be practiced and that will bring good benefit, Westerners have written about these as well, but they instead placed them under separate, different headings. Someone who has never practiced and lacks thoroughness might mistakenly think these are entirely unrelated topics. The topics that should be practiced in order to build capacity for hypnosis in these other respects are as follows:

1. Using mental power at a low level. 2. Using mental power at a higher level, to control others and other events.

As for these two points, hearing the headings alone, they might seem to be about something else entirely. But in truth, they are about training the mind, or training to build up mental capacity, so as to be better prepared for use in hypnotizing oneself and others. Once you have read and considered the method of hypnosis training at the very beginning, as I have described above according to the Western approach — and having trimmed away and kept only what is correct, as I have already explained — you should now have grasped roughly how to train in the initial stages. But in order to make this fully clear, and to bring it into alignment with the Thai method as well, I wish to summarize it more clearly according to my own view, as follows:

Point 1. The beginning of hypnosis training is this: one must first train to control one's own mind. Even if one can control one's own mind only to some degree, and not at an advanced level, it is enough — being able to control the mind in a simple way is already sufficient to begin

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training to hypnotize others further. For example, practice controlling sleep and wakefulness. When someone provokes anger through words or some action, practice suppressing the mind so as not to become angry. At times when it is necessary to work hard, to work a great deal, to read a lot, or when there are troublesome matters, try to keep your own mind fresh, or to remain unperturbed without becoming bored or distressed, without becoming anxious — or control the mind by the method of training the use of mental power, which is considered the best and most direct shortcut.

Point 2. The method of training to control one's own mind that produces the best results and is the shortest path is this: practice samadhi (concentration meditation). Apart from practicing samadhi, it means practicing the use of mental power, practicing "self-awakening," "awakening the Buddha [within]" — which is a method of directly training to control one's own mind.

Point 3. Once you have practiced according to point 1 or point 2 and achieved some degree of result, gaining direction and knowing how to control your own mind reasonably well, and knowing how to send out a current of mental energy, you may then begin to practice hypnotizing others, which will be discussed next.

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◉ The Method of Hypnotizing Others

Westerners commonly write in their textbooks that, before hypnotizing someone, one should first test whether that person can be successfully hypnotized. There is a method for this test, as follows:

Testing a person to see whether they can be hypnotized

1. Have the person who consents to be hypnotized stand up straight with feet together, tilting the head back slightly. The one who is going to perform the hypnosis stands behind them, places both hands on the person's shoulders from behind, and then tells the person consenting to be hypnotized: "The hypnotist will now slowly pull his hands away. Your hands have a pulling, magnetic quality." When the hands are pulled away, the hands will draw the body of the person being hypnotized to lean along with them. When you feel that the hands are drawing the body to lean, do not resist — let it happen according to that feeling, but do not deliberately pretend to lean along either. Once this has been explained clearly, then say: "From now on, I will slowly pull my hands away, and my hands will draw your body, that of the one consenting to be hypnotized, to lean along as well." The hypnotist must do this with genuine, sincere intent — believing truly that his own hands really do have a drawing/pulling power, and that they can really draw a person's body to lean toward them. The mouth should keep speaking persuasively the whole time — repeating the same words, or varying them somewhat, is fine — conveying the sense that: "Slowly, the hands are pulled away, and the body begins to lean along... slowly leaning, or the body feels heavy, leaning backward now." Meanwhile, the hypnotist's own hands should slowly shift back, but without leaving the body of the consenting person entirely, so that the person continues to feel that contact is still being maintained.

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This kind of test produces a strange result: the person who agrees to be hypnotized will gradually lean back, following along, and eventually fall — the hypnotist must catch them with his arm. If this method is tried several times without success, it means that person cannot be hypnotized.

Another method: have the person who agrees to be hypnotized stand up straight, feet together, head bowed slightly. The hypnotist stands in front at a suitable distance, places both hands touching the front of the shoulders, and speaks persuasively in the same manner as described before, but reversed — saying that when the hands are slowly pulled away, the body will be pulled to lean forward following them.

2. Have the person who agrees to be hypnotized sit, then place the hands face-down on a table, palms open and relaxed. The hypnotist persuades them, saying that when the tip of the hypnotist's finger presses down on the back of the hand, they will feel something throbbing, or feel heat, because a certain power is flowing out through the fingertip.

Then the hypnotist presses the tip of the index finger down on the back of the hand of the person who agrees to be hypnotized, and asks whether they feel as described. If they feel one thing or another — for example, something throbbing or a sensation of heat — then that person can be hypnotized. If they feel nothing at all, they cannot be hypnotized.

3. Have the person who agrees to be hypnotized sit comfortably, then interlace both hands together — that is, turn both palms to face each other, place them together as in the wai gesture [palms pressed together in greeting], then align all five fingers evenly, and interlock the fingers snugly into the spaces between them so they are pressed tightly together.

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Next, the hypnotist persuades, saying: once the hypnotist commands the two hands to stick together, they will stick together so tightly they cannot be pulled apart, until the hypnotist commands them to separate.

Then the hypnotist concentrates firmly, willing the two hands of the person who agrees to be hypnotized to stick together, and commands: "the two hands are now beginning to stick together tightly; the two hands are stuck together so tightly they cannot be pulled apart." Then the hands of the person who agrees to be hypnotized will indeed stick together tightly, unable to be pulled apart until told to release. If the hands do not stick together and can be separated, then that person cannot be hypnotized.

If one of these three methods is tried without success, try another method. When all three methods have been tried without success, it shows that person cannot be hypnotized, or can be hypnotized only with great difficulty.

This matter of testing whether someone can be hypnotized is something Westerners have experimented with and set down as principles, of which there are many methods; but the ones judged suitable are these three points mentioned above. In any case, the Westerners did not write down details or clearly indicate what factors help bring about success.

Because this is a matter of creating a fixed delusion (upathan) or creating a feeling — an abnormal state produced easily. Once we accept that this is genuine hypnosis or persuasion, we should consider further the claim that when the three methods are tried without success, one can be certain that person cannot be hypnotized —

if this point is considered carefully and tested, one will find that this rule does not match the truth, because all three methods are merely one kind of method for hypnotizing the mind. When they fail, we must try to examine and correct [the approach], or adapt—

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—adapt by using other good hypnosis methods, suited to that person's particular disposition, and there will still be a way to hypnotize them, because these three methods are not the best hypnosis methods.

Furthermore, these three methods are hypnosis-training methods that are merely adequate; if one knows the important secret for reinforcing them so that the hypnosis works even better, it would be of great benefit.

What secrets and reinforcements are there? I will explain them within the method of practicing hypnosis, in order from easy to difficult. Once well understood, they can be used to reinforce all three of those methods.

Steps in Practicing Hypnosis

Step 1: Beginning the Practice

The first step is to practice using mental power, and to practice using mental power at the beginner level until it is achieved. Next, practice hypnotizing others, or try doing it many times until you know and are confident that you have succeeded and understand adequately; only then try hypnotizing others. But this must be done progressing from easy to difficult.

Step 2: Preparation Before Hypnotizing

Select and find a person who will agree to be hypnotized, whom we will simply call the recipient of...

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...hypnosis, who should be chosen with the following characteristics:

1. A person willing to cooperate in practicing hypnosis, with a mind that trusts the hypnotist. If such trust cannot be found, one should bring it about — for example, by trying to help the person, winning them over by various means, trying to be friendly with them, which may take a fair amount of time.

In the earliest stages, one should use a child of about 10–12 years of age, or use someone whose mind is easily inclined [to suggestion].

2. Try to speak in a pleasing way, coaxing the recipient into accepting hypnosis by making them aware of the various important points that help foster the confidence needed to cooperate in hypnosis. For instance, [explain that] the recipient of hypnosis is in truth not merely someone being hypnotized one-sidedly — in fact the recipient must also use their own mental power to hypnotize themselves. If they do not also help hypnotize themselves, the hypnotist will not succeed.

Moreover, if the recipient has good mental power and knows how to control their own mind well, they may be able to hypnotize themselves to sleep in a short time; the hypnotist need not use mental power to compel them, but need only point out the way for them to hypnotize themselves.

The hypnosis to be carried out here is one particular kind of hypnosis, aimed at inducing sleep — providing bodily rest similar to ordinary sleep. The difference is that this hypnotic sleep still uses the various nerves to control the body so as to produce better results than while awake — for example, making the body rigid, or making one know or see unusual things. Therefore, if one knows how to hypnotize oneself, or can cooperate well in being hypnotized, one can adapt this to hypnotize oneself so as to experience unusual things, or control one's own body,

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...in unusual ways, by oneself alone, without needing anyone else's help to hypnotize.

Hypnosis produces no harm or danger whatsoever. It is not a sign that someone who can be hypnotized is weak-willed or lacking in strength — in fact, quite the opposite: it shows that person has a special ability to know how to control themselves within the desired framework, or is able to hypnotize themselves so as to help the hypnosis succeed.

Furthermore, we may use other persuasive words as well, so as to achieve the result of the subject understanding the benefits of hypnosis and being willing to cooperate in being hypnotized.

Step 3: Carrying Out the Hypnosis

Carrying out the hypnosis can be divided into 2 types, namely:

1. Carrying out self-control

Carrying out self-hypnosis means practicing to bring the mind into concentration (samadhi), or regulating the breath, or using whichever method one is skilled at.

This self-control must be done in the correct manner, by the correct method. One must constantly examine one's shortcomings and find ways to correct them so as to achieve progressively better results. The methods used for hypnotizing others can also be applied to hypnotizing oneself — for example, sitting in the correct posture, making the body comfortable, making the mind comfortable, or using persuasive words to induce sleep, can likewise be used to lull oneself.

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2. Carrying Out Hypnosis of Others

Remember this: before hypnotizing another person's mind, one must first control oneself — that is, one must control one's own mind so it is still, or in concentration (samadhi), or has sufficient power first, by cutting off other emotions and other matters from one's thoughts, gathering the power of thought and focusing on a single matter only — the matter of hypnotizing the other person into sleep. Then one directs this empowered mind to focus and compel him to be still, not scattering toward other matters; then his own mind, too, will gain the power to help control his body or help hypnotize himself as well.

The training in Step 1 (Beginning the Practice) and Step 2 (Preparation Before Hypnotizing) is itself the feeling, or the tool, that helps give us the means to control our own mind so it is still and calm, to have power in a short time, and to reinforce confidence and high morale that we will surely succeed.

Once one has controlled one's own mind to focus on a single matter without scattering, one then proceeds to hypnotize the other person.

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Sequence for Carrying Out Hypnosis of Others

To make this easy to understand, I will lay out the sequence of practice as follows.

1. Have the recipient of hypnosis sit leaning back, with the arms and legs placed in a comfortable position on a reclining chair or an armchair with a seat where the arms can rest comfortably. If it is not comfortable enough, also use supports to prop up the arms and head.

In the first stage, a quiet room with only a moderate amount of light should be used. Have most of the light shine in through an opening located behind the recipient of hypnosis, so that light reflects from the hypnotist's eyes toward the eyes of the recipient. Keep the light dim, with fresh, cool, comfortable air, and no creatures such as mosquitoes or flies to disturb [the session].

2. The hypnotist sits facing the recipient of hypnosis, sitting at a slightly higher level. The hypnotist's eyes should be at a level slightly higher than the recipient's, and the hypnotist's eyes should be about 1 cubit from the recipient's face, or, at the very closest, about 1 foot — not too near and not too far.

Once one has gained proficiency, one can sit to the side or at a distance and still be able to hypnotize.

3. Every part of the bodies of both the hypnotist and the recipient of hypnosis should remain still, to help keep the mind calm and not scattered. To ensure stillness, the hypnotist gently clasps the recipient's legs between his own legs, and the hypnotist's two hands hold the hands of the recipient of hypnosis.

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4. Have the recipient of hypnosis close the eyes, or they may keep them open. Make the mind calm, not thinking of other matters. Breathe comfortably, experimenting with shortening or lengthening the in-breath and out-breath, until sensing which way is most comfortable, then maintain that breathing pattern; or [the hypnotist may] tap out a rhythm — when tapping the rhythm while telling the recipient to be still, the recipient begins to arrange the breath in a meditative manner, making the mind still, calm, and comfortable, releasing the mind, releasing awareness.

5. The hypnotist holds the eyes still, focusing on the area midway between the two eyebrows, in line with the bridge of the nose but slightly higher than the eyebrows. This point is called the "focal point" (jut peng). Try to gather the mind, converging it down to the smallest point possible, about the size of a sesame seed, so as to have force in commanding the nerves. Make the mind still, bring it into concentration, then focus straight down onto the focal point, with confidence that mental power truly exists and can truly be projected outward to command another's nerves.

Set the intention firmly and steadily on compelling him to sleep and nothing else, the whole time — not thinking of other matters, not abandoning the intention, not releasing the straight, plunging focus — until he falls asleep. If a chanted formula (kham phawana) is used together with the hypnosis, this will make it much easier.

6. Use words to help lull or hold fast the mind of the recipient of hypnosis so it does not wander. These words should form sentences not too long, simple words, which when heard do not provoke thought, containing nothing suspicious in the wording — sounding plain and ordinary. Vary the wording somewhat, repeat it several times at points; the voice used should be soft and faint, so that one must listen attentively in order to hear it. This is so as to draw [the mind] into the intention to...

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...fall asleep. Use words that lead toward sleep, or that relate to comfort and sleepiness; there is no need to memorize exactly what is said.

The important point: speak simply, plainly, softly, without hesitation or stumbling. Do not use contrived, elaborate wording to make it sound correct according to some textbook. It is fine to repeat the same old words. Speak slowly, gently. I will give the following as examples, merely as a general guide:

"Breathe comfortably, breathe comfortably. Look at [my] eyes. Keep the mind still — do not think of other things, do not listen to other sounds. Listen only to this voice. Listen only to this voice. Listen only to this voice.

"Make the mind empty. Try changing the breath — make it longer, make it shorter, until it feels comfortable. Breathe faintly, breathe more lightly.

"Once it feels comfortable, maintain this breath. Keep the breath comfortable continuously. Breathe in, then pause for a moment, just comfortably. However it becomes comfortable, maintain it well.

"Listen only to this voice, do not listen to other sounds. Breathe lightly, comfortably. We will feel happy, we will feel more comfortable. Do not listen to other sounds, do not think of other things. This comfort will let us rest.

"We have grown tired, the body needs rest. Try to rest comfortably. Sleep comfortably, the body will grow stronger. Sleep comfortably, illness in the body will go away. If you feel you want to sleep, let yourself sleep — do not resist it.

"Let the eyes feel heavy, do not resist it. Breathe comfortably, arrange the breath comfortably. Let the mind go empty, let the eyes gradually grow heavier. The eyes want to narrow, to rest — then gradually let the eyes narrow and close."

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"Do not think of other things. Listen only to this voice. Close your eyes comfortably. Intend to rest. Let the mind rest, let it fall asleep. This kind of rest will make the body stronger.

"The illness in the body will go away. We will feel happy. Close the eyes so as to become even more comfortable and at ease. Sleep deeply, sleep even more deeply than this..."

Choose to speak some of the sentences mentioned above; it is not necessary to follow the example exactly.

7. Use a chanted formula (kham phawana) together with gentle blowing [of breath] to help.

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Self-Control and Self-Hypnosis

Using mental power to control oneself or hypnotize oneself: the ordinary method commonly used for self-control is simply restraining the mind, suppressing the mind, or forcing the mind directly. For example, a person addicted to cigarettes who wants to quit smoking forces themselves stubbornly, declaring they absolutely will not smoke at all, or agrees to cut down little by little until quitting completely within a set period of time. This method strains and forces the mind through sheer determination.

If we want it to go well, we should avoid this method as much as possible, using it only when truly necessary. A better method is to find a means of reflection that inclines the mind to see the necessity of quitting or abstaining from that act, so that the abstention proceeds gently, without straining the mind. For instance, in quitting smoking, one should reflect so as to see the harm of cigarettes, and the benefits of quitting smoking.

For example, consider the harm that smoking causes needless loss of wealth. Try calculating: at a minimum, spending just 3 baht a day on smoking, smoking for 1 year costs 1,095 baht. If we were to live another 50 years, the total cost of cigarettes would amount to 54,750 baht — no small sum of money, to be burned away as smoke and discarded.

Cigarettes are a root cause of many kinds of disease. Try consulting a doctor about what diseases they can cause. What is clearly seen is this: when cigarette smoke seeps in and clings to the lungs a little each day, over many days it becomes an ever-thickening soot, similar to the thick soot that builds up in a kitchen, and this causes...

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...the lungs to weaken, the body to weaken, opening the way for various diseases to arise.

When one merely forces one's own mind and still cannot quit smoking, this saps one's lifespan and one's morale. Cigarettes are not necessary for the body; they bring no benefit to the body's growth — they bring only harm.

Beyond this harm, and the benefits of quitting smoking, one should go on to gather further reflections oneself. If one were to be a persuader urging people to quit smoking, and recognized the importance of the fact that it burns away many millions of baht of the nation's money and wealth every year, then films ought to be made showing the harm that creeps up gradually, along with finding ways to insert [such messages] so they can be seen and heard everywhere, continually — this would be a better and more effective method than forcing people stubbornly. In foreign countries there are societies for quitting smoking and quitting alcohol, to help solve problems of this kind.

What has been said above serves well enough as an illustration concerning control of the mind — hypnosis at the most basic level. Hypnotists praise the fact that controlling oneself, hypnotizing oneself, is of even greater benefit than having others hypnotize one, and can be used to good effect in treating illness and other purposes. However, the method for practicing self-hypnosis is not laid out clearly in steps; [writers] tend to speak more about hypnotizing others. Here, we will go on to discuss self-hypnosis in the Thai style.

Inviting a spirit to possess [someone], such as in playing "Mae Sri" [a traditional Thai spirit-possession game/rite], follows the same principle as hypnosis itself — namely, a lulling verse that puts the mind into a trance-like, half-asleep-half-awake state.

Western-style hypnosis likewise uses continuous speech, without a break, in order to lull the subject into a drowsy, trance-like sleep, after which one can ask various questions and receive answers. Sometimes...

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...arrives at the truth in a strange way. Once told that they are a child, they even speak and act like a child; made to play a character, they can act it out like a stage performer. Spirit possession in which a medium invites a spirit to enter the body likewise answers the questions put to it in a strange way.

Inviting the spirit of someone who has died to enter, waking the Buddha image, waking the self, the glass-cup spirit [game] — these are all forms of self-hypnosis. In some cases another person's mind also comes to help hypnotize, as in playing "Mae Sri" or the glass-cup spirit game, though on some occasions another spirit may also intrude and mix in.

Waking the Buddha image, or waking oneself without using a Buddha image, follows the same principle: finding a technique to open all six sense-doors so that the mind becomes still or falls into a trance-like samadhi, in a state half-asleep and half-awake. Before describing the method of waking the Buddha image or waking oneself, let the benefits to be gained be stated first.

Benefits of Waking the Buddha Image or Waking Oneself

1. It is training to fix the mind firmly at any chosen point, and training to move that point. Knowing how to fix the mind in one place and knowing how to move it brings the benefit of knowing how to use mental power, project mental power, and transmit mental power. It is true that one could train to use mental power without training in waking oneself or waking the Buddha image, but knowing and being able to do it from many angles and perspectives brings a broader and more accurate understanding.

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2. It produces greater-than-normal strength, as can be seen in those who "wake" the Buddha image — once it takes hold, it rises: there is trembling, thrashing, or the appearance of throwing punches, and the person becomes hard to hold onto; keeping them still requires several people to help restrain them. This is therefore useful to have ready for times of necessity — for example, if one is seized and held down by a crowd and cannot break free by struggling, one may use the method of waking the Buddha image or waking oneself, that is, fixing the mind at the very point where one is being held, and one will gain the strength to break free.

3. It is the first stage in awakening special working power in the body. Once one becomes skilled at it, it helps one awaken the "chatri" [invulnerability power] more quickly.

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Waking the Buddha Image, Waking Oneself

Waking the Buddha image or waking oneself follows this method:

1. Press the palms together and invoke the Buddha's virtue, saying: "I invite the virtues of the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha, the virtue of my father and mother, and the virtue of my teachers, to come and grant that this waking of the Buddha image which I perform may succeed according to my wish." If one is not using a Buddha image and is simply "waking the self," use the words "wake the self" in place of "wake the Buddha image."

2. Sit in the cross-legged meditation posture. Turn the left palm and right palm to face each other and press them together, curling the fingers to interlock.

3. Place the Buddha image or the object to be "woken" between the two cupped palms. If it is "waking the self," nothing needs to be placed there.

4. Close the eyes, close the mouth tightly, let the teeth bite together lightly, curl the tip of the tongue up to press against the roof of the mouth.

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5. Fix the mind on the Buddha image in the center of the palms. If it is "waking the self" without a Buddha image, simply fix the mind on the center of the palms alone. Fixing the mind means bringing it to concentrate motionlessly on that one point, thinking of nothing else.

6. Breathe in heavily and deeply and hold the breath — that is, hold it without breathing in or out again — then chant mentally the words "na-ma-pha-tha" until the breath is fully held. Chant at an increasingly rapid pace, faster and faster in sequence, while pressing the palms together slightly. If, after fully holding the breath, nothing "rises" — that is, there is no trembling or other reaction — breathe in and hold again and repeat the chanting. If one feels it "rising" — that is, one loses awareness, forgets the chanting, and the hands begin to shake — let it happen naturally. Do not become preoccupied with returning to the chanting, and do not become doubtful about why one has lost awareness or begun to shake. Let the shaking grow stronger as it will, without resisting or altering it. It will then progress to strong shaking, taking on gestures or thrashing, jumping, standing, or springing up into the air. Once one becomes skilled, merely thinking to gather the mind to one point will cause it to "rise" immediately. This is because the mind is a form of working power; when gathered to a single point, it can produce strange forces or powers. Next, try practicing moving the point where the mind is fixed — for example, folding the arms across the chest and fixing the mind on one of the palms, then proceeding with the waking as described. One may use a Buddha image or bare hands; when the mind becomes still and gathered, it will "rise" just the same. With this waking of the Buddha image, if it rises to its peak — called "phra sing" [the Buddha image being possessed] — it may answer various questions put to it, prescribe medicines to cure illness, and at times produce holy water or give sermons.

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...to give sermons for others to hear. This matter causes most people to be amazed when correct answers are given to questions that should not be knowable, and this leads to excessive faith. In truth, every person's mind, if it has concentration — that is, if other thoughts can be cleared away — is capable of perceiving the truth or various mysterious matters. But training until one can know correctly without error requires attaining insight (ñāṇa), which is difficult to train. Methods have therefore been devised to speed up this knowing through unusual techniques, producing effects similar to the Thai practice of waking the Buddha image or inviting a spirit to enter. Inviting the spirit of the dead to enter, playing the glass-cup spirit game, and inviting a guardian spirit (chao pho) to enter, all rely on sitting to calm and still the mind, then fixing the mind to vividly visualize the spirit of the deceased or that guardian spirit. When the mind becomes properly still, a trance-like state arises, or one becomes able to do unusual things. In truth, waking the Buddha image, waking the self, inviting the spirit of the dead, or inviting a guardian spirit to enter, when carefully compared, are all simply forms of self-hypnosis. In some cases, another mind or spirit also comes to help or to intrude — for example, when inviting a spirit to enter, one may write the name of the deceased on the hand of the person who is to be entered, then still the mind and think of that person; those sitting and watching also think along to help with the hypnotizing. In addition, a teacher (achan) sitting nearby may use mental power to reinforce the hypnosis further. The characteristic of a spirit entering, a guardian spirit entering, or being hypnotized is that the mind is in a trance-like state, half-asleep and half-awake, or a kind of semi-conscious concentration. The mind may therefore come to know unusual things, but it can also be mistaken.

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Questions Worth Knowing About Hypnosis

Is putting someone to sleep by hypnosis only this one single method? Why not test beforehand whether the hypnosis will work? The Western methods are many and varied, and the author is skilled in them too — what is your opinion of their methods? There are many methods of hypnosis, both self-hypnosis and hypnotizing others — hypnotizing an individual, hypnotizing a group, hypnotizing someone already asleep, and so on. One method was given as an example first so that others who are interested could begin practicing it, by choosing the method thought to be best and giving it to them. Once they can perform it, and do it many times, they will be able to adapt it, improve it, shorten and simplify it — no longer as long-drawn-out as at first — and will come to understand it deeply enough to adapt and use other methods on their own.

Knowing a Great Deal but Being Unable to Practice It, or Being Muddled, Serves No Purpose

The reason for not testing beforehand whether one can hypnotize is that such a "test" is nothing other than hypnotizing by the easiest, best method first, so as to properly learn the way. Before hypnotizing anyone, one may try a simple test following the Western method or the method described above — that is fine, but it is not at all necessary to test. We must be confident that we can do it, and it is better simply to do it as well as possible.

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There are many, many Western methods, and that is fine — when you consider which method is good, try practicing it; if it works, it can be used. Once you become skilled and understand it deeply, you will realize for yourself that every method follows the same underlying principle. Hypnosis, and waking the self/waking the Buddha image, and training in meditation, are each a different kind of training with a different method; each must be trained to mastery separately. If one trains in them together, alternating day by day like this, will this conflict with itself, or must each be trained to completion one at a time? Hypnosis, waking the Buddha image, waking the self, training in meditation, training to heal illness — these are all, every one, matters of training the mind, because a still mind is a mind with power that can be used to accomplish various tasks. Even though each type of training has a somewhat different method, all require the same thing: a mind with power, a still mind. Therefore this is not a matter of conflict at all — rather, it will help promote a deeper, more thorough understanding of the mind and of how to use mental power even better. Whether you train each to completion separately or alternate between them depends on opportunity and on your own preference. The important thing is: do not be fickle, training this one moment and that the next, straying without consistency, without continuity, doing it in fits and starts. As for the method of dispelling visions (nimit), it was once said to dispel them by lengthening the breath, or by contemplating them as impermanent, suffering, and not-self. May I ask whether there are other methods that work well, to have on hand when both of these two methods fail to cure it? There are other good methods too — for example, open the eyes just slightly, just enough to see the tip of the nose, without letting anything else be seen; as soon as you see just that little bit, close the eyes again as before and continue the meditation. During the slight opening of the eyes, keep the breath steady, keep the mind still, so as not to...

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...let concentration decline and weaken. The method of lengthening the breath is likewise: do not breathe so long that it becomes excessive — only change the breath slightly. If you change it too much, the samadhi or the originally one-pointed mind will loosen considerably, wasting time in rebuilding it. In addition, contemplate the vision as impermanent, suffering, not-self. If the vision is a ghost or a person that appears repeatedly, and after being dispelled it returns again later, use the method of performing merit and then sitting in meditation; as soon as its form appears, dedicate the merit to it and let it go. When practicing meditation, one is told to use the chant "Buddho," which has a good meaning and many virtues — may I ask, what good qualities does "Buddho" have? Are other chants really so much less good by comparison? We hold the Buddha to be a pure being, of supreme wisdom unequaled by anyone else, the supreme teacher in the training of the mind. Therefore those who train the mind favor using the word "Buddho," which refers to the Buddha, and which also carries within it his virtues — that he is one who is awakened, who has realized fully, and who is purified. When speaking of the Buddha's virtues (buddhaguṇa), most people understand that there are nine of them, composed into what is called the Itipiso verse, or the verse of the Buddha's virtues, which describes the Buddha's virtues in nine aspects. In truth, the Buddha's virtues are simply the good qualities of the Buddha, of which there are very many, but when condensed to only the most important ones, there are nine — this is the Itipiso verse found in prayer books; those who revere the Buddha and know how to make use of his virtues bring it out to chant and use regularly. Chanting (suat mon) also always includes the Itipiso verse. The sanctity of...

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...the Itipiso verse is great. Various spells and incantations use this verse, some in full, some by cutting out only a portion, some by choosing just two or three words — all of them sacred spells and chants that have produced various results throughout time. Practitioners training the mind therefore favor taking the word "Buddho" as their chant, because the word "Buddho" is itself a word cut out from the Itipiso verse. This word "Buddho" can be used as an incantation in many ways — it helps protect oneself, and it also refers to the virtues of the Buddha, the goodness of the Buddha; or, put another way, it is the condensation of the entirety of the Buddha's virtues down to their shortest form, leaving only "Buddho." When it comes to the Buddha's virtues, some people understand them too narrowly. In truth, the long biography of the Buddha that is recounted is itself the Buddha's virtues; condensed down, it becomes nine qualities — that is the Itipiso verse, also called the Buddha's virtues. Condensed further still, it becomes: "Namo tassa bhagavato arahato sammā sambuddhassa," which translates as: "Homage to the Blessed One, possessed of these virtues, namely —

He is pure — that is, His mind is pure, free from all mental defilement. He possesses supreme wisdom — He knows and sees truly. Or, put another way, this is a condensation of the Buddha's good qualities down to three brief points, namely:

He possesses the highest compassion, He is utterly and completely pure, He possesses the most supreme wisdom — expressed in the verse form "Namo..." These three virtues may be stated even more briefly, while still containing all three, in the verse that reads "Arahaṃ..."

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..."sammā sambuddho bhagavā" [Perfectly Self-Awakened, the Blessed One], which is used before paying homage to the Buddha. But when condensing the Buddha's virtues to their very shortest, only two words remain: "Buddho."

Thus the word "Buddho" carries the meaning of the Buddha's virtues, the entirety of the Buddha's goodness. To utter "Buddho" is therefore a means of recollecting the Buddha's good qualities, drawing the mind to recall his supreme self-sacrifice — how he endured hardship until he attained the path, fruit, and Nibbāna, and then still willingly endured further hardship, traveling about to teach with unceasing toil and weariness. The word "Buddho" is thus a word of recollecting the Buddha's virtue that refreshes the heart, and serves to remedy the mind when discouragement, depression, sorrow, or drowsiness arise, giving it strength. When one says "Buddho," let the mind sink deeply and be steeped in the Buddha's virtue during the practice of mind-training. The mind-trainer must know how to condense, how to grasp the essence, how to penetrate thoroughly — reducing what is much down to what is little; say little, but let the current of the mind absorb and be steeped in it deeply. Do not misunderstand what is said about recollecting the Buddha's virtues to mean thinking of every single point — the more one thinks, the better. This is a mistaken understanding. It is, however, correct as a way of studying and practicing, of making it the foundation of the mind. When practicing, we must condense — say little, think little, but let it sink in and permeate the mind deeply — because the principle of mind-training or samadhi requires cutting off various matters, cutting off various emotions, so that the mind remains fixed one-pointedly in a single object, so that the mind becomes still. "Buddho" carries deep meaning, and is also, in itself, an incantation that remedies a weak or scattered mind. Besides this, it is also a short word that can be divided into two syllables: "Bud," chanted while breathing in, and "dho," chanted while breathing out. (Chant silently in the mind, not aloud...

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...without moving the tongue or lips.) It is easy to remember, convenient to use, and carries deep meaning; it is therefore considered important and favored by practitioners. But as for the question of whether other chants are truly so much less good than "Buddho" — this must be admitted as unanswerable, for it would only lead to endless argument. Whoever wishes to judge whether another word is better, more suitable, or equally good may try using it; if it works, compare it for yourself. As for commanding a hypnotic subject to make the body rigid, to see events, to find lost things, to cure disease, and even to command contact with spirits and so on — what tricks lie behind this? Please read on and consider carefully. Is the mind of a woman different from that of a man? Why is it said that a woman's mind is weaker than a man's? Can a woman train her mind to become as bold and strong as a man's? The mind, or consciousness, is a thing without gender; whether it is a woman's mind or a man's mind, it is the same. A woman who diligently trains her mind can likewise make her mind bold, strong, and powerful. There have been female teachers who instruct in the use of mental power. According to history, there have been many women of excellent mental power, and many who attained arahantship. The reason we feel that women's minds are weaker is because a woman's mind has been conditioned in the direction of gentleness; the body and mind, trained and conditioned by custom and by the surrounding environment, are led to hold the assumption of gentleness and weakness. It is thus a mistaken understanding to think that the mind has a gender — that a person who was a woman must, upon death, be reborn as a woman again, or if reborn as an animal, must always be born female. This is an understanding that does not accord with the truth. The true mind itself, with nothing overlaid or concealing it, is one and the same [regardless of sex]...

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...it is the same, and possesses equal power or potency. What benefits arise from diligently practicing meditation, and how does it support worldly education? On this, let me explain: if meditation practice is done in earnest, the result is happiness — a life that is at ease, clear, and untroubled, with a happiness and comfort beyond the ordinary.

It Gives Rise to Wisdom

When the mind attains samadhi, knowledge and intelligence naturally arise; one sees the reasons behind truth, nature, or points of Dhamma that we thought we already understood well. If our meditation practice advances and bears fruit, a deeper and clearer understanding will arise than when the practice was unsuccessful, and we will see the flaws in what we previously understood.

It Makes the Mind Steady, Firm, and Enduring

Using mental power, one can bring about various benefits, and it helps one succeed in various undertakings.

It Enables the Attainment of the Highest Results

That is, the five higher knowledges (abhiññā), the threefold knowledge (tevijjā), the eightfold knowledge (aṭṭhavijjā), and ultimately the attainment of the path, fruit, and Nibbāna, the highest of all. We wish to control, govern, or compel others to act as we wish — but how can this be achieved? Because compulsion by any form of power whatsoever can only ever succeed temporarily, for a passing time; it is not as stable and lasting as being able to control another's mind, or being able to change their heart...

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The mind is a thing without inherent selfhood, and so one must use the mind, or mental power, to bring it under control in order to succeed. There is only one way to succeed in controlling the minds of others or of a crowd: one must first control one's own mind — compel or hypnotize/subdue one's own mind — before one can use or send mental power to compel the minds of others. Knowledge and skill in controlling the mind, in fixing the mind [in place] and moving the point where the mind is fixed, are tools that help one send out mental currents or mental power to accomplish various benefits.

A Word of Caution

Some people hold the view that the art of hypnosis/mind-control tends to lean toward using mental power in bad ways, or toward "tiracchana-vijja" (base/bestial arts). Such an understanding comes from study that is not yet complete, or from not yet truly knowing or understanding. If you want to know what tiracchana-vijja is, and how many kinds there are, see Upakon Winai, Mukhabot, chapter 18. The training of mind power and hypnosis is a mental science that uses goodness as its foundation, so there is no need to worry that it will incite one toward harm — it only incites one toward good. Using mental power for good, for beneficial ends — it does not matter which way of training the mind one prefers, because sooner or later all paths converge at jhana [meditative absorption] itself. As one trains and improves, one reaches jhana in every case, and upon reaching jhana one reaches vipassana [insight] as well — that is, wisdom (panna) arises in due order. Once one has wisdom and truly knows, there is no need to go persuading others or worrying about them — they will refuse to do evil, recoiling from evil without any willingness [to commit it].

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Stepping Back

The various subjects we learn are not things we must carry as a permanent burden. We learn them in order to support other branches of knowledge, and we should be able to give up any subject we have learned whenever we wish. The important point: do not mistakenly believe that giving it up means the subject was wrong or that the teacher who taught it was bad — thinking this way will bring harm, because it carries no blessing for oneself. In training in the various arts that use mental power, one should keep them in reserve for use only when truly necessary. Do not display them carelessly or excessively, and do not lose yourself in wanting others to praise how skilled and bold you are. They should be displayed only occasionally, for a specific purpose that will benefit the group as a whole, or to promote goodness. The essential core of training in meditation (samadhi) is to gain the power to control one's own mind so that it remains established in goodness — enduring and striving to create progress for oneself and for others, and ultimately working to advance toward the higher fruits of the path. As for the use of unusual/strange mental powers, these are kept for use in furthering one's progress toward the final goal, and for checking the level of one's mind — to see to what stage one's training has reached. There is no method for checking the level of one's concentration (samadhi) as accurately and clearly as the method of using mental power to look/observe — this is the method used today by teachers of high jhana attainment. [decorative printer's ornament, a small flower/leaf motif marking the end of the section]