Supra-mundane Insight Meditation

Let us consider contemplation at the supra-mundane level in greater detail. At this level the practitioner contemplates higher-level Dhamma: The Five Aggregates, the Four Noble Truths, Dependent Origination, the Twelve Bases of Cognition of the Six Sense Organs, the Eighteen Elements and the Twenty-two Potential Faculties.

In this state of mind, we aim at removal of ignorance, the root cause of suffering, by analyzing the Twelve Links of Dependent Origination. From ignorance originates impression, impression originates consciousness, consciousness originates the psycho-physical organism, the psycho-physical organism originates the six sense organs, the six sense organs originate contact, feeling, craving, attachment, rebirth and suffering due to old age, sickness, and death.

Supra-mundane Vipassana Meditation also involves contemplation of the external physical body as well as all its internal parts. We find, in reality, that all the parts of the body are impure; not even a single part is pure.

The Four Noble Truths

Then, Supra-mundane Vipassana Meditation proceeds to help develop higher levels of Right Understanding of the Four Noble Truths, especially about suffering. One who attains Dhammakaya can visualize the sphere of suffering at the center of the body for each person or other creature. The sphere of suffering contains the sphere of old age, the sphere of sickness, and the sphere of death. For example, when a person is going to die, his or her sphere of death will appear at the center of the sphere of the human body. When the sphere of the human body separates from the sphere of the celestial body, the person dies. This is the way to learn deeply about suffering within one’s own self or suffering within other people.

As practitioners develop to higher supra-mundane levels, they come to understand the Four Noble Truths, attachment to the Five Aggregates, and Dependent Origination. Subsequently, the meditator will also develop the Seven Enlightenment Factors. All these realizations develop along the Noble Eightfold Path. When the Noble Eightfold Path is followed perfectly at that level, the practitioner can cut all fetters to worldly objects and become a Noble One.

Right Understanding

All these aspects of Right Understanding help practitioners to calm their minds and remove the passions of hatred, ill will, sensual desire, greed and delusion; especially excessive desires. They come to understand that the more one is attached to any compound with craving and delusion, the more suffering they will have. Thus, they learn how to make the mind neutral and peaceful. This Supra-mundane level of meditation can effectively cut fetters, reduce or remove passions, and lighten attachment to this world.

Supernormal Vision and Hearing

The Dhammakaya Meditation is very efficient in developing Right Understanding. When you sit in meditation and concentrate by keeping your mind still at the center of your body, your mind becomes purer and purer until you attain more and more refined bodies. Eventually you will reach the purest state of mind, Dhammakaya. Then you will be able to see clearly with your inner vision that all of the mundane bodies from the human up through the more and more refined bodies such as the celestial, Brahman and Formless Brahman are impermanent, subject to change, and non-self.

Dhammakaya meditation develops the faculties of supernormal vision and hearing. You can come to see the whole mundane world, starting from the Sensual World to the World of Pure Form and the Formless World. You can see the hells and the celestial worlds whenever you like. Through meditation you come to see how all worldly creatures suffer. They suffer in the suffering worlds because of their own unwholesome Karma. Some experience happiness in the happy worlds due to their wholesome Karma, for limited periods.

Supernormal vision and hearing are very helpful for development of supernormal recollection of former existences. Those who have attained the Dhammakaya level can also understand rebirth and the passing away of beings. They develop the supernormal knowledge to see former existences of themselves and of other mundane creatures, as well as to see the future or results of Karma.

The Law of Karma

You can also attain supernormal knowledge of cause and effect, the Natural Law of Karma. You can see with your supernormal vision that whoever performs good actions will be reborn in a happy world. In contrast, those who commit bad or unwholesome actions will be reborn into suffering worlds such as hells or as animals or ghosts. You come to know that until they overcome their ignorance, all mundane creatures will be reborn in either happy or suffering worlds, according to the nature of their constantly changing Karma. Mundane existence is impermanent, changing endlessly, sometimes happy and sometimes sad. After seeing all these facets of nature, you will understand.

The meditator can see the effects of Karma directly. Those who commit unwholesome acts and violate precepts of morality regularly will see their refined bodies, especially their refined human body, become impure and look unhappy. On the other hand, those who perform good, wholesome conduct will have pure refined human bodies and more and more refined bodies, according to the quality of their daily actions. As their minds become purer and purer, they can attain Dhammakaya and see their Dhammakaya within.

Dependent Origination

When we analyze Dependent Origination at the supra-mundane level, we learn that ignorance causes craving which leads to attachment and eventually to rebirth. From ignorance comes craving along with bad conduct, bad speech and bad thoughts. These, in turn, cause attachment and rebirth. This is the Chain of Dependent Origination. Its nature can be understood through meditation according to the Dhammakaya Meditation approach up to the Dhammakaya level.

Seeing and Experiencing Directly

Thus, in the Dhammakaya Meditation, we know not only by studying, listening and reading, but also by seeing directly for ourselves. This is very efficient. It develops Right Understanding by seeing and feeling as well as learning from the scriptures. It is based on experience, not imagination.

If you follow the right method, you can see whatever you want to see. For example, to develop higher-level Right Understanding about the Extinction of Suffering (the Third Noble Truth), practitioners can stop still at the exact center of purer and purer bodies. The mind becomes purer and more refined, with purer and purer Dhamma. When meditators reach Dhammakaya, they can continue purifying themselves by stopping still at the centers of the Dhammakaya. More and more refined, purer and purer Dhammakaya will appear until they become non-compound in nature. That is the way one purifies one’s mind.

This approach leads one to Extinction of the Cause of Suffering. As meditators purify themselves by becoming more and more refined bodies, feelings, minds and dhamma, they become mindful of the dhamma, hence becoming even purer and purer dhamma. Eventually, they can attain to the state of non-compound nature.This is Nirodha or the Extinction of Suffering by experience, not just thinking about it or imagining it. Practitioners can purify their minds in this manner until they remove all fetters entirely. This is the most efficient meditation – seeing and feeling as well as learning from the scriptures.

Right Wisdom

Pursuing the Noble Eightfold Path via this Vipassana practice while maintaining Right Concentration at all times develops higher and higher levels of Right Wisdom from mundane to Supra-mundane levels. Right Concentration of mind is easily achieved by the Dhammakaya Meditation because it starts with concentration on a device or object such as the Light Object (Aloka-kasina). The Dhammakaya approach also includes Mindfulness of Breathing (Anapanasati) and Recollection of Lord Buddha’s Virtues (Buddhanussati). These are helpful for calming the mind and concentrating the mind at “one-pointedness.” Thus, DhammakayaMeditationprovides an efficient and effective method for both concentrating the mind and contemplation to develop Right Wisdom. This is what I have learned both from my own experience and that of my colleagues.

The Path may be difficult; for some, very difficult, because the Dhammakaya sphere is not attained easily. But, for sure, this is the most efficient way to concentrate your mind, especially for those who can develop into Dhammakaya. To develop Right Concentration, we must be sure of the way. We must develop meditation to the first state of Jhana. People who cannot reach this level cannot cut the fetters. They don’t have sufficient attainment of the Noble Path which includes Right Concentration of mind. Any method that helps to develop jhana or absorption levels is good. The fetters must be cut before complete removal is possible.

There is no Jhana for one who is without wisdom and no wisdom for one who is without Jhana. He who has both Jhana and wisdom is, indeed, close to Nirvana.

(The Pali Tipitaka, Siamrat, book 12,
Khuddaka-Nikaya, Dhammapada, section 35, page 65.)

In order to remove ignorance, which is the root cause of suffering, one needs to understand what ignorance is. Ignorance is lack of knowledge of the past and future, lack of knowledge of the Noble Path, and lack of knowledge of Dependent Origination. Because of this ignorance, one has cravings and attachments and commits bad conduct or unwholesome karma that brings unfortunate results, leading to rebirth in the suffering world.

Meditation at the Supra-mundane level can help develop Seven Enlightenment Factors: mindfulness, analysis of phenomena (dhamma), energy, joy, tranquility, concentration of mind, and equanimity. The Seven Enlightenment Factors develop automatically along the Noble Eightfold Path. Through the Dhammakaya Meditation, the Seven Enlightenment Factors can be developed more easily. This does not mean that I am already Enlightened; I am studying too. I have learned this from the teachings of Luang Phor Wat Paknam, my own experience, from and a little bit from others, as well as from the Pali Scriptures.

Supra-mundane Insight Meditation

By the Dhammakaya Meditation, one can develop supernormal recollection of past existences and see the future, especially cause and effect or the Natural Law of Karma. This practice enables one to understand clearly the characteristics of compounds as well as the characteristics of the non-compound, which you rarely hear about elsewhere. Your understanding will become deeper and deeper, with higher and higher Right Wisdom. This can efficiently remove ignorance.

Noble Disciple States

Anyone who can cut at least the first three fetters (Sanyojana) will become a Stream Enterer Noble Disciple. They are false self concept and wrong view about compounds (Sakkayaditthi), doubt about Dhamma Practice (Vicikiccha), and reliance on wrong religious practices (Silabbataparamasa). As a result of eradicating these three fetters, one will truly understand the real nature of all compounds and hence not be bewildered by them. The practitioner will attain full confidence about the Path that leads to Emancipation (Nirvana) and will no longer cling to mere rules and rituals (including superstitions and wrong practices for attaining Nirvana). When these three fetters are removed, one becomes a Noble Disciple of the first stage (Sotapanna).

The Dhammakaya Meditation provides very high levels of understanding, especially about the non-compound (Nirvana). The approach appears in the scriptures, but is often overlooked. When you practice according to the Dhammakaya Meditation, you will come to understand that the words Sabbe dhamma anatta or “all compounds (conditioned phenomena) are non-self,” do not include the non-compound (unconditioned phenomena) like Nirvana. Others may say that they do include the non-compound or Nirvana. In fact, this is not true. We will now examine relevant references from the scriptures. You will see that Nirvana is non-compound in nature both according to the scriptures and according to verification by meditation, especially via the Dhammakaya Meditation.

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