Venerable Luang Pu Buddha Isara's Dhamma Sermon on Conventional Reality and Ultimate Reality, July 12, 2026

May you all flourish in the Dhamma and in happiness, beloved devotees who seek the path of virtue.

Today is the second Sunday of July. It is the month of entering the rainy retreat (Vassa) and an important time in Buddhism. It is also a month of great significance for the Chakri Dynasty, as it includes His Majesty King Vajiralongkorn's birthday on July 28.

The Dhamma Isara Foundation at Onoi (Dhamma Issara) Temple will organize a charitable food distribution event, preparing and serving meals at Sanam Luang for the people who will gather there to pay their respects and welcome His Majesty. 

If you have time, please help prepare food in the kitchen or distribute meals at Sanam Luang. 

This is a separate event from the royal cremation ceremonies for Her Majesty the Queen Mother and Her Royal Highness Princess Bajrakitiyabha.

The King’s Birthday is of great national significance, and there will be a separate charitable food distribution event. We are awaiting the Royal Household Bureau’s official schedule for the food distribution. 

We plan to prepare and distribute food, as we did for Her Majesty the Queen’s Birthday. That event involved serving one evening meal. For the King’s Birthday, we are currently awaiting the Royal Household Bureau’s official schedule before finalizing the food distribution arrangements.
Our kitchen still has work to do. The savory and dessert kitchens are both operating. I have ordered our team to prepare 2500 boxes of cookies. Fresh food will be planned based on the ingredients available in storage. Anyone who has time is welcome to help in the savory kitchen, the dessert kitchen, or with meal distribution at Sanam Luang—whatever suits them best.

His Majesty the King’s birthday is a great occasion, and we should consider joining the celebrations at Sanam Luang in greater numbers to show our support and encouragement to His Majesty. 

Having suffered two major losses in the same year, His Majesty, like any human being who has not yet become an arahant or a noble individual, may naturally experience grief and sorrow.
Offering our support is a meaningful and worthy gesture.

The morning of the King’s birthday, the Onoi Temple will hold an almsgiving of cooked rice and fresh food. The following morning, on Asalha Bucha Day, there will be an almsgiving ceremony offering rice and dried food. You’re very welcome to join almsgiving in the morning and then head to Sanam Luang in the afternoon, whichever works best for you. There will also be an ordination program on His Majesty the King’s Birthday and Asalha Bucha Day.

The Dhamma Isara Foundation and O Noi Temple will continue the charitable food distribution activities until the royal cremation ceremony for Her Royal Highness Princess Bajrakitiyabha concludes. With Princess Bajrakitiyabha’s royal funeral, the activities may continue for another three to six months, possibly into the middle or latter part of next year. Once the royal funeral ceremony for Her Royal Highness Princess Bajrakitiyabha concludes, we will move on to the funeral arrangements for Grandma (Grandma Amphorn Thongprasert, Luang Pu Buddha Isara’s mother).

Today, I welcome questions and discussion about conventional reality. 

Yesterday, I taught that conventional reality follows a basic law: things arise, change, and ultimately break apart.

The law of ultimate truth is impermanence, suffering, and non-existence. 
Yesterday, I told you that the minds, merits, and sins belong to the realm of ultimate reality.
The mind is an ultimate reality. Merits and sins are also ultimate realities. Why? 
Because they are difficult to destroy, the ultimate truth refers to things that endure over a long time. They persist almost as if they were immortal.
Yet they are not truly immortal, because the final law of ultimate reality is that nothing is permanent.

The mind’s nature resembles or is close to ultimate reality because it can receive, remember, know, and think. Even after death, these capacities of receiving, remembering, knowing, and thinking follow us.
If we are reborn as Brahmas, the mind follows us there.
If we are reborn as heavenly beings, it follows us there as well. 
The mind continues to receive, remember, know, and think, and it follows us wherever we are reborn.
If we are reborn as animals, the mind’s capacity to receive, remember, know, and think remains with us in the animal realm.
Even in hell realms, the mind’s capacity to receive, remember, know, and think follows us, depending on which dominates.
For humans, the mind’s capacity to receive, remember, know, and think remains balanced, depending on which we cultivate.
What are we training the mind to bring to the forefront today? Receiving, remembering, knowing, or thinking?
Which mind are we training to put first?
We train the knowing mind to lead. The knowing mind is Buddha-nature.

What about animals? Their minds mainly receive and remember.

And hell beings? They mainly remember, especially remembering past wrongdoings, whose consequences bring them there.

What about heavenly beings? They use their mind to receive and remember. By remembering the merits they have accumulated, they are reborn in a heavenly realm. The higher the quality of their receiving and remembering, the higher the heavenly realm they attain.

Humans can cultivate the knowing mind and learn to balance the other mind’s functions.

In which realm can the knowing mind develop most fully?
In the Brahma realms, the knowing mind can develop most fully. Brahmas abide in the awareness of their own happiness, but their knowing does not extend much further. 
Some Brahmas also use the thinking mind. 
They may wonder, “I have been here for so long. When will I be free from this state?” This gives rise to nibbida-ñāṇa, or disenchantment. In the Pure Abodes (Suddhāvāsa) Brahma realms, this thinking arises briefly, like an elephant briefly moving its ear or a snake flicking its tongue.
In ultimate reality, the mind may seem almost immortal, but it is not truly immortal. It remains subject to the ultimate law that nothing has permanent existence.

At what point does the mind’s receiving, remembering, knowing, and thinking truly cease?
Only in Nibbāna. Only then does “non-existence” truly apply. The mind is completely extinguished, leaving no trace.
At the stage of Nibbāna, the mind no longer exists. Therefore, anyone who claims to go to Nibbāna and meet the Buddha or others has not truly reached Nibbāna.

There was once a Khun Ying (a Thai noble honorific traditionally used as a title for a woman) who told me, “Luang Pu, I go to pay respects to the Buddha in Nibbāna every day.”
I replied, “Really? What a liar.”
“What? You called me a liar?”
“How could you say you went to Nibbāna every day when you cannot even let go of the word “liar”? You have not even reached the doorstep of Nibbāna. “
After that, do you know what happened? She never came back. (laughs) That was my way of showing her the door.
She was a disciple of the Tha Sung Temple and spoke proudly of meeting the Buddha every day.

In an abstract sense, she was not entirely wrong. Why? 
Because if I close my eyes, imagine the Buddha, and create that image in my mind. Then, can I say that I, too, meet the Buddha every day?
Yes, in an imaginary sense, she was not wrong. If I close my eyes and imagine the Buddha, the Arahants, or Bodhisattvas, then I can say I see them every day. They exist within an imaginary world. Who created that imaginary world?
The mind creates it. We can see the Buddha, Arahants, and Bodhisattvas every day—it is not difficult. However, we fail to recognize that we create these images ourselves.

The same is true of the crystal-ball meditation doctrine, which teaches that a clear Buddha image appears within the body. Is that real or not? 

It is something we create in the mind, just like kasiṇa meditation.
In the past, I practiced kasiṇa meditation by gazing at a flame, memorizing its image, and repeating the word “fire.” Eyes look at the fire, the mind memorizes the fire image, and the mouth repeats the word “fire.” Standing, walking, sitting, or lying down, I would see fire everywhere. I saw fire on my hands, in my chest, on my forehead, and above my head. Why? Because the mind created fire. This is called a mental image.

Conventional reality is not different from a mental image. The difference is that it has been collectively created and has taken on a concrete form.

Looking at the fire, keeping its image in the mind, and seeing the Buddha or a clear Buddha image within the body are all still mental phenomena. They belong to the realm of conventional reality, not ultimate reality.

The conventional reality around us—husbands and wives, children, parents—is concrete, arising from causes and conditions. 
The main cause is karma, or action. Therefore, karma—the actions we perform—exists between conventional and ultimate reality. 

When we die, does our karma end?
No. We die, but karma follows us. 
Across lifetimes, karma remains. Because it endures and continues with us, it can be seen as existing between conventional and ultimate reality.

At the point of “non-existence” in ultimate reality, one enters Nibbāna, where the mind ceases completely, and karma can no longer follow. 

Without the mind to receive karma, the causes and conditions for rebirth cease. There is no more birth, aging, death, illness, ignorance, craving, or attachment. Nothing remains to sustain the mind. 

Without a source to sustain it, the mind is like a fire without fuel. It fades away into ashes and dust, scattered into the air. The fire can no longer arise.

It was like this when the Buddha allowed Devadatta to roll a rock down the hill, striking his foot and causing it to bleed. This was the final karma he had to exhaust. Although others warned the Buddha not to go that way, he chose not to avoid it, because doing so would leave that karma unexhausted. The Buddha allowed Karma to run its course and become exhausted.

It was similar to Venerable Moggallāna, who allowed 500 heretics to beat him till his bones were shattered. He could have escaped. He could fly and disappear instantly. Realizing that this was the last residue of his karma, he let it be exhausted. Once that karma was exhausted, he entered Nibbāna, where no causes or conditions remained to give rise to anything further.

So, the final principle of ultimate reality is “non-existence”:
Sabbe saṅkhārā aniccā
All conditioned things are impermanent. 

Sabbe dhammā anatta
All phenomena are not-self.

Nibbāna—does anything remain there?
There is nothing left. Yet those who have attained it describe Nibbāna as the highest Dhamma—something beyond words and explanation. Still, they call it Dhamma. This state of extinguishing defilements and craving is also called Dhamma. 

However, if we interpret Sabbe dhammā anattā to mean that Dhamma has no real existence, it may appear to contradict the teaching that Nibbāna is the supreme Dhamma.

The laws of ultimate reality are impermanence, suffering, and non-existence. At first, “non-existence” does not mean complete cessation, because one must still have karma to work off. 

While that karma is being exhausted, is there still a mind?
Yes, it does. Without a mind, who would experience the consequences of karma? The mind must still exist. 
Therefore, does the mind exist in ultimate reality? Yes, it does.

Yesterday, I explained that the mind, merits, and sins all belong to ultimate reality. The mind is an ultimate truth, yet it still receives, remembers, knows, and thinks.

Of course, the mind is not permanent. It arises and ceases continuously, so the term “non-existence” still applies.

Does the mind arise and cease? Yes. Each momentary mind does not truly exist—it arises and ceases. The receiving mind, knowing mind, remembering mind, and thinking mind are also impermanent. Each arises and ceases. 

When the knowing mind arises, the next moment may be knowing mind, thinking mind, receiving mind, or remembering mind, depending on the causes and conditions that give rise to it.

When the knowing mind arises and recognizes something as a convention, the receiving mind and the remembering mind may arise through craving (Taṇhā). One no longer views that form as a convention; it immediately becomes permanent and desirable—beautiful, attractive, pleasing, or displeasing—and desire (Taṇhā) for that form arises.

The knowing mind that recognizes something as a convention has ceased. The next mind may be the receiving mind or the remembering mind, which does not necessarily continue from the knowing mind or lead to the thinking mind. As a result, an unwholesome mind may arise.

Is the knowing mind wholesome or unwholesome?
The knowing mind is generally considered wholesome. 

The receiving mind, the remembering mind, and the thinking mind can be wholesome or unwholesome, but the knowing mind is generally wholesome because it helps us let go.

When there is knowing, things become clear and illuminated. When knowing arises, ignorance does not. Thus, the knowing mind is wisdom and awareness. 

Consequently, the mind is regarded as an ultimate truth but is subject to causes and conditions.

Am I confusing you? Am I getting too deep? Can you follow me?

Therefore, the law of ultimate reality—impermanence, suffering, and non-existence—must also be understood in terms of causes and conditions. 

All of this together is Dhamma, the contemplation of Dhamma.

We have body cultivation, mind cultivation, and wisdom cultivation—or Dhamma contemplation.

Wisdom cultivation does not fit neatly within the framework of the Four Foundations of Mindfulness. Some knowledgeable practitioners may ask, “Where does the term ‘wisdom cultivation’ come from? Isn’t what you are describing the contemplation of Dhamma within the Four Foundations of Mindfulness?”

How can we contemplate Dhamma without wisdom? Essentially, the practice of contemplating Dhamma is itself wisdom cultivation.

The contemplation we have discussed is therefore wisdom cultivation, the final stage of cultivation, which depends on causes and conditions.

Question: What is the difference between knowing a convention and understanding a convention? I still do not clearly understand the distinction. Please kindly explain how these two terms are similar or how they differ.

Answer: What is this? (pointing to the microphone) Do you know what it is?
“Yes.”
And what does the microphone do? Do you understand that?
“Yes.”
Now do you understand?
For example, if I pick up a pestle and ask, “What is this?”
“Do you know what it is?”
“Yes.”
“What is it used for?”
“To pound chili paste.”
Do you understand what it is? You recognize it, and you understand its function.

Question: Does the cultivation of mindfulness mean making use of a convention or contributing to a convention? 
Does this practice carry over into the next realm of existence? How does it do so?

Answer: Mindfulness is the knowing mind. It can be both conventional and ultimate reality.
While we are cultivating mindfulness, it is still part of conventional reality. 
Once the practice is complete and clear knowing has arisen, it becomes an ultimate reality.
While developing mindfulness, is the entire process still within conventional reality?
Body is a convention. Cultivating mindfulness within the body is a conventional process. 
Since the mind is considered an ultimate reality, this process lies on the borderline between conventional and ultimate reality. Once mindfulness arises, it becomes part of the ultimate reality.

Question: Can pure and selfless love, respect, and faith in Luang Pu (you) be considered pure faith within ultimate reality?

Answer: Oh, please! (laughs) Do whatever you like.
But according to the Five Strengths/Powers, what comes first?

Faith. Faith gives rise to effort, mindfulness, concentration, and wisdom. When there is faith, it gives rise to effort—the willingness to do everything with love.

Faith is therefore a cause and condition that supports the development of both conventional and ultimate reality. It is an initial quality that supports the development of both worlds. 

For example, believing that this piece of metal can be transformed into equipment for amplifying sound—that is faith.
So, is faith wrong? No. Faith is simply an initial quality that supports both conventional and ultimate reality.

Question: Whom do Bodhisattvas do this for? Why are they willing to endure hardship? Are they attached to conventional reality? 

Answer: Whom do Bodhisattvas do it for? 
Maybe for a whole herd of buffalo! (laughs) They seek to help “buffaloes” become human. Do you understand? Am I questioning buffaloes or human beings?

Bodhisattvas help “buffaloes” become human and then help human beings develop into true human beings. What a strange question!

Bodhisattvas are born to liberate all sentient beings. That is their sole purpose. Liberate them from what? From the bonds that bind them, the forces that control, oppress, and destroy them. This is the Bodhisattva’s fundamental principle.

We cannot say that Bodhisattvas “remove suffering,” because suffering itself cannot be removed. Suffering existed before we were born, did it not?

Suffering is real. However, ultimately, there is no permanent person who experiences or possesses that suffering. This is an important point in the Buddha’s teaching: suffering exists, but there is no permanent “sufferer.” 

Why is that? What is a person who suffers made up of?
What we call a “person” is composed of the four elements: earth, water, fire, and air.
Then, does a person truly exist?
Ultimately, no. What we call a “person” is merely elements coming together according to causes and conditions.

How does karma come into the picture?
Karma does not bring the earth element.
Karma does not bring the water element.
Karma does not bring the air element.
Karma does not bring the fire element.
The four elements arise and function according to their own causes and conditions.
Karma is a condition that brings consciousness into a new life with a body made up of the four elements. Karma determines which element takes the lead. 
Which element will be dominant in a particular person? For instance, depending on the person’s accumulated wholesome and unwholesome karma, the fire, earth, or air element may become predominant. It all depends on the causes and conditions.
So, when we speak of one person as having “earth” as the dominant element, another as having “water”, another “air”, and another “fire”, those who can discern karma can tell whether a person’s karma is grave or trivial. Each element is determined by both wholesome and unwholesome karma. It is that subtle.
There is still much more to learn. You have a long way to go.
Consequently, nobody ultimately suffers, but suffering itself exists. Under which principle, then, does suffering belong?
The Four Noble Truths.
The Buddha’s first teaching was the Four Noble Truths. And what is the first Noble Truth? Suffering.

Suffering is an element of ultimate reality. That is why I say suffering existed before you were born. This world is characterized by suffering, yet there is no ultimately existing person who suffers.

Suffering arises through causes and conditions that bring the mind into a body composed of the four elements. The four elements that constitute a body are conditioned and shaped by wholesome and unwholesome karma. Depending on the karmic causes and conditions, one of the four elements may predominate.

Question: A lay follower would like to ask about your spiritual experience. Have you ever been attached to conventional reality? If so, how did you find your way beyond it?
Answer: I’m attached to everything. I’m attached to this and attached to that. I’m attached to everything, really—but I don’t carry it. I don’t carry it, and I don’t let it become a burden. Why?
 
I am not yet free from all burdens. I am still learning and practicing. I am not an arahant. I have not yet attained the level of an asekha—one who has completed the training.

So, don’t tell others that I, as your spiritual teacher, am completely unattached to this or that. I am simply someone who has learned how to use defilements wisely. Only the foolish are controlled by their defilements.

The way not to be bound by them is to understand and recognize that they are conventions. Conventions exist to be used, and defilements exist to be used—not to use us. That's all.

Without doing this, the path to Bodhisattva’s wisdom cannot arise. Developing Bodhisattva’s profound insight requires learning, accumulating knowledge, developing understanding, cultivating and nurturing that wisdom over time.

And what are the tools for us we learn, accumulate knowledge, cultivate understanding, and nurture this wisdom? The entire conventional world is our means of doing so.

How can we understand conventional reality if we neither understand nor know how to use it? Without recognizing its benefits and behaving properly according to our conventional roles, how can we learn from them?

Therefore, learning, cultivating, and developing requires us to understand and recognize conventions, and then use them wisely and fully. Benefit from them, contribute to them, and do not become attached to them. That is all—everything follows its causes and conditions.

To say that you are completely unattached would be a lie.

There is a difference between being attached without becoming a slave to attachment and being attached without realizing that you are attached. Which is worse?

That is the real problem. Nowadays, so many ordinary people shave their heads, put on monk’s robes, receive titles and ranks—Phra Khru, Somdet, and so on—and start acting arrogantly, strutting around like an elephant with its trunk held high, like a lizard that has suddenly come into gold. Are they attached or not?

Such people are eager to please those of higher rank. They may say, “Sounds good, sir. Perfect, sir. I love it.” 

I prefer to be what I choose to be.
Am I attached to that? I don’t know. But I know my name—and it is a name worth being proud of. (laughs) I’m very proud of myself. 

Question: Other religions do not teach about conventional reality and ultimate reality. Does this mean that their followers cannot attain liberation or transcend conventional reality?

Answer: No. Any religion that does not recognize the distinction between conventional and ultimate reality cannot escape the influence of conventional reality.

Even the greatest God is still something created within conventional reality. As I said, even the Brahma realms are part of this convention.

Are Brahmas part of the ultimate realm? Are they permanent?
Even if Brahmas are free from suffering, are they permanent?
If they are impermanent, how can they truly exist?

Even the highest Brahma realm, the Formless Brahma realm, is ultimately impermanent. 
If it is impermanent, how can we say that it truly exists?
It exists because it arises according to causes and conditions.
What are the causes and conditions for birth in the Formless Brahma realm? 
Merit, wholesome deeds, and the state of absorption or serene contemplation attained by meditation (jhana) and the Absorptions of the Formless Sphere (formless jhana) that Brahma cultivated and developed in past lives. As a result, that being was reborn in the Formless Brahma realm.
Therefore, ultimately, Brahma does not truly exist. 
Since it does not truly exist, what does that mean? 
It is impermanent.

The founders of other religions are not greater than the highest Formless Brahmas. They cannot be higher than the Formless Brahma realms, whether they are described as creators, saviors, or by any other name.

Even Brahmanism, which is centered on Brahma, teaches about Brahmas who still have form. It therefore does not reach the level of the Formless Brahma realms. Such teachings remain within the realm of impermanence, and, therefore, represent ultimate truth.
So, it is not possible to escape conventional reality. Conventional reality is vast. As long as conditioned formations and aggregates remain—in other words, as long as mental fabrications continue— the mind keeps creating, and conventional reality continues to expand, seemingly without end, throughout the entire universe.

Some people spend the whole day creating their own conventional world, daydreaming and imagining one thing after another. Do you agree?
“How old is this tree? Let me see if it gives me any numbers.” (Referring to lottery numbers)
“Did you bring the powder today?” (laughs)
“You’re selling durians, right? Then sell them properly! We still haven’t made enough money to pay for the fertilizer. We’re giving away more than we sell”

That is why the Buddha taught us to practice mindfulness. He understood that when the mind is mindful, it does not create conventional reality. With mindfulness and wisdom, there is no need to create a conventional world.

With consciousness is fully present in the body (mind-body connection), is there any time left to create yet another conventional world?
When body and mind are unified in mindfulness, the creation of conventional reality stops immediately. There is no longer one layer of conventional reality piling upon another.

Some people keep creating layer upon layer of conventional reality until they become crushed beneath it, leaving themselves unable to speak, make demands, or ask anyone for help. They continually hurt themselves. Sometimes they suddenly become startled for no apparent reason; at other times, they become suspicious, fearful, lost in overthinking, confused, restless, or distressed. They are afraid when they are alone and suspicious when they are surrounded by others. 

There are many people like this. This is what it means to be trapped in conventional reality.

Can religions that do not teach about conventional and ultimate reality lead to liberation? 
No. They have no way to attain liberation.

Question: Ultimately, how should we prepare ourselves in this conventional world to face death? 

We know that everything arises, changes, and eventually passes away, yet we still struggle to accept it calmly and let go. 
Luang Pu, please kindly advise us.

Answer: Did I teach you this morning? What did I teach you to do? 
To maintain mindfulness within the body —to establish mind-body connection, right? And how far do we take it?

Until you feel peaceful, safe, relaxed, and at ease. Would it then be possible for you to become a slave to the conventional world?

It’s because you don’t practice or learn. So, that’s what you deserve. As the saying goes, “Sentient beings live according to their karma.”

I’ve already taught you. I’ve already explained it and shown you how to practice. But if you still say you can’t accept it, then I can’t help you. If you can’t change your own mind, who is going to do it for you? In that case, you simply have to face the consequences of your own karma.

Then practice. Learn, cultivate, practice, and continue learning. This morning, I already taught you that the first step in practicing within conventional reality is to maintain mindfulness within the body until you reach a state of peace, safety, relaxation, and ease.

Only then can you begin to contemplate conventional reality.
The eyes see, but what we see is merely a convention.
The ears hear, but what we hear is merely a conventional sound.
The nose smells, but what we smell is merely a conventional scent.
The tongue tastes, but what we taste is merely a conventional taste.
The body feels, but what we feel is merely a convention.
Any thought or feeling that appears in the mind is merely a conventional mental experience. It is not ultimately real; it is an illusion. It arises, remains for a while, changes, and eventually ceases or breaks apart.

That is the principle for contemplation. I’ve already taught you everything you need to know about contemplating conventional reality. Whether you can do it or not is up to you. 

Question: When I maintain mindfulness within the body (mind-body connection), I feel peaceful, relaxed, and free from suffering. 
Luang Pu, please kindly advise me: when I return home and resume my daily life, how can I maintain mindfulness within the body (mind-body connection) continuously?

Answer: You simply need to keep practicing. 
How? Do it the same way you practiced.
You can do it when you are at the temple, but you can’t do it at home. What does that tell you? 
It means you’re not practicing the way you were taught. 

So, practice, learn, cultivate, and train yourself. Do it repeatedly until it becomes habitual karma—something you do naturally and habitually.

The most frightening kind of karma is not destructive karma upaghātakamma. 
Do you know what it is? It is āciṇṇakamma—the karma we perform habitually.
It’s like water dripping into a jar. Even if one drop falls at a time, if you keep adding dirty water every minute, every day, how could the jar ever become clean? Eventually, the dirty water accumulates.

So, if you’re going to keep dripping water every day, every moment, make sure it is clean water, not dirty water.
Even if it is only one drop at a time, these drops will gradually fill the jar with clean water. That is what you need to do.

That’s why I keep telling you: whenever you have time, chant and meditate. Keep your mind on the wholesome side. Learn, cultivate, and practice. Keep developing your actions, speech, and thoughts. Do it continuously and regularly until it reaches the stage of body cultivation, until you become strong, capable, and unafraid even of death or the Grim Reaper.
That is what it means to have habitual karma (āciṇṇakamma) that you can truly rely on.

Question: I understand that sati means mindfulness, while sampajañña means awareness of what is happening. 
How are sati and sampajañña different? Luang Pu, please kindly explain. 

Answer: I’m confused! Are you confused too?
She said that sati means mindfulness and sampajañña means awareness. 
Do you think mindfulness and awareness are different?

Mindfulness is when you recognize something and think, “Oh, that’s right!” That is what we mean by mindfulness.

Awareness is when you recognize what is happening and understand, “Oh, that’s right. I shouldn’t do this. I’m sitting here,” and so on.

So, mindfulness means being able to think, analyze, reflect, and contemplate.

Awareness means being fully conscious of what you are doing, what you are saying, and what you are thinking.

Sati means mindfulness; it reflects a sense of oneself.
Sampajañña means being aware.
Sati is mindfulness and sampajañña is awareness. They work together as a process of thinking and reflecting until the mind reaches clarity—until you know, “Yes, this is right. This is correct.”
That is why sati and sampajañña must go together. They are compared to a father and mother: sati is like the father and mother giving birth, while sampajañña is like the way the parents raise and nurture the child.
Sati is like the father and mother who give birth.
Sampajañña is the nurturing, caring for, supporting, and guiding of the child so that the child can grow and flourish. 

Therefore, sampajañña can be compared to a light that shows the child the way forward, helping the child progress and flourish. 
Sati supports and protects the child, keeping the child safe.

That is why the Buddha taught that maintaining mindfulness in one’s actions, speech, and mind does not lead to difficulty.

Question: In today’s world, we wear many different hats and play many roles—being a supervisor, an executive, or competing simply to survive. 

At times, stress and pressure can make it difficult to distinguish between fulfilling our roles and responsibilities as well as we can and letting go without becoming attached. 

How can we recognize the difference? 

Are there any practical exercises we can use to remind ourselves, so that we don’t become so absorbed in these roles that they turn into suffering and ego?

Answer: Because you don’t recognize that it is merely a convention. You only see it as “yours.” You believe that it is the real world, something you must get involved with, hold on to, and become bound by.

If you understood that it is merely a convention, why would you become so caught up in it?  

The problem is that you do not recognize what a convention really is. And because you do not understand its nature, you do not know how to use it properly.

First, you are the one using convention. Over time, convention begins to use and control you. The mistake begins at the first step: failing to recognize that everything that exists, everything you do, and everything you are engaged in is simply a convention. That’s all.

Back when I was a monk, they appointed me as the subdistrict ecclesiastical head. I did not want the position. I even ran away and stayed at Tham Kai Lon Cave.

One day, I returned to my kuti (monk’s hut) and found the appointment letter. “Oh, they’ve appointed me after all.”

That evening, I carried the letter back to the provincial ecclesiastical head and said, 
“Venerable, why did you give this to me? There are plenty of other people who want it.”

He said, “There’s nobody else. Just take it. There are problems that need you to solve.” (laughs)
He put it very simply. What was I supposed to do?”

“Oh, so you appointed me because there are problems that need solving? Fine. I’ll solve them. Once they’re solved, we’re done.”

And that’s exactly what I did. I solved the problems, finished the job, and gave up the position.

Because I knew it was merely a convention. I knew what convention was, how to use it, and how to make it useful. Once I had benefited from it, that was enough. I simply gave it back and moved on.

After finishing the meeting of the provincial ecclesiastical officials, I went up, paid my respects, and said, “Venerable, I’m resigning.”

All the monks in the province were stunned. 
“What? Can you just resign that easily? You come here and simply announce that you’re resigning?”

“Well, it’s just a convention. Why do you make such a big deal out of it?”

That’s what happens when people don’t understand convention. They end up being beaten by the very conventions they have created. 

When I went to pay my respects to the Somdet Phra Ratchakhana at Chana Songkhram Temple, he was very ill. I knew it would probably be the last time I would see him, so I went to pay my respects and say goodbye. I wasn’t the one who was sick. He was sick, so I went to say goodbye.

“You have finally arrived. I’ve been waiting for you for several days.”

At the time, the abbots of Rai Khing Temple and Phanan Choeng Temple were also sitting there. They both have passed away now. 

He said, “Luang Pu, bring your documents and biographical records with you. Before I pass away, I want to put your name forward for the title of Lord Abbot (Chao Khun).”

I said, “Oh, Your Eminence, please give it to someone else. I don’t want it.”

“Why not?”

“Because I like becoming what I choose to become. I don’t like becoming what other people choose for me.”

“Oh my! Are there still people like this in the world?”

“Yes. This is what I look like—and this is simply who I am.”

A few days later, he passed away.

I never like such things. People may think the conventional world is something noble or wonderful. 

To me, it is simply a convention. I accept it, use it to the fullest, get benefit from it, and when I’m done, that’s it.
 
I’ve already told you: recognize convention, understand it, benefit from it, and contribute to it. In the end, don’t become attached to what is merely a convention. That’s all.

Don’t make such a big deal out of it. When you do, it means you don’t know how to play the game. You turn conventional reality into your own source of stress.

No one can make me become what they want me to be.

They want me to suffer—I remain peaceful and happy.

They want me to die—I survive time and again.

Question: Your teachings speak of “benefiting from convention.” In family life, our roles as parents, children, or partners can sometimes create expectations and attachment, which in turn create pressure for one another.

Luang Pu, please kindly advise us on how to fulfill our roles and be of benefit to our family as a parent, a partner, or the head of the family, without using those roles to control or interfere with another person’s life and choices.

Answer: Because you’re foolish. You don’t know what convention is, you don’t understand it, you don’t know how to use it, and in the end, you let convention use you.

Don’t forget, being a parent is simply a convention. Being someone’s child is also simply a convention. 

So, use conventions properly. That means fulfilling your role—as a good father, husband, wife, mother, or child.

When each person fully and properly fulfills their own role, that’s the end of it. Remember, one of the ten bases of meritorious action is fulfilling your duties properly. So, when everyone does their duty properly, what more is there to make such a big deal about?

The Buddha already taught us the virtues of being a good father and mother: loving-kindness, compassion, appreciative joy, and, ultimately, equanimity.

My child, everyone has their own private world. Each person has their own personal space. When we cross the line and intrude too deeply into someone else’s private world, naturally, they will feel uncomfortable, resentful, or dissatisfied. That is simply human nature. 

No one is so open-minded that they would allow another person to enter their world to the point where they no longer have the freedom or right to express themselves. That would not be right.

Animals are likewise. If you bother them too much, say, when a dog is sleeping, what happens if you bother it? Will it bark at you? If you keep poking at it while it’s sleeping, will it bite you? I’ve never kept a dog myself, though.
Even animals don’t like it. Let alone human beings.
So just keep it within reason. Know what is appropriate. Give each other enough space.

The Buddha already taught us the virtues of being a father and mother: loving-kindness, compassion, appreciative joy, and equanimity. 

When you have shown kindness, compassion, and joy, and have wished them well, helped them, and supported them, that is enough. At some point, you also need to know how to practice equanimity.

Each person has their own way of thinking. Even when people are parents and children, each person has the right and freedom to think for themselves. There is no rule saying that everyone must think exactly like their father or mother.

My mother had an unusual way of raising her children. Whatever we wanted to do, she would let us do it—even if it meant letting us make mistakes first. She wouldn’t tell us what to do beforehand. 

After we made a mistake, she would simply ask, “Do you remember?”
If we said yes, she would say, “Then don’t do it again.” That was it.
And if you decide to do something, you must be responsible for yourself. That was all.

So, children do not grow simply because their parents protect and shelter them. Don’t forget that they grow through their own direct experiences—through living their own lives appropriately and through experiences that have been carefully filtered and guided, while parents continue to watch over them and keep a close eye on things to a reasonable extent.

But if you go too far, it can make your children feel constrained and uncomfortable, making life more difficult for them. 

So, the best approach is to behave according to the Four Divine States of Mind (Brahmavihāras) taught by the Buddha. That’s all.

Question: Conventional reality moves fast these days. Today, someone may be considered powerful, wealthy, or hold a prestigious position. They may even have vast amounts of cryptocurrency, like a sultan. 

But tomorrow, all those conventions could suddenly disappear because of an economic crisis, technological change, or war.

For those who are facing the loss or those who are afraid that one day they may lose it, what Dhamma teaching would help them recover quickly, see the truth, and continue living with resilience?

Answer: “Serves you right. You wanted to be foolish. That’s it.

What is there to be upset about? When you came out of your mother’s womb, did you have cryptocurrency? 
You simply don’t know how to play the game. You don’t know how to deal with convention or how to live in conventional reality. So, you bear the suffering yourself.”

Bhārā have pañcakkhandhā     
The five aggregates are indeed a heavy burden.

Bhārahāro ca puggalo 
The person is the one who carries that heavy burden.

Bhārādānaṃ dukkhaṃ loke
Carrying and clinging to that burden is suffering.

Bhāranikkhepanaṃ sukhaṃ
Casting that heavy burden down is true happiness.

The Buddha taught this as well, but we do not put it into practice. 

Then what exactly is the burden?

Conventional reality itself is entirely burden.

The conventional world does not move rapidly on its own. Rather, it is human greed or the insatiable desires of people that create conventional reality and determines whether it moves faster or slower.

We must acknowledge that people nowadays have become far more insatiable. Their desires and ambitions have grown so intense that it is as if the thermometer has exploded—their wanting keeps rising until the mercury shoots straight to the top.

In the end, our desires become greater than our ability to fulfill them.

When our desires exceed our capabilities, we eventually become trapped in a cycle of mistakes, failure, and despair.

If you want only as much as your abilities can support, then you are still somewhere around a 50/50 balance.

But if you want far more than you can achieve, eventually your abilities cannot keep up. You simply cannot catch up with what you want. And that is when despair begins.

You become stuck there, trapped by the gap between what you want and what you can do. It ultimately leads to a life of frustration and despair till the end of your life.

How do we fix it?
Reduce the desire. Go back and start again from square one. It’s simple.
If we look at it positively, it is still better than not tried. At least, through those desires, we have gained experience and have seen our mistakes clearly.

Then, from now on, we will not walk this path again, not do things this way again, and will not repeat the same mistakes.

Question: In the conventional world, if we want to succeed, both chanda (wholesome aspiration or willingness to act) and tanha (craving or attachment) can serve as driving forces.

How can we recognize whether what is driving us is aspiration or craving? And which one ultimately leads to true success?

Answer: Craving is not made up of just one emotion.
Chanda, by contrast, is simply a sense of satisfaction and affection.

Craving, or taṇhā, is a grasping kind of desire —a greedy, insatiable wanting. It includes craving, intense longing, and the desire to possess something.

Chanda, on the other hand, is simply love, interest, and satisfaction. It does not yet contain that intense craving or desire to possess anything.

They may appear similar. The way they develop is radically different.

Tanha is about grasping and competing for what one wants—striving, scrambling, greedily reaching out, and endlessly craving more. It never truly comes to an end.

Chanda, on the other hand, is simply a tool that motivates and reminds us to try. It strengthens our perseverance, helping us carry out the activity with greater determination and bring it to successful completion. So, we should not confuse chanda with tanha.

Tanha is like a mad bull or like someone out of their mind on methamphetamine—driven wildly by an uncontrollable urge.

Chanda, by contrast, is more like children playing. They enjoy what they are doing. When they become bored, they put it down and move on.

That is the difference. 

Question: There are many times when the results of chanda and tanha appear to be the same. Both can motivate a person to work hard, persevere, and ultimately achieve success.
So how can we tell whether the success we have achieved is driven by chanda or by tanha?

Answer: I don’t see how a dog, after its craving has been satisfied, becomes patient and diligent. Just look at a dog in mating season. Once it has finished mating, is it still persistent? Not at all. If someone chases it away or scolds it, it runs off, whining. You only raise your hand; it will duck its head and run away as fast as it can.

A person who has chanda is a completely different matter. Chanda is a process of the mind that enables us to engage in an activity without becoming bored or weary of it. It motivates us to keep trying. In other words, it gives rise to viriya—greater perseverance and diligent effort. That’s all.
Taṇhā, craving or insatiable desire, shoots straight up. Once the desire has been satisfied, it is finished.

Look at the dog in mating season. Once it has finished mating, where does it go? It runs away with its head down. Someone may throw a stick at it or threaten it with water. Even one sharp shout is enough to make it yelp and run away.

So don’t compare taṇhā with chanda. They are completely different things.

Question: According to your teaching, the mind is the ultimate truth. The mind has only four functions: receiving, remembering, knowing, and thinking. However, these four functions arise in the beginning, change in the middle, and disintegrate in the end. They arise and pass away, cannot be controlled according to our wishes, and remain subject to conditions.

When we compare this with the Buddha’s teaching, “Sabbe dhammā anattā” — “All phenomena are not-self,” would these teachings appear to contradict each other?

Answer: I just explained this at length. Everything depends on causes and conditions. The mind is the ultimate truth because it arises from causes and conditions. 

The mind receives, remembers, knows, and thinks. Even if you die and are reborn as an animal, a mind that receives, remembers, knows, and thinks, remains. These functions of mind must exist and arise. 

The only difference is which type of mind comes to the forefront.
Even as an asura or a hungry ghost, there is still a mind that receives, remembers, knows, and thinks. 

That is why it is somewhat on the borderline of being considered ultimate truth (paramattha). I never said that it is purely ultimate truth (paramattha), did I?

Listen carefully. Don't listen without understanding the meaning and then twist it into something else. 

Question: When practicing viewing everything as merely a convention, my motivation to work has decreased because I no longer desire to advance in my career. I think that whatever position I attain is merely a convention. Is this the right way to use convention?

Answer: There are principles to understanding and reflecting on convention. You need to know what convention is, understand convention, use convention, benefit from convention, and be of benefit through convention. These are the principles. Which stage are you at?

You use convention, you benefit from convention, and you are supposed to be of benefit through convention. Have you been of benefit yet? 

You’ve already benefited from convention, but have you given anything back? If you haven’t, and you’re still saying, “Convention makes me feel hopeless. It makes me feel like I don’t want to improve or strive for anything. Once I see everything as a convention, I feel bored and lose my motivation, then that’s not because you understand convention and know how to use it. It’s because you don’t know how to use convention properly. 

Question: There are many different professions and careers. What Dhamma principle should we use to consider which kind of work we should choose, so that we can make the greatest possible benefit from convention?
Answer: The best thing you can do is fulfill your role properly within that convention.
The word “convention” (sammuti) isn’t used only to refer to the external world. Have you ever heard the term sammati-saṅgha—the conventional Sangha?
That is how Buddhism uses the term “convention” in relation to the Sangha. It refers to the sammati-saṅgha, the conventional Sangha.

Those who are truly Sangha, without relying on a process of designation or convention, are the Noble Ones and Arahants. They are the true Sangha. An asekha-puggala—one who has completed the training—is someone who no longer needs further training, and that is what constitutes the true Sangha.

Today, monks in the temple all the way up to the senior ecclesiastical ranks, from ordinary monks to abbots, what are most of them? They are all sammati-saṅgha—conventional Sangha.
Once you are a conventional Sangha, have you fulfilled your duties properly? Have you fulfilled them completely?

They conventionally designate you as a father. They conventionally designate you as a mother. Have you fulfilled those roles properly and completely?
It all comes back to the same thing: fulfill your duties properly. One of the ten bases of meritorious action is fulfilling one’s duties properly.

So, learning about, understanding, and knowing convention; using convention; benefiting from convention; and being of benefit through conventions—these also requires you to fulfill your own duties properly.

Question: I have been trying to encourage my mother to learn the Dhamma, but she is still attached to valuable things and conventions. Recently, I managed to bring her to Wat O Noi. However, while she was there, she picked some peppercorns from the temple grounds without asking for permission.
I am telling you about this hoping that it might help lessen the karmic consequences.
Would such an action be considered unwholesome karma? And how should I guide my mother so that she can gradually let go of her attachment to things that are merely conventional?

Luang Pu: What did she pick?
Disciple: Peppercorn flowers, Luang Pu.
Luang Pu: Peppercorn flowers? Where did she pick them?
Oh, she was helping to collect things? If she was helping to collect them and had the ability to pick them, then let her pick them. It’s not difficult. She’ll just incur a debt to me later. If she wants to be in debt, that’s fine.
 
Question: Which of your Dhamma verses explain the nature of ultimate reality?
Answer: You can read them in my books. There are plenty of them I wrote when I was staying at the Kai Lon Cave.

All things begin to appear,
The stars change their course,
The deep sea endures through countless years,
But now it has become a mountain.

That is the world of ultimate reality. It encompasses both conventional reality and ultimate reality. 

Question: “How are citta (mind) and viññāṇa (consciousness) similar or different?”
Answer: The mind is the process of receiving, remembering, knowing, and thinking. 
Consciousness is the process by which the mind receives, remembers, knows, and thinks. 

In Buddhism, consciousness does not mean a spirit leaving the body. Rather, it refers to the process of receiving, remembering, knowing, and thinking—what is sometimes described as consciousness associated with conditioned existence.

The mind receives, remembers, knows, and thinks about objects perceived through the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind. These mental objects can also be understood as cetasikas, or mental factors.

Questions from the Singaporean novice

Question: In Singapore, parents teach their children to be diligent and proactive, encouraging them to strive for the best possible standard of living in the future.
Is this the right way for parents to teach their children, given that everything in life is just conventional?
Answer: They are teaching correctly. They are not teaching anything wrong. When you understand that everything is merely convention, that is the reason to strive and try harder, because in the end, you never know when this conventional world may collapse. At least, make sure you gain something worthwhile from conventions.

The phrase “benefiting from convention” is still part of the process. After benefiting from convention, the next step is to be of benefit to convention. That is the final stage for someone who works and makes a living while still thinking, “This world belongs to me.”

So, parents are not teaching their children incorrectly. They are encouraging them to work hard and strive so that their conventional lives can become prosperous and complete.

Question: The novice said that he enjoys eating fried chicken. But when he recalls you teaching that we should eat only enough to satisfy our hunger, and reflects that food is merely convention, he feels that he should no longer indulge in the pleasure of eating as much as he used to.

Is this way of thinking—understanding convention and using convention properly—correct?
Answer: Does fried chicken contain fat? Ask him.
Disciple: Yes.
Luang Pu: And when fat accumulates in the body, what does it become?
Disciple: It accumulates in the body.
Luang Pu: It becomes cholesterol. Is that good for the body?
Disciple: No. It is harmful to the body.
Luang Pu: Then why waste your time eating fried chicken? You might as well drink dishwashing liquid.
High cholesterol—what diseases can it cause?
Disciple: Heart disease, and you could die.
Luang Pu: Then, if you want to die, why waste your time eating fried chicken? 
You said that eating fried chicken is “using convention.” Are you actually benefiting from convention?
A person who knows convention, understands convention, and uses convention properly will know what is right and wrong, and what is appropriate and inappropriate.

Knowing that eating fried chicken can cause fat to accumulate, arteries to become blocked, a heart attack, high blood pressure, and narrowed or ruptured blood vessels in the brain, you still eat it—how can you say that you know convention?

At lunchtime today, someone brought me fried chicken and fried fish. I didn’t eat them. I ate steamed fish instead.

Disciple: His question was not specifically about fried chicken. What he would really like to ask is this: if everything is merely convention, then if he simply enjoy life—appreciating things he loves to eat and things he wants to do—wouldn’t that be considered using convention and benefiting from convention?
As long as he is not attached to those things, can he say that he understands convention and knows how to use it properly?

Luang Pu: Does it cause suffering? Does it cause harm to your physical health and your life, or to the lives of others?
If something causes suffering and harms your health, your life, or the lives of others, then that shows you do not truly know convention. You do not know how to use conventions properly.

Question: What if someone wants to eat shrimp but does not kill the shrimp himself and instead asks someone else to kill it for him? 
Would the karmic result be the same, or would it be different?

Answer: Then you are guilty: you asked someone else to kill it, even though you did not kill it yourself.

The principle regarding eating meat in Buddhism is this: 
First, you did not see the animal being killed, and you did not ask anyone to kill it for you. You simply do not know whether the animal was killed specifically for you. In that case, you can eat.

But if you saw the animal being killed, or you know that it was killed because of your request, then even though you did not kill it yourself, you cannot eat that meat. It is an offense with every swallow.

Question: He works at a bank and has great faith in Luang Pu. Because of his faith, he has collected many of Luang Pu’s amulets and recommended them to everyone he works with—his supervisors, subordinates, and colleagues. As a result, many of them have also collected Luang Pu’s amulets.

He asked whether what he has done is right or wrong. He understands that people should not become attached to material objects. However, everyone sees that whatever he uses seems to be the best, they naturally want to have the same things. Is what he has done right?
Answer:
Did he force them to buy the amulets?
No, he didn’t.

Did he deceive or mislead them into buying them?
No, he didn’t.

If he neither forced nor deceived anyone, then the amulets are simply a product. If people willingly choose to buy them, there is nothing wrong with that.

The Buddha taught: “Act for the benefit of yourself and others with heedfulness.” That is the right way to conduct oneself.

Question: Have you ever thought of teaching Buddhism in Singapore? 
Answer: For Singaporeans, especially people of your generation, it is quite rare to find those who take an interest in the principles and teachings of Buddhism.

Most have been shaped by their parents and society to struggle to make a living and fight their way forward. They are taught to compete, to win, to strive for success, and to gain an advantage over others.

When I was still a monk, the Thai Buddhist community in the United States once invited me to go there to teach. Yet I did not go. They were Thais, Cambodians, and Laotians living together as a community.

Why? Because I cannot even teach Thai people well enough to overcome their ignorance. How could I go and teach foreigners and expect them to overcome theirs? Everyone sitting here is still full of ignorance.

If you want your friends to learn, bring them here and have them ordained as monks, the way you are doing now.

Disciple: The novice monk said that Singaporeans must work hard to make a living. It is therefore very difficult for them to come here to ordain as novice monks or monks and practice with Luang Pu as he is doing. Life in Singapore is very demanding, and people have very little free time, so it can be quite difficult for them.
Luang Pu: It is not difficult if you truly want to do it.
Everyone has the same amount of time. It depends on how we choose to use the time we have.
If we have time to travel, seek pleasure, and pursue the things we like, but say that we have no time to make merit, do good deeds, or do what is beneficial for ourselves, then it is not right.

Question: Is it necessary to become a monk or a novice monk to do good?
Answer: Becoming a monk or a novice monk is considered the highest form of doing good. Other good deeds are considered secondary.
The Buddha taught that “the giving and sharing of Dhamma surpasses all other forms of giving.” Learning and practicing Dhamma leads to the highest pure wisdom, which is not found in other religions.

Question: The novice said that he has learned a great deal from studying with you, and that his time as a novice has also given him many opportunities to learn from the monks.
When he returns to Singapore, how can he continue developing his Dhamma practice beyond simply meditating regularly? Given all that he has learned so far, including meditation and other aspects of Dhamma, what can he do in his daily life to help his practice progress further?
Answer: Do whatever you can to make your life more relaxed. I have already taught you so.

The more intense the competition is and the harder you struggle to make a living, the more you need to learn how to relax.

That is why teachings and practices that help make life more relaxed are especially important for people in Singapore.
 

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