The Teachings of Ajahn Suchart.
Question: How the mind gets refined as one goes from one realm to another such as from being a human to become a deva, a brahma and to attain nibbāna?
Than Ajahn: The mind is being constantly influenced by your good and bad kamma. If you do bad kamma, it is like you’re dirtying the mind. The mind is like water. You can either make it dirty or purify it. Bad kamma will dirty the mind, while good kamma will purify the mind.
If you can keep the 5 precepts, then you will be able to maintain your human level. And if you add on with doing dāna to your 5 precepts, such as giving to charity or helping other people, you are purifying your mind further.
You are making your mind to become a deva, which means your mind is in heaven when you die. Your mind will no longer be a human’s mind. Your mind is in a higher realm – as a deva.
If you practice meditation and are able to enter jhāna, your mind will be going higher up, from the deva level to the brahma level. And if you can use wisdom to get rid of your cravings, your mind will be at a higher state – to become a sotāpanna and so forth.
And eventually, you will become enlightened.
So, this is how the mind is refined, becoming the different types of beings. It’s due to its good and bad kamma.
If the mind does bad kamma, not keeping the 5 precepts, then the mind moves down from a human level to become an animal, a hungry ghost, a fearful ghost or a ghost that exists in hell. So, this is how the mind is being influenced by your good and bad kamma.
That’s why all the Buddhas teach us to: stop doing bad kamma; Do only good kamma; And purify the mind by meditation. The mind will eventually become totally pure – to become a Buddha or an arahant.
By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto
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