Why
is the crystal ball used as the object of meditation in the Dhammakaya
technique ?
First of
all, we donât need to use a crystal ball. Any object of meditation
will do as long as you have a positive feeling towards it, or
at least a neutral one. Also, the object of meditation should
be chosen which does not increase the level of passion, hatred
or delusion in your mind. Meditating upon the image of your husband
or wife will not make for very good meditation because it will
increase your level of passion and this will destroy any degree
of calm which you had already attained. By contrast, a flower
is a good object of meditation, as is the moon or the sun, because
for most people these things arouse a positive feeling. If you
can think of nothing better, why not try visualizing the pillow
which you use to sleep each night ? The important thing is to
bring the object to rest at the centre of the body, because this
is where the most successful degree of concentration can be developed.
You will find that whatever the object you originally chose, it
will turn to become a crystal ball, in the course of meditation
progress, if it is maintained at the centre of the body. This
is natural law of meditation. In my tradition, we recommend all
people to meditate upon a crystal ball at the centre of the body
because firstly, it gives the meditator a shortcut, to put the
crystal ball at the centre of the body from ãday oneä.
It saves time from being wasted with many transformations of the
visualized image (parikamma-nimitta). Secondly, across all cultures,
the crystal ball is received with a positive, or at least a neutral
feeling. In no culture do you find that the crystal ball has associations
which are evil! Thirdly, the crystal ball is bright, clear and
pure. When the mind concentrates upon these qualities, it tends
to become a mind of brightness, clarity and purity: the qualities
of the mind which lead to success in meditation.
