Attain the Dhammakaya

It was about the middle of the rain retreat at Bodth Bon Temple. It was in the middle of September 1916, before going for almsaround in that morning, he thought to himself that this vassa was his eleventh year of monkhood but still had not tastes the Truth found by the Lord Buddha, although he had studied both meditation and scriptures without rest for all the time. He resolved that he ought to be called a wastrel, if he did not continue to try his utmost. That day after completion of his almsaround, he finished his daily duties before going in the main chapel of the temple. He aimed that if he did not hear the drum for the lunch time signal, he would not give up the meditation. Not only this, he resolved not to wave his posture in meditation, whenever the pain of stiffness attacking his body until he could taste at least the Truth found by the Lord Buddha. It was about eight o’clock in the morning when he started to meditate with the mantra Samma Aranham. He knew that his vow might cost him a life but what was the benefit if stay without completion the determination on the date of ordination. The pain in his legs increased intensely, he felt that the time passed extraordinarily slowly. His ears listened not to his heart but the sound from the drum of lunch time. Hours went by, he sit motionless but his mind did not. Pain increased his agitation until he realized;

“I have never felt such pain before, why, now that I have sworn not to change my position in meditation, is the pain so much intense than ever before? My mind never been as agitated as this. How much longer I have to endure this suffering until I can hear the lunch time drum.”

The more he thought the more agitated he became. He nearly gave up many times, but because of the strength of his fighting spirit and he made such a resolution, he felt it was to fight and carry on to the end; even it cost him his life. He concluded to himself that the more his mind agitated the more he found no peace. So, he began to cross the new level of boundaries and began to let go of the pain. He dispatched himself from the pain. Suddenly his mind became still and firmly stayed at the center of the body. He felt the whole body was disappeared and began to enlarge without ending. His pain and suffering was away, it seemed that he went to the other world. That world was so big, still and firm; only him alone was in that world. In his eyes closed, he could was the light was shining insight the meditation, the light became brighter and brighter until it was vivid like the mid day sun. In the center of the vividness, he saw one single spot which brighter than the whole brightness. He placed his mind in that innerspot until it floated upwards; its shape became as big as the yolk of an egg, and still at his center of the body; where it was two finger breadths above the cross section of the naval. The experience filled his body of inexplicable bliss and moved away of agony. He felt fresh as he never felt before in his eleven years of monkhood. Suddenly he had felt the freshness; he heard the sound of the lunch time drum, which was an eleven o’clock in the morning.

That morning, the midday meal was very tasteful flavor; the flavor o spiritual dhamma and success. This experience made he thought that;

“Even I am sitting here and eating, I can not avoid concentrating the sphere of Dhamma. Indeed, it was wonderful. I feel the warmth, stability, security and it is bright too. The brightness of the sun is inferior!!!. The light of the sun is s a firefly compare to the huge torchlight of the sphere Dhamma.”

On that evening, after hearing the chanting of Patimokha in the temple along with his breathes, he was extremely happy. His mind was at ease with the rectitude of his conduct. That night the rain pours uncommonly, it was as the sign of the suffering of humanity will be washed away. The young monk, Candasaro, felt that was the sign of fortune. The downpour rinsed all dust and dirt from the buildings and the land. In hindsight, this was a portent loaded with meaning. The secret of Dhammakaya meditation, which had lost to the world for thousands of years, was going to be recovered. He entered to the main shrine hall of Bodth Bon Temple. Against the main Buddha statue in the hall, the image of the lord Buddha seemed to look at him with compassion. He sat down to meditate with a strong resolution to dedicate his lie for the goal insight.

“O lord, Impart to me the Dhamma which you attained on that day of your enlightenment. If my Enlightenment will be of virtue and benefit to Buddhism, then please, O Lord! Transport to me the greatest Dhamma; I shall be Thy champion to maintain and uphold the greatest of Thy Teaching. But should my enlightenment be in vain, of no benefit to Thy Teaching, then Lord, I will sacrifice my life in this meditation, as the only suffering I have for Thee.”

Then, it rained heavily. The atmosphere in the temple became damp. He saw a line of ants escaping from the crack in the floor. For a moment he thought that the ants might disturb his meditation, so he dipped his finger into a bottle of kerosene and started to draw a circle around himself. But then he realized that he had just dedicated his life for the sake of the Lord Buddha’s Teaching. Should he now falter at the sight of a few helpless ants? In self-disgust, he discarded the bottle and set forth to meditate unprotected.

The bright and cleared Dhamma sphere still appeared as it was that he attained before the midday meal. The brightness grew more intense until it outshone the midday sun. He contemplated on this object of meditation for hours until the moon flew over midnight. He found his insight experience did not progress than the sphere of Dhamma. Once he placed his mind in the center of the sphere, then, coming from the silence gentle sound of ancient Pali word, majjhima-patipada, a technique term from scriptures means, the Middle Way. He thought that.

Ahh…The Middle Way from the scriptures, we define this as ‘a way of life which steers between the two extremes of mortification and sensual indulgence’.

He then tried an experiment by contemplating deeper and deeper at the center. The inner bright spot in the middle of the sphere expanded until its size reached the outer sphere and the outer sphere vanished. Deeper and deeper, he found a new sphere but brighter until he saw himself sitting meditation posture in the meditation. The, at the end of the succession covering all dimensions of himself, he saw a new body. Repeated again an again with other six inner bodies until he saw a body of Buddha statue alike. That body existed as the body of the Buddha in deep meditation posture. From the silence insight, a whispering of resonant sound came from that body, I am Dhammakaya. The delight overwhelmed him. He whispered to himself.

“Ah!.....it is so hard like this. That’s why no one could attain an achievement. Sensation, memory, thought and cognition of the mind; all of them must be united into one single of innerspot. Once they are stopped still; it is extinguished. Once it is extinguished, the new one can arise.

He contemplated further on the achievement. During this short period while he was meditating, a vision of a temple appeared in his mediation. He recognized that was Bangpla temple, the first temple he studied while he was young. He automatically knew that someone in that temple might ripe for the path. From the following days onwards, Candasaro took his practice to the achieved meditation experience until he shined in that result. At the end of that vassa, rain retreat, he moved to Bangpla Temple as he aimed at the first day of enlightenment. In Bangpla Temple, three monks and four laypeople could attain the Dhammakaya.

In his thirteenth vassa, Candasaro took with him all the monks and laypeople who attained the Dhammakaya to Songpinong Temple to teach Dhamma. At the end of that retreat, more monks could attain Dhammakaya. Then he moved the Prtusarn Temple where his preceptor recited to teach further Dhamma and moved to Chetupon Temple for returning the reciprocation to his scriptural teachers.