The Power of Mindfulness : หน้า 26/194

shadow. Sometimes she thought she was destined never to achieve inner experience¹ in meditation. Chandra would ask in desperation, “if there is Dhamma, why can't I see it for myself?” Upāsika Thongsuk, allowed Chandra to understand little by little that Dhamma certainly exists, but we need to work on ourselves to be able to recognise it. With practice, there will come a time when we have done the work needed to attain inner vision for ourselves. Chandra continued to train herself in meditation. She focussed on bringing her mind to a standstill at the centre of her body, within the stomach, two fingerbreadths above the navel. At last, she received confirmation from Upāsika Thongsuk that her mind was beginning to become refined and began to understand that whether the mind wavers or not, one has to progress step by step. When the mind becomes sufficiently refined, it will reach a standstill of its own accord. Just like trying to catch a hen in a chicken coop, in meditation our mind needs to be undeviating in its aim. If we rush to catch the hen, it will fly away. Our efforts will be in vain. By contrast, if we call the hen gently, it will be befriended and easily caught. Similarly, it is impossible to control the mind by force. By slow and careful application of the mantra, irrespective of whether we can see the crystal ball clearly or not, in the end the mind will come to a standstill at its point of balance. It is only the coarse and foolish who habitually use force. Inner experience is a subtle thing and Dhamma study needs a light and buoyant mind. In meditation the mind needs to be maintained gently at the centre of ¹. inner experience is the phenomenon experienced in meditation which depths one's understanding of the reality of life and the world