Cultivation and Zen Practice for Attaining Enlightenment (Part Two)

Chapter 4: The Threefold Training of Precepts, Concentration, and Wisdom

1. Cultivating Concentration and Wisdom Equally Without Taking Detours

If you want to learn Buddhism and practice more quickly, you must clarify the principles and path of practice, distinguish between the methods of cultivating meditative concentration and the methods of Chan contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā), and then identify the current focus of your practice, so as not to waste time. For example, if you want to subdue the first five consciousnesses and the mind consciousness, so that the six consciousnesses become pure and no longer discriminate and perceive the realms of the five sense objects, this is the method of cultivating meditative concentration. When cultivating concentration with this method, after the power of concentration has increased, you still need to use the five sense consciousnesses and the mind consciousness to observe the sense objects, investigate the sense objects, and clearly recognize the arising-ceasing, mutable nature of the sense objects and the five aggregates and the world, as well as the true reality hidden within them, in order to attain the wisdom of realization. Only with such wisdom can one be liberated from the suffering of birth and death, and only then can practice proceed as one wishes.

Another example: some practitioners single-mindedly think about having no states of mind and extinguishing all states of mind; this is purely the method of cultivating meditative concentration. But when the power of concentration is complete and the time comes to realize the Buddha's teachings, one must engage in contemplative practice upon the realm of the five aggregates in order to eradicate the view of self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi-prahāṇa) and see the mind; attaining wisdom cannot be separated from states of mind. Practice should first cultivate concentration, then cultivate wisdom, contemplating and investigating the Buddha's teachings; only by practicing with the equal cultivation of Samādhi and Prajñā can one realize the Buddha's teachings. If one forcibly engages in contemplative practice without the power of concentration, nothing contemplated will be accomplished; the best outcome would be merely an intellectual understanding. But intellectual understanding is like scratching an itch through a boot, or distant water failing to quench immediate thirst, because what is intellectually understood does not belong to one's own attainment; since the manas has not eradicated ignorance, one does not gain the wisdom of realization, so intellectual understanding has no real practical use.

After meditative concentration has been developed, one must engage in contemplative practice in accordance with the Dharma and with reason. The Small Vehicle contemplates the five aggregates and eighteen realms as suffering, empty, impermanent, and non-self; the Great Vehicle, on the foundation of Small Vehicle contemplative practice, investigates: who sees forms and hears sounds, who practices Chan and investigates, who drags this corpse around. Contemplative practice and Chan investigation must necessarily involve observation and attention upon the sense objects; when attention is not scattered onto dharmas that are not needed, that is contemplative practice and Chan investigation within concentration.

Practice must not, like the non-Buddhists, single-mindedly cultivate concentration alone, being blind and deaf to all dharmas around, unaware and unknowing; this cannot open wisdom. In practice, not only must the mind be concentrated, it must also have knowing—knowing with wisdom. If there is one dharma not known, that is foolishness, and becoming a Buddha would be hopeless. Non-Buddhists single-mindedly cultivate concentration; although their minds are pure and unmoved by all states of mind, they may even enter concentration for eighty thousand great kalpas, knowing nothing, dull and dazed. Yet after emerging from concentration, if unwholesome karma manifests, they will go straight to hell—this is exactly what happened with Śākyamuni Buddha's former teachers. Even if all the people of the whole world were combined together, they could not match the mental tranquility of such a non-Buddhist; yet without the wisdom of liberation, in the end they still transmigrate within the six realms. If one cannot clearly understand that the five aggregates are without self, and does not understand the truth of the world, one cannot obtain the wisdom of liberation and cannot escape continuing to struggle within the cycle of birth and death. Therefore, in learning Buddhism and practicing, one must attend to both concentration and wisdom, cultivating precepts, concentration, and wisdom together, in order to avoid taking detours and go straight to the city of nirvāṇa.

2. The Functions of the Three Untainted Trainings of Precepts, Concentration, and Wisdom

"Outflow" (āsrava) refers to the afflictions of greed, hatred, and delusion and various ignorances. What afflictions and ignorance leak away are wholesome dharmas, wholesome aspirations, wholesome minds, and wholesome roots. With a wholesome mind one can escape the suffering of transmigration; with a wholesome mind one can accomplish the Buddha's path. When wholesome dharmas are leaked away, evil and unwholesome dharmas flourish, and the suffering of birth-and-death transmigration cannot be cut off. Therefore, one must through practice remove ignorance and afflictions, so that the mind-ground reaches the untainted (anāsrava), wholesome dharmas grow superior, suffering ceases, and transmigration comes to rest.

There are mainly three channels for realizing the untaintedness of the mind-ground: the three untainted trainings of precepts, concentration, and wisdom—making the mind untainted through upholding precepts, making the mind untainted through cultivating concentration, and making the mind untainted through cultivating wisdom. Why can upholding precepts make the mind untainted? Because if one can uphold the precepts, the mind will not transgress the precepts, will no longer do evil, and will no longer create tainted afflictive karmic actions of greed, hatred, and delusion. After becoming accustomed to wholesome dharmas, one naturally no longer wishes to create unwholesome karma; the afflictions are subdued, wholesome dharmas increase, and the four right efforts (samyak-prahāṇa) are cultivated. With long-term upholding of precepts, the mind is effectively gathered in, no longer grasping everywhere, and meditative concentration appears.

Why can meditative concentration make the mind untainted? Because when the mind is in concentration it does nothing, does not grasp or scatter, and does not create defiled karma of greed, hatred, and delusion, thereby subduing the afflictions. After emerging from concentration, due to the force of habit, the power of concentration can be maintained to a certain degree; one does not delight in grasping, the mind is at peace and does not recklessly fabricate, and one can still subdue the outflows of affliction. If preparatory concentration (anāgamya-samādhi) is complete, one can eradicate the five grades of desire-realm afflictions, become a candidate for the srotāpanna fruit, and in this very life have the conditions to realize the fruit of srotāpanna.

The non-Buddhists' four dhyānas and eight concentrations have even stronger power of concentration; they can subdue not only the nine grades of desire-realm afflictive delusions, but also the nine grades of form-realm afflictive delusions, and even the nine grades of formless-realm afflictive delusions. This subduing is not the same as eradicating and fully extinguishing, because they still lack the wisdom that the five aggregates are without self. If they encounter the truth of the Four Noble Truths, relying on the profound power of meditative concentration, with a slight deliberation (manasikāra/manana) of gathered thought they can realize the path; the afflictions are immediately fully extinguished, body and mind drop away, and there is no mark of self and no four marks. When one realizes the arhat of the fourth fruit, the hair and beard will naturally fall out and the kasaya robe will naturally come onto the body—this represents the complete extinguishing of afflictions, and one is naturally a monastic.

Before the third fruit, because afflictions still remain, the hair and beard cannot fall out and the kasaya cannot come onto the body, and one cannot naturally become a monastic. Therefore, if a layperson wishes to become a monastic without receiving the bhikṣu or bhikṣuṇī precepts, they must fully extinguish the afflictions, so that the hair and beard fall out naturally and the kasaya comes onto the body, without anyone performing tonsure. As long as a layperson has even a trace of affliction, they are a layperson; if they insist on claiming to be a monastic, that is forcibly stealing the identity of the monastic Sangha jewel, confusing monastics and laity, and constitutes an extremely grave offense.

Why can wisdom make the mind untainted? The wisdom that realizes the Four Noble Truths of non-self and the truths of the Great Vehicle can break ignorance. When there is no self in the mind, one will no longer create afflictive karmic formations for the self; not acting for self means being selfless, and selflessness is goodness. Goodness can break afflictions, and the mind becomes untainted. With self, wholesome dharmas are leaked away; with self there is offense; with self there is affliction. This untainted wisdom is true wisdom based on precepts and concentration; wisdom without precepts and concentration is dry wisdom, without practical value. When precepts, concentration, and wisdom are unified together, they jointly extinguish all afflictions, and wholesome dharmas will never again leak away. When wholesome dharmas are complete and full, one becomes a Buddha.

3. The Relationship Between Contemplative Practice and Meditative Concentration

Meditative concentration is śamatha, is samādhi; contemplative practice is vipaśyanā, is wisdom. The two combined are called śamatha-vipaśyanā, also called concentration and wisdom. Meditative concentration and wise contemplative practice are mutually complementary; to realize any dharma, one must have the equal cultivation of Samādhi and Prajñā and the joint operation of śamatha and vipaśyanā—neither can be lacking. In the process of Buddhist cultivation and realization, meditative concentration is the preparatory expedient method, and its role is extremely important and indispensable. Otherwise there will be chaotic and blind contemplation, without a main thread, and one will not contemplate deeply with single-minded focus; one will only remain at the surface level of emotional thoughts and intellectual interpretations of dharmas, unable to contemplate out the substantive dharma, unable to reach conclusions that accord with reality—mostly intellectual interpretation, not observation in accordance with reality and realization through direct perception.

When the World-Honored One first taught disciples to realize the Small Vehicle fruits, he always taught theory on one hand and meditative concentration on the other, letting the disciples have the equal cultivation of Samādhi and Prajñā, without bias. The disciples, in turn, engaged in meditative concentration while contemplating and practicing; doing the work this way was very effective, afflictions were effectively subdued, thinking was also rigorous, and before long they realized the Small Vehicle fruits. Among the teachings in which the World-Honored One taught cultivation of concentration and contemplative practice in sync are the Sūtra on the Four Foundations of Mindfulness, the Sūtra on Sitting Chan Dhyāna, and the Sūtra on the Secret Essentials of Chan Methods, among others. Only after subduing afflictions and scattered thoughts through meditative concentration can contemplative practice get on the right track, can one achieve contemplative practice that accords with reason and reality, can the mind-ground be transformed, can the thirty-seven factors of the path be fulfilled, and thus can one realize the fruits. If one does not cultivate meditative concentration and lacks the merit of concentration, the thirty-seven factors of the path and the Eightfold Noble Path cannot be fulfilled; afflictions remain heavy, the mind-ground remains impure, and neither body-mind nor world can be transformed; then the conditions for realizing the path are incomplete and the path cannot be realized.

Why did the non-Buddhists who met the Buddha realize the fruits so quickly, instantly realizing the fourth fruit? The reason is that the non-Buddhists all had the realization-attainment of meditative concentration; their afflictions had been subdued, their mind-ground was pure, and their sense of renunciation was strong. Only the correct dharma meaning was lacking; as soon as the Buddha taught the Dharma, it entered their hearts, and they instantly had their minds open and understanding clarified, attaining the pure dharma eye, and were immediately liberated—just that fast. Therefore, no one has any excuse not to cultivate meditative concentration, harboring a lucky mentality, hoping to obtain a fruit without effort. In the Buddhist world there really is no such cheap bargain; where one gains a bargain, one often loses a bargain. Great Vehicle bodhisattvas also need considerable meditative concentration to realize the Dharma; the concentration they have cultivated was all built on the foundation of concentration laid in this life and past lives while practicing the Small Vehicle. In terms of meditative concentration, there is not much difference between the Great and Small Vehicles; the cultivation of foundational concentration is the same.

Meditative concentration is the preparatory expedient for subduing afflictions. Subduing afflictions is similar to suppressing afflictions—it is not fully extinguishing them. Only the first dhyāna combined with the wisdom of eradicating the view of self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi-prahāṇa) can eradicate afflictions, even fully extinguish them. One must first subdue and suppress afflictions, not producing evil and generating goodness, in order to eradicate the view of self; then cultivate concentration more deeply; with the first dhyāna one can eradicate afflictions and become a third-fruit person liberated in mind. Only third- and fourth-fruit persons who have eradicated afflictions can be called noble ones. In Buddhism, realization of fruits has always been with the equal cultivation of Samādhi and Prajñā, eradication of afflictions with the equal cultivation of Samādhi and Prajñā, and attainment of liberation with the equal cultivation of Samādhi and Prajñā. If afflictions are too heavy and scattered thoughts too many, one cannot cultivate meditative concentration, and contemplative practice will be even more disorganized. But one can first contemplate the suffering of the world; when the mind can settle down, then cultivate concentration, and then contemplative practice. During contemplative practice, the power of concentration will also continuously grow; as the power of concentration grows, contemplative practice will go deeper. Therefore it is said that meditative concentration and wisdom are mutually complementary.

4. When Meditative Concentration Has Strengthened, One Should Undertake Investigation and Contemplative Practice

Question: When sitting in meditation, thoughts become fewer and fewer, and the mind consciousness becomes clearer and clearer. What use is this inward guarding of leisurely quietude? At this time, if I contemplate dharma meanings, wouldn't it easily lead to intellectual awakening by the mind consciousness, making future realization impossible? After sitting to the point of inwardly guarding leisurely quietude, how should I apply effort?

Answer: When meditative concentration reaches the point of health-preserving inward guarding of leisurely quietude, and the mind can become single-pointed, you should contemplate the Buddha's teachings, including the truth of the Four Noble Truths and the Great Vehicle prajñā. If the principles of the Great and Small Vehicles are already understood, then you should engage in contemplative practice on the five aggregates to eradicate the view of self. At this point, do not use the mind consciousness's deliberation; use the manas's deliberation (manasikāra/manana). Suspend the questioning doubt about the non-self of the five aggregates in the manas's mind, and at all times and places let the manas deliberate—this is the skill of investigating the Buddha's teachings.

The merits and benefits of meditative concentration are many, such as increasing wisdom, subduing afflictions, purifying the mind, increasing merit, reducing karmic obstructions, and so on. For most sentient beings at the stage of ordinary beings, engaging in contemplative practice and investigation within meditative concentration to eradicate the view of self and to see the mind and see nature is, within a period of time, the ultimate and highest merit and benefit. But there are other merits and benefits as well, such as inner peace and harmony, physical and mental comfort and ease, changes in physical constitution, a healthy and long-lived physical body, increase of wholesome mind, decrease of unwholesome mind, increase of the wholesome karma and neutral (avyākṛta) karma one creates and decrease of unwholesome karma, so that in future lives one will tend toward wholesome destinies.

When first entering meditative concentration, many people have no power of deliberation and cannot contemplate the Buddha's teachings; the mind remains in an empty concentration without thoughts, called the concentration of inwardly guarding leisurely quietude. Without deliberation, of course, one cannot awaken to the path. But after emerging from meditative concentration, there is a momentum; the state of concentration will continue, so body and mind will still be more comfortable and pleasant than when not cultivating concentration. The mind will be deeper than usual, restlessness will decrease, and the power of thought will deepen. Because body and mind are pleasant and full, the mind will be gentle, harmonious, peaceful, without vexation or affliction; in dealing with people one will be generous and kind; when encountering matters, one's deliberation will be deep and thorough; in handling affairs one will be gentle, middle-way, and not extreme, easily seeing through people, affairs, and principles. In this way merit and wisdom will naturally increase—a merit and benefit that those without meditative concentration cannot compare with.

By continuously training your power of deliberation within meditative concentration and cultivating the habit of deliberation, you will gradually deliberate in accordance with reason, deliberate and practice contemplation in accordance with the Dharma, and can elevate wisdom. But this kind of deliberation does not necessarily lead to intellectual awakening of the Buddha's teachings. If you worry about intellectual awakening, then in the final contemplative practice and investigation, avoid the mind consciousness's deliberation and learn to use the manas's deliberation. When your understanding of the framework of the Buddha's teachings is not yet clear enough, and your grasp of the learned dharma meanings is not yet fluent enough, you first need the mind consciousness's deliberation to clarify the framework and outline of the Buddha's teachings, and thereby perfume and train the manas, letting the manas clearly understand how the Buddha's teachings need to be practiced, and what kind of effort is needed to realize the Buddha's teachings.

Once this foundation is laid, when the time comes for final realization, you must deepen meditative concentration and fulfill preparatory concentration (anāgamya-samādhi). At this point, the manas's deliberation should be primary, with the mind consciousness assisting the manas, minimizing deliberative activities such as analysis and inference—emotional thoughts and intellectual interpretations—and letting the manas itself investigate and weigh as much as possible. Only thus can one reach final realization and avoid the mind consciousness's intellectual awakening. These are the steps and methods of practicing with the equal cultivation of Samādhi and Prajñā. Once mastered, practice makes perfect; when the skill is firm, in future lives one will also avoid the false cultivation-and-realization mode of intellectual awakening by the mind consciousness, and gain the true benefit of the Buddha's teachings.