Cultivation of Concentration and Chan Meditation for Realization of the Way (Part 1)

Section Two: Types of Samadhi

I. Samadhi is classified into the Four Dhyanas and Eight Samadhis. Starting from the First Dhyana up to the Fourth Dhyana constitutes the Form Realm Samadhi. Following the Form Realm Samadhi is the Formless Realm Samadhi, which also includes four types: the Samadhi of the Sphere of Infinite Space, the Samadhi of the Sphere of Infinite Consciousness, the Samadhi of the Sphere of Nothingness, and the Samadhi of Neither Perception nor Non-Perception. Beyond this is the Ninth Ground Samadhi, the Cessation of Perception and Feeling Samadhi, attained by the Great Arhats with Complete Liberation. The samadhi preceding the First Dhyana is the Undeveloped Ground Samadhi of the Desire Realm.

The Undeveloped Ground Samadhi is the single-pointed concentration of mind, where consciousness focuses on a single object or thought, the mind is undistracted, distracting thoughts are few and slight, the body feels light, and the mind experiences little worry or affliction. Under the influence of this samadhi power, one can contemplate critical phrases (Huatou), practice contemplation of the Dharma, and attain understanding of principles. The Desire Realm has six heavens; the highest is the Heaven of Freely Enjoying Others' Emanations (Paranirmitavaśavartin). The form bodies of Desire Realm devas are countless times larger than those of worldly humans, being light, ethereal, and exquisite. When worldly practitioners cultivate samadhi and attain a preliminary state of concentration, it is the Desire Realm Samadhi. Their body and mind then correspond to those of Desire Realm devas. Simultaneously, the large form body of a Desire Realm deva manifests alongside the human form body; the two bodies touch, and the inner feeling is one of considerable comfort and pleasure, while the bodily sensation is light, ethereal, and comfortable. The deeper the concentration, the larger, lighter, and more ethereal the body feels, the more serene, relaxed, and joyful the mind becomes, with afflictions and deluded thoughts diminishing, agitation disappearing, and thinking becoming sharp and agile.

When cultivating to the highest samadhi of the Desire Realm, the merit (blessing) of samadhi also increases. However, if one has not attained the First Dhyana of the Form Realm, the merit of samadhi absolutely cannot surpass that of the Demon King Papiyas (Mara), and one will still be subject to his control. Demon King Papiyas resides in the Heaven of Freely Enjoying Others' Emanations; his merit in the Desire Realm is the greatest, and he controls the Desire Realm. Within this state of concentration, one is still not free from greed and desire; one can only suppress afflictions but not sever them, because the power of samadhi is still shallow. Severing afflictions relies on the power of the First Dhyana. Without the First Dhyana samadhi, afflictions are merely suppressed, not truly severed; they still lie dormant in the eighth consciousness (Alaya-vijñāna), difficult for oneself to detect, leading one to mistakenly believe they are truly free from afflictions.

Upon reaching the First Dhyana, the form body of a First Dhyana deva is even larger and more ethereal than that of a Desire Realm deva. The body surface is covered only by a thin layer of skin; internally, there is no sensation of having internal organs. They do not need to eat or drink, sustaining the form body solely through samadhi. When one cultivates to the First Dhyana samadhi, the sensation within the chest cavity is extremely comfortable, and the bodily sensations are even more wonderful, far beyond anything comparable in the human realm of the Desire Realm. Because this sublime joy surpasses the pleasures of the human realm, one loses interest in human pleasures. Possessing this joy enables one to sever human greed and desire, no longer seeking the various desires of the human world. Because of this joy, one also no longer holds grudges or resentment towards others; thus, the mind of hatred (anger) can be severed.

In the First Dhyana samadhi, the mind abides in a single state, dwelling on one realm without distraction. The inner mind is joyful and supremely comfortable. One can walk, stand, sit, lie down, and perform all activities like an ordinary person, albeit at a slower pace. At this time, the mind is very calm, without ripples, and one hardly feels like moving. But the greatest benefit is this: thinking within the First Dhyana samadhi slows down the speed of thought. During the process of thinking, the mind becomes extremely subtle and meticulous. Thus, contemplation becomes much deeper than usual, enabling the arising of great wisdom. Therefore, one should diligently cultivate the types of samadhi that can give rise to wisdom. Such samadhi is true samadhi, because wisdom accomplishes all things, wisdom leads to liberation, and wisdom accomplishes the Buddha Way.

The shallowest samadhi is the Desire Realm Samadhi. Desire Realm Samadhi refers to samadhi corresponding to the Desire Realm heavens. When samadhi is present, the form body and mental sensations resemble those of devas. At that time, worldly affairs are temporarily forgotten and set aside, the mind is concentrated, and the Desire Realm Samadhi appears. The samadhi corresponding to the sixth heaven of the Desire Realm is also called the Undeveloped Ground Samadhi, a type of samadhi that has not yet reached the First Dhyana. Its state of concentration is deeper than the lower samadhis, the mind is more focused, the body feels larger, and the sensations are more comfortable. Contemplating the Buddha Dharma within this samadhi, the mind is not easily distracted; contemplation becomes subtle, thorough, and penetrating, thereby enabling the attainment of wisdom.

To cultivate samadhi well, one must relinquish attachment to worldly dharmas. The fewer desires, the better. Do not harbor excessive hopes or demands for worldly affairs; being skilled in contentment is the best mental state. When your mind no longer resonates with beings of the lower realms, the samadhi of the higher realms will appear. Keep your mind always aspiring upwards, or let the mind be devoid of objects, without joy or pleasure, and the various levels of dhyana will successively arise. This is the secret to cultivating samadhi. It is not about rigidly fixing the body in stillness, working on the physical level, but rather working on the mind. A mind pursuing the five desires (wealth, sex, fame, food, sleep) is restless and agitated; it is certainly contrary to samadhi, and samadhi will not appear. Those skilled in cultivating the mind attain samadhi. At the same time, one must uphold precepts; with precepts to restrain the mind, the mind is less prone to constantly seeking externally, and thus the mind can become settled.

II. There are many types of samadhi, and their states are numerous. Sometimes samadhi arises during contemplation of the Buddha Dharma; sometimes it arises when one has a strong emotional response to the Dharma; sometimes it arises when the mind is very quiet; sometimes it arises inadvertently; sometimes it arises during extreme anger or irritation; sometimes it arises during great suffering. In short, as long as the entire mind is concentrated, considering a matter particularly important and disregarding other things, with nothing else attended to, samadhi can arise.

III. Awareness (Jue) & Observation (Guan), Investigation (Xun) & Scrutiny (Si)

The mind before the First Dhyana belongs to the state of having both awareness (jue) and observation (guan). The mind between the First and Second Dhyana belongs to the state of having awareness but no observation. The mind above the Second Dhyana belongs to the state of having neither awareness nor observation. Observation (guan) is coarser than awareness (jue) in mental activity; it is active and moves more noticeably. Awareness (jue), however, has more passive elements. When nearing the Second Dhyana, the mind is no longer actively observing but is passively aware. Then, when awareness can no longer be maintained, one enters the Second Dhyana. Therefore, in samadhi, observation necessarily ceases first, followed by awareness. Calm the mind, observe for a moment, and you will know. This observation (guan) involves thinking and is relatively coarse. Awareness (jue) is knowing; as long as the discerning mind exists, there is knowing, but not necessarily the ability to observe. When the mind is tired and the discerning mind is weak, one can no longer observe, but one can still have awareness.

Investigation (Xun): Mental activity is very coarse, movement is obvious. The discerning mind actively seeks, wanting to explore and discover. Scrutiny (Si): Mental activity is very subtle, movement is slight and hard to detect. It carries a sense of passive waiting, no longer actively probing. Observation (Guan): Similar to observing, mental movement is obvious and easily noticed by oneself. Awareness (Jue): Where there is mind, there is awareness. Awareness can be extremely subtle; often, one is not even aware that one is aware. Observation (Guan) is similar to Investigation (Xun); Awareness (Jue) is similar to Scrutiny (Si). The awareness after the First Dhyana is even subtler and more passive than scrutiny.

When samadhi power is sufficient and one enters deep concentration, observe and contemplate all dharmas oneself, verify all dharmas. Do not rely solely on established conventional explanations or ready-made answers, as they are not necessarily correct. Except for what the Buddha himself spoke, even if correct, one must perform one's own direct perception (pratyakṣa) observation to increase wisdom. Whether one can learn the Buddha Dharma well is related to whether one's mind is subtle and meticulous, and also related to one's literary skill in worldly dharmas. Only by accurately and profoundly grasping the meaning of words and terms in the theory can one have correct and logical contemplation, avoiding misunderstanding the meaning of the text.

When entering samadhi, or having experienced deep samadhi, one can comprehend what state is observation (guan) and what state is awareness (jue). Grasping the connotations of words and terms belongs to our literary cultivation; this foundation must be well-trained. Then, when reading articles or Buddhist sutras, one can deeply comprehend the meaning within the words and language, and thus correctly understand the original intent of the sutras, avoiding misunderstanding the Buddha's meaning. Many people who read Buddhist sutras cannot truly understand or comprehend them; cases of misinterpretation are very common. Often, they use their own mistaken understanding to judge others, saying others have misunderstood, without examining whether they themselves have misunderstood.