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

Section Three: The States of Meditative Concentration

I. The State of Tranquility (Praśrabdhi)

The state of tranquility can arise around the time when preparatory concentration (anāgamya-samādhi) appears, whereas meditative absorption (samādhi) is a state of concentration that manifests in meditative concentration at the level of the first dhyāna and above. Preparatory concentration has a state of tranquility, but it differs greatly from the tranquility of first-dhyāna concentration; the first dhyāna feels simply like the experience of an immortal. The tranquility of preparatory concentration is somewhat lesser: the body may experience sensations of being tall and large, massive, light, or floating; walking becomes brisk and light, the body seems to rise upward, the whole body feels relaxed, footsteps are silent, and the mind is at peace. Even within the same meditative concentration, each person's state of body and mind is not entirely the same; the same person at different times will also show some small differences. The states of desire-realm concentration also come in many varieties, with differing depths of concentration. Even within the same first-dhyāna concentration, each person's bodily and mental feelings and states are not entirely identical; and when the same person enters the same concentration at different times, their bodily and mental states and feelings are likewise not entirely the same.

Even with the same term "tranquility," the boundaries of its definition differ, and the degree of its manifestation also differs; it is impossible to strictly determine where the threshold of tranquility lies, and each person's definition may vary. If someone with an unsettled mind insists on debating, then each can only hold to their own view. Meditative absorption (samādhi), strictly speaking, should be found in concentration at the first dhyāna and above; this is formal meditative concentration, the beginning of the four dhyānas and eight concentrations.

II. States at the First Dhyāna and Above

In the states of the first dhyāna and above, the devas of the form realm from the first dhyāna upward have none of the craving of desire-realm beings; they have no gender, no division into male and female; they have no nose consciousness and no tongue consciousness; they do not smell fragrances, have no food or drink, and need not eat, drink, or relieve themselves. Devas of the second dhyāna and above, while in concentration, have no five sense consciousnesses and do not discriminate the objects of the five sense-dusts. Devas of the formless realm have no physical body and no first five consciousnesses; they have only the mind consciousness, the manas, and the eighth consciousness. The devas of the heaven of non-perception have extinguished even the mind consciousness; without consciousness there is no perception mental factor, leaving only the manas and the eighth consciousness. When an arhat liberated in both ways enters the cessation of perception and feeling (nirodha-samāpatti), there is no mind consciousness, and two of the manas's five universal mental factors are also extinguished—feeling and perception cease—hence it is also called the cessation of feeling and perception. However, the manas still retains three mental factors, and the eighth consciousness still sustains the body; therefore the arhat in the cessation attainment is a living person, and once the eighth consciousness departs, he is a dead person.

III. Experience of the Second Dhyāna

In the first dhyāna there is awareness and knowing, with concepts of both time and space—one knows what time it is and where one is. In the second dhyāna there is no awareness and no knowing; one cannot feel any thoughts arising, and only upon emerging from concentration does one realize one had just been in concentration. Some people say there are still thoughts in the fourth dhyāna; I have heard this claim for the first time. In the second dhyāna, the manas still has thoughts, only the mind consciousness does not know it. Because at that time the concentration was so deep that the mind consciousness knew nothing, yet when someone quietly said "the meal is served," I heard it at that moment, and the mind emerged from concentration. Why could such a faint sound cause emergence from concentration? It is because the manas was dwelling on the matter of eating; upon hearing the faint sound, it caused the mind consciousness to arise and discriminate, and thus one emerged from concentration.

The second-dhyāna concentration can be entered in an instant, and then one knows nothing; emerging from it also takes an instant, and only after emerging does one realize one had just been in concentration. The body feels extremely comfortable, the mind especially joyful, and the mind especially clear. A faint sound is enough to awaken the ear consciousness, and thus one emerges from concentration. Because the manas still has matters it dwells upon, when the time comes and someone reminds one of an important matter—even if it is as faint as a mosquito's hum—one can hear it, and thus emerges from concentration. Before entering concentration, amid very noisy sounds, the mind can quickly settle down; the noisy sounds grow fainter and fainter, then can no longer be heard, and one enters concentration.

In the second dhyāna the mind consciousness has not ceased, but it is extremely subtle; I could not perceive anything, did not know I was in concentration—it seemed as if I knew nothing, and I did not even know what state the mind consciousness was in at that time, because the mind consciousness lacked the power of introspection (pratyavekṣā-bala). In the second dhyāna, if the manas were not dwelling on the matter of eating, then hearing someone say "the meal is served" would not have brought emergence from concentration. Because when I entered concentration, several dozen people around me were conversing with one another, and it had never quieted down, yet I could not hear them—I only heard the words "the meal is served." I have never entered the fourth dhyāna, so I cannot know the state of the mind consciousness in the fourth dhyāna; without personal realization, one has no right to speak. I may have entered the third dhyāna once for a day—it was too blissful—and because I feared entering demonic states, I abandoned it.