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

Section Two: Reasons for Inability to Enter Meditative Concentration

1. Reasons for Poor Cultivation of Meditative Concentration

There are many reasons for poor cultivation of meditative concentration. Examine yourself carefully, then remove and reform any inappropriate greedy habits you should not have. To cultivate meditative concentration well and maintain a pure mind daily, eat less and avoid greed for food; do not let nutritional intake become excessive, nor let flavors be too strong—lighter flavors lead to a purer mind. Regarding clothing, shelter, transportation, eating, drinking, defecating, and urinating in human life, avoid attachment as much as possible. Moderation is best. This way, it becomes easier to transcend human life, align with heavenly existence, and meditative concentration will readily arise.

Appropriate fasting offers many benefits to the body and can prolong life. Do not fear hunger; hunger has its advantages. Eating less reduces the workload and wear on the digestive system, naturally extending the lifespan of internal organs. Less enjoyment means less consumption of blessings; preserving blessings to nourish the physical body prolongs life. Drink water moderately—just enough for the body’s needs. Excess water must be metabolized and excreted, wasting time and increasing the workload and wear on internal organs. When abstaining from solid foods, consuming only liquids and fruits lightens the body and purifies the mind. Cultivating meditative concentration not only enhances concentration but also eliminates illnesses, promoting better health. As Buddhists, we should not exhaust our blessings and should endure to exhaust evil karma. This way, the latter half of life and future lives will be relaxed and joyful. Think more about future lives, especially your own path to enlightenment—this is the mark of a wise person.

For almost everyone, the hardest attachments to relinquish are emotional and sensual desires. Cultivation should begin by relinquishing desire, as desire is the coarsest and easiest to discard among all afflictions. Heavenly beings have emotion but no desire; although desire-realm heavenly beings have desire, it is very faint, hence they dwell in the desire-realm heavens. With meditative concentration, body and mind become comfortable and wonderful. We start by relinquishing what is easiest, thereby elevating the quality of life.

First dhyāna heavenly beings do not eat, nor do they smell scents or savor flavors; they have no sexual relations. To attain the first dhyāna, do not crave food, nor crave its appearance, aroma, taste, or nutrition. Simultaneously, do not mind the smells of your surroundings—do not pursue pleasant scents, do not detest foul odors, be undiscriminating and indifferent to smells, accepting everything as it comes. Do not cling to male or female forms; gender is merely an illusory appearance, an aggregation of the four elements no different from pork—nothing worthy of attachment. Maintaining such a mind, do not worry about lacking meditative concentration. Then, subduing sleep and scattered thoughts, the first dhyāna will easily arise.

In the Āgama Sūtras, the Buddha instructed bhikṣus: be diligent in the first watch of the night without greed for sleep; diligent in the middle watch without greed for sleep; diligent in the last watch without greed for sleep. Eating and drinking less reduces drowsiness and idle thoughts, thereby reducing sleep.

We should often observe our minds, cleaning and purifying them, leaving them spotless and unobstructed. Then meditative concentration will quickly arise. Cultivating concentration is not very difficult, but modern life is too affluent, easily fostering greed, making meditative concentration harder to attain. Additionally, pervasive information from all directions invades people’s minds; everyone’s mind is filled to the brim—how can meditative concentration arise when the mind is not empty? Coupled with living environments unconducive to upholding precepts, if one cannot uphold precepts, how can meditative concentration arise?

2. Why, when we sit in meditation to cultivate concentration, can we never enter concentration, and why is our concentration so shallow? It is because the manas (mind-root) refuses to rest, ceaselessly clinging and grasping. The mind dwells on everything, unable to let go—this is ignorance (avidyā). The mind mistakenly believes there truly exists an external world, truly existent people and things, so the inner mind cannot disentangle itself. Thus, when sitting in meditation, the manas always seeks to grasp everywhere, stirring up matters, and the mind consciousness must then discern these matters. The mind cannot settle, cannot become stable, much less extinguish deluded thoughts. Without ignorance, if the manas does not grasp or cling, and does not produce mental objects (dharma-dhātu), the mind consciousness need not engage in discernment, and stabilizing the mind becomes easy.

All people and things seen in concentration are also fabricated by the manas’ grasping; they too are illusory. By not clinging to these people and things, those states will gradually vanish, and concentration will deepen. Remember the words the World-Honored One once told us: “All phenomena are illusory.” Remind yourself of this constantly; it will reduce grasping, thin out ignorance, and make concentration easier to cultivate.

3. Everyone should diligently train their thinking, not deviating too far from the right direction. If thinking is unclear, it is certainly due to a lack of meditative concentration, so strive to cultivate it. If meditative concentration is poorly cultivated, examine yourself: is it due to deficient merit, insufficient adherence to precepts, heavy habitual tendencies, or physical hindrances? Many lack meditative concentration; their concentration is insufficient, thinking cannot keep up, and without understanding many teachings, they cannot attain superior understanding (adhimukti). Gradually, they fall behind in practice.

Everyone in cultivation should diligently seek their own sticking points, their own shortcomings and deficiencies. Once found, seek ways to improve. Looking back at oneself, identifying gaps and filling them—this itself is diligence. With even a slight lack of concentration power (samādhi-bala), contemplative practice (vipaśyanā) cannot be thorough, and what one says lacks evidence, not necessarily reflecting the truth. Therefore, as long as your contemplative power is insufficient and logical thinking is weak, do not assert your views and opinions—they are not ultimate.

4. Taboos in Cultivating Concentration: Concentration means stillness, quietude, non-agitation. If you wish for body and mind to be quiet and still, reduce food intake—do not eat too much, reduce the nutrition and quantity of food, do not eat too well or too much. This way, body and mind can quiet down and cease agitation. If food provides too much or excessive energy, it will inevitably leak out; during this leakage, body and mind become agitated and cannot settle. Keep the body normal; moderate food is sufficient. Do not crave nutrition and energy—this hinders practice. Of course, lacking nutrition, insufficient yang energy, or a weak body also prevents practice. Maintain the body in appropriate balance; only then can the mind be quiet, and meditative concentration be well cultivated.

5. Upholding Precepts and Repenting of Karmic Obstacles Are Necessary for Cultivating Meditative Concentration Well

The realization of all dharmas truly occurs in profound meditative concentration. Without concentration, what is learned is mere knowledge, not true wisdom. Therefore, we must value meditative concentration and contemplative practice. The reason for insufficient concentration is a scattered mind; the reason for a scattered mind is excessive grasping and craving. Gather the mind, and concentration will surely arise. Gathering body and mind requires upholding precepts; before upholding precepts, one must receive the precepts; before receiving precepts, one must repent of all karmic obstacles. When karmic obstacles are eliminated, obscurations disappear, and the mind becomes pure.

Repentance: First, change the seeds (bīja), repent for newly created karma to counteract old karmic obstacles. Through repentance, mental conduct transforms, karma transforms, and one resolves not to create anew. When consciousness and manas become pure, this is the true result of repentance. This result entails two aspects: eliminating karma and not creating new karma. If this effect is absent, it indicates insincere repentance—false repentance. To determine whether karmic obstacles are eliminated after repentance, first consider the nature of the karma—whether it is heavy or light. For heavy karma, auspicious signs should appear; afterward, the mind becomes much purer than before, some obstacles are removed, and the speed of practice accelerates. For light karma, the mind also becomes pure after repentance.