The Meditative Concentration Required for Realization

Does the meditative concentration (samādhi) we need for seeing the path and attaining enlightenment remain unbroken at all times, or is it that concentration is present when we bring it up, available when needed, but absent at ordinary times?

If the meditative concentration cultivated through practice is relatively firm, the mind will remain in concentration continuously; it is only that at times it is strong and at times weak. When there are many worldly affairs, the mind will become distracted, and at such times the power of concentration will weaken. If the meditative concentration cultivated is not firm, then there is concentration while sitting on the cushion, but upon rising from the seat the mind becomes scattered and the concentration is lost.

The meditative concentration required for attaining the fruits and for seeing one's true mind is a relatively firm kind of concentration. With such deep concentration, contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā) and deliberation can be deep, fine, and continuous; the practice can be sustained, and the wisdom of contemplative practice can grow ever better. This is like boiling water: only when the fire burns continuously without interruption can the water in the pot become hotter and hotter, and finally come to a boil. If the fire is intermittent, the water in the pot will grow hot for a while and then cool down again, and there is no telling when it will ever boil.

The minimum level of meditative concentration required for practice is that there must be continuous concentration during contemplative practice and deliberation; one must engage in contemplative practice and deliberation within concentration, ensuring that the deliberation and contemplative practice are continuous, enduring, and ever deepening. One must be able to sustain contemplative practice and deliberation for a long time with sufficient power of concentration. Otherwise, the practice is easily interrupted and cannot be maintained, the deliberation becomes disjointed, and one will be unable to carry contemplative practice through to completion so as to eliminate self-view (ātma-dṛṣṭi). As long as there is meditative concentration, and the other conditions are complete, realization of the path may occur at any time.