Where attention is, there one feels thoughts are.

Question: For the past two days, while sitting in meditation practicing recollection of the Buddha (buddhānusmṛti), previously the recitation would disappear before my eyes and I could no longer recite it. Starting yesterday, I felt this thought vanish from below my navel. If this continues, will it lead to deviation?

Answer: This is merely a matter of attention. Wherever your attention is, that is where you feel the thought to be. When you keep the mind on the dantian, the vital energy reaches the dantian, the body's energy channels become unobstructed, and the mind becomes pure, so it is easy for thoughts not to arise. Therefore, there will be no deviation.