Can Meditation Alone Lead to the Attainment of Nirvana?

Heterodox practitioners cultivate the Four Dhyanas and Eight Samadhis. When they reach the Nothingness Samadhi of the Form Realm heavens, where the conscious mind ceases and a state exists without conscious mind yet with a physical body, they consider this state to be the ultimate truth. Clinging to the physical body as real, they cannot sever the view of self and attain enlightenment. In reality, although the conscious mind is absent within the Nothingness Samadhi, the mental faculty and the physical body still exist; it is not a state of utter emptiness. Therefore, this is not the nirvana state of attaining the fourth fruition.

When heterodox practitioners reach the Neither Perception Nor Non-Perception Samadhi of the Formless Realm heavens, it seems within the samadhi that the conscious mind has vanished. In truth, a very subtle and profound conscious mind still exists, yet they themselves cannot perceive it. They mistake this state for the enlightened nirvana realm. As long as an individual does not completely negate the five aggregates and eighteen elements, even if they cultivate the highest samadhi within the three realms, they still cannot attain Arhatship. Therefore, attaining Arhatship requires samadhi as only one condition; one must also possess the wisdom of purified Dharma-eye that severs the view of self. It is not attained solely by relying on samadhi to realize nirvana. After cultivating samadhi to the level of the first dhyana or higher, one can attain Arhatship as long as one confirms the illusory nature of the physical body and the conscious mind. To have such confirmation, one must also possess the complete wisdom of contemplative insight; only with the perfection of both concentration and wisdom can enlightenment be attained.