Is the Cultivation of Meditative Concentration and the Elimination of the Five Hindrances Considered Tainted Dharma?

Some say that seated meditation (dhyana) to cultivate concentration and the elimination of the five hindrances both involve conceptual discrimination (taking appearances and making distinctions), constituting practices identical to those of non-Buddhist paths. They claim this belongs to cultivating non-definitive teachings and thus cannot give rise to the samadhi of suchness. They argue it should be regarded as a major leakage, discarded, and not practiced. This view is extremely erroneous and gravely contradicts both the Buddha's teachings and the Bodhisattva path. It is utterly inappropriate speech for a disciple of the Buddha. Such understanding reveals that this person fundamentally does not comprehend the essential content of the path, does not know what should ultimately be cultivated or how to cultivate it, is ignorant of the stages and process of the path, unaware of the transitions in cultivation, and incapable of directly reaching the result and ultimate goal of practice. Consequently, they possess no genuine path, achieve nothing, engage in empty talk, and are devoid of substance.

If cultivating concentration and eliminating the five hindrances involve conceptual discrimination, then studying the Buddha Dharma involves it even more. If one should not engage in conceptual discrimination, then one should not even study the Buddha Dharma, nor cultivate wholesome dharmas, nor practice the Four Foundations of Mindfulness, the Thirty-seven Aids to Enlightenment, the Six Paramitas of the Bodhisattva, or the Threefold Training of precepts, concentration, and wisdom. Studying Buddhism itself involves conceptual discrimination. Otherwise, why not study Qigong or Christianity? Why not go preach in a Christian church? Why not sleep all day instead of working? Who can avoid conceptual discrimination? Aside from the Buddha and the Tathagatagarbha, even the Buddha – when liberating sentient beings, is that not conceptual discrimination? Expounding the Four Noble Truths to Sravakas, the Twelve Links of Dependent Origination to Pratyekabuddhas, and the Six Paramitas and myriad practices to Bodhisattvas – are these not conceptual discrimination? Is not teaching Yogacara (Mind-Only) to beginners conceptual discrimination? Was the Buddha’s refusal to hand over the leadership of the Sangha to Devadatta not conceptual discrimination? Was the Buddha’s renunciation of his royal throne, wife, and son to pursue the path not conceptual discrimination? Was consuming but one sesame seed or one grain of wheat per day in the mountains not conceptual discrimination? Was liberating the first five Bhikkhus in the Deer Park not conceptual discrimination? Apart from the Tathagatagarbha, neither sentient beings nor Buddhas can avoid conceptual discrimination. If all conceptual discrimination constitutes leakage, then the conceptual discrimination of bacteria is the most minimal, hardly distinguishing anything, unable to grasp so many appearances due to extreme stupidity. Does this mean humans have more and greater leakage than bacteria? All acts of acceptance and rejection are conceptual discrimination. In the mundane world and all Buddha lands, one cannot be free from acceptance and rejection. There is no one, including all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, who does not make choices; it concerns what to accept and what to reject. Skillful acceptance/rejection and discrimination constitute great wisdom; without wisdom, one cannot correctly accept/reject and discriminate.

The arising of the samadhi of suchness is twofold: one is samadhi purely of the nature of concentration (dhyana), the other is the samadhi of suchness which combines concentration (dhyana) and prajna wisdom. Apart from concentration (dhyana), not even the slightest samadhi exists.

Seated meditation to cultivate concentration and the elimination of the five hindrances are essential practices of the path taught by the Buddha. Practitioners of both the Mahayana and Hinayana vehicles cannot bypass them. Without cultivating concentration, one cannot realize the path. Without eliminating the five hindrances, one cannot eradicate ignorance and afflictions. To advocate not cultivating concentration and not eliminating the five hindrances – is it to oppose and defy the Buddha and the Dharma, or to consider oneself wiser and more knowledgeable about the path than the Buddha? Is the hope to attain Buddhahood while forever retaining a scattered mind engaged in superficial thinking and reasoning, burdened with the five hindrances and all afflictions and ignorance? If the practices the Buddha decreed as essential are considered to have leakage, then what Dharma is without leakage? The Tathagatagarbha is without leakage, but are your seven consciousnesses and five aggregates the Tathagatagarbha? Can the Tathagatagarbha represent the five aggregates and seven consciousnesses? How is the leakage of the seven consciousnesses and five aggregates to be dealt with? Can such numerous and vast afflictive leakages be handled by superficial thinking and intellectual understanding with a scattered mind? In the Dharma-Ending Age, the mundane world and Buddhism are rife with strange people and strange occurrences, truly exceeding human imagination. Despite this, so many still follow them, one wonders what they seek. Time is fleeting as an arrow, gone in an instant. It is better to rely on the Dharma, not on people.