What State Is Meditation (Samādhi)?

What state is meditation (samādhi)? For example, the state of being dazed or lost in a trance. When one is dazed, the mind consciousness focuses on a single object, settles on that one object without moving, without any superficial thinking activity, while the dharma-object is deeply implanted in the manas. The manas is forced to devote its main attention to this dharma-object state, and thus has to deliberate deeply. In this way wisdom can open up, and the root and substance of this dharma-object state can be considered clearly and thoroughly. This is the result of the joint cooperation of the mind consciousness and the manas: the mind consciousness deliberates deeply and subtly, while the manas calms the spirit to assist the thinking, personally participating in the deliberation; as a result, both samādhi and wisdom manifest.

In worldly matters there are many situations like this as well. When encountering a major problem that must be solved, the mind consciousness falls into a dazed state, focusing its deliberation; the mind consciousness moves little, analyzing less, with less emotional speculation and conceptual interpretation. Deep in the mind—that is, the manas—hangs onto this major matter, and then the matter can be considered clearly and thoroughly, and the method for solving the problem emerges. Prolong the meditative concentration of dazed focus—the longer the better, the deeper it reaches into the manas the better, and the less the mind consciousness deliberates the better. When the conditions of time and circumstance are complete, there is no worry about failing to realize any dharma. Why is it that some people cannot understand the Buddhist sutras and the meaning of the Dharma, and cannot comprehend others' language and psychology? It is precisely because they lack dhyāna and meditative concentration, so their wisdom is insufficient to be opened up. The lack of meditative concentration is also due to a lack of merit (puṇya); the mind is restless and the deliberation shallow.

The state of being dazed is not emptiness, not a state of empty nothingness where not a single thought arises, nor a dull, stupefied state; there is deep mental activity, similar to investigating a huatou, deeply probing the meaning of the Dharma. When dazed, it is best to daze the manas into clarity, to pull out the psychological activity of the manas.

When encountering a problem, the eyes roll once and then stare straight ahead without moving; the mind consciousness immediately settles, straight and still, while deep in the brain something is turning, deliberating—very deep, very hidden. On the surface it appears that there is no deliberation, no thought, but in fact deep down there is activity, just not manifesting. This is entering deeply into the manas, mobilizing the manas; the mind consciousness analyzes little, while the manas applies its mind more, personally attending to the dharma; then the potential of wisdom can be brought forth. This is the principle of Chan investigation.

Some people do not understand what meditation is, do not know how to cultivate it, and do not know how to use the manas. From now on, try to let the manas participate more in deliberation, and let the mind consciousness not engage in shallow thinking. This is called Chan investigation, and wisdom will certainly be developed. By contemplating the five aggregates (pañcaskandha), one can eliminate self-view (ātma-dṛṣṭi); by investigating Chan, one can awaken to the true mind and attain enlightenment; by investigating the Buddha-nature, one can attain the illusion-like contemplation; by contemplating the illusory transformations of the seven consciousnesses, one can attain the mirage contemplation; by contemplating all dharmas as dreams, illusions, bubbles, and shadows, one can attain the dream-like contemplation. All such contemplative practices (vipaśyanā-caryā) can be observed with direct perception and realized with direct perception—absolutely not through emotional speculation, conceptual interpretation, and imagination.