Insights from Cūḍapanthaka's Cultivation of Meditative Concentration and Attainment of the Fruit

In worldly affairs there is a saying: "Focus the mind on one point, and nothing cannot be accomplished." Consider this: does the tip of an awl pierce deep into the ground, or does a flat board pierce deep into the ground? The answer is certainly that the awl's tip pierces deep into the ground. Deeply cultivating meditative concentration (samādhi) follows the same principle: when the mind abides in a single state, with mental power focused and undispersed, the concentrated mind penetrates deeply, and by meticulously contemplating a principle, one can thoroughly comprehend its meaning and thereby give rise to wisdom. Without meditative concentration, the mind is like that wooden board—large in area with scattered strength—and cannot penetrate into the soil. Cultivating meditative concentration means fixing the mind on one object with concentrated energy; only in this way can nothing fail to be accomplished.

There is a special case of cultivating meditative concentration that proves that when the mind's thoughts are focused and the power of concentration is deep, one can realize the Buddha's Dharma and attain wisdom. Śākyamuni Buddha had a disciple named Cūḍapanthaka who, due to the karmic retribution resulting from causes and conditions in past lives, was extremely dull-witted; no matter what, he would forget the earlier upon learning the later, forget the later upon learning the earlier, and forget each sentence upon learning it. Seeing him so dull, the World-Honored One felt compassion and taught him to recite two words: "broom." No matter what Cūḍapanthaka did each day, he recited the two words "broom" in his mind. Eventually his mind became purified, and he was able to contemplate the principles of the Small Vehicle within meditative concentration, finally realizing the arhat of the fourth fruit. When Cūḍapanthaka recited "broom," his mind had no scattered thoughts; with this power of concentration, he contemplated the Dharma principles taught by the World-Honored One and realized the fruit. Therefore, when we cultivate meditative concentration, we too must let the mind abide in one state and fix the mind on one thought. If we persist in this continuously and unrelentingly, the power of concentration will arise, and finally contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā) and contemplation will succeed. This one state and one thought can be a single phrase of the Buddha's name, a mantra, or a short sutra; no matter what we are doing, the mind holds the sutra or mantra, holds the recollection of the Buddha (buddhānusmṛti), casting away attachment and craving for the human world—then the power of concentration will certainly arise.