From Precepts Arises Samadhi, From Samadhi Arises Prajna

Volume Six of the Śūraṅgama Sūtra states: "Ānanda, you have often heard me expound within the Vinaya the three decisive principles for cultivation. They are: restraining the mind constitutes the precepts; from the precepts arises meditative concentration; and from meditative concentration arises wisdom. This is called the Three Undefiled Learnings."

Vinaya is one of the three divisions of the Buddhist Canon (Sūtra, Vinaya, and Śāstra). It comprises the precepts spoken by the Buddha, signifying the taming of one’s own mind and the subduing of actions of body, speech, and thought. The result of this taming is the ability to subdue and eradicate afflictions, leading to a mind free from outflows (anāsrava), where body, speech, and thought are all undefiled, free from afflictions and habitual tendencies, free from ignorance, and ultimately culminating in Buddhahood.

Why does restraining the mind constitute the precepts? Which mind must be restrained to accomplish the precepts? When the mind is unrestrained, the body, speech, and thought inevitably become agitated and unruly. The body will do what should not be done, go where it should not go, and move when it should not move. In severe cases, it will commit the karmic acts of killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct, making meditative concentration impossible to attain. Even minor unruly bodily movements prevent meditative concentration, because if the body cannot settle, meditative concentration is unattainable.

When the mind is unrestrained, speech becomes reckless and undisciplined. One will say what should not be said and cannot be said. In severe cases, this leads to false speech, frivolous speech, and divisive speech, stirring up trouble, violating the Five Precepts and Ten Wholesome Deeds. With such an impure mind, meditative concentration is impossible. Even if one does not violate the Five Precepts or Ten Wholesome Deeds, because speech is unruly and excessive, the mind is inevitably engaged in chaotic thinking. With excessive mental activity, the mind lacks stillness, making meditative concentration unattainable.

When the mind is unrestrained, mental actions (manas-karma) are certainly impure. One will think what should not be thought, ponder what should not be pondered, perceive what should not be perceived, and contemplate what should not be contemplated. Consequently, greed, hatred, and delusion will inevitably arise, and the mind’s water will become turbid. How can there be concentration?

One should not think of certain people, yet insists on thinking of them; should not worry about certain matters, yet insists on worrying; should not cling to certain emotions, yet insists on clinging. How can the mind be still? Who should not be thought of? Some are burdened by excessive sentiment, constantly harboring the image of another person in their mind, unable to dispel it, summoning it at will, unable to erase it. How can there be meditative concentration? During meditation, these images inevitably obscure the mind, obstructing contemplation, reflection, and stillness. How can there be concentration? If one can replace these images with those of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, receiving their blessings, the mind becomes pure, and meditative concentration arises immediately.

Some do not restrain their minds. Matters unrelated to themselves, matters not beneficial to others, occupy their thoughts constantly, never forgotten, everything held in the heart. The mind is filled to the brim, without any space. Thus, the mind’s water surges violently, turbulent and noisy. How can there be concentration? Without restraining the mind, one constantly clings to wealth, sensual pleasures, fame, food, and sleep. The shadows of the six dusts (objects of the senses) pile up layer upon layer. The mind is not empty; it is covered by objects. How can there be meditative concentration?

Many complain that their meditative concentration practice is poor. They must then examine themselves to determine the exact reason for their failure. What exactly is obscuring their mind? They must dig out these things, resolve them, and empty the mind. Then meditative concentration will naturally become easy to attain. What hinders meditative concentration is the afflictions of greed, hatred, and delusion. The mind grasps at worldly phenomena, refusing to let go, regarding everything as real and useful, feeling compelled to seize it, clinging to these worldly phenomena even unto death. How can there be concentration?

Even after this explanation, many still fail to examine themselves and remain unaware of what truly lies within their minds. Because the mind has long been habituated to flowing with external conditions, clinging too tightly to them, unable to separate, it cannot step outside the conditions to observe itself. How then can there be the wisdom of observation? How can one observe the afflictions and habits within one’s own mind? Only by stepping outside the circle, beyond conditions, beyond the mind itself, to observe one’s own mind, can one possess the wisdom of observation and the power of discernment. Only then can one discover phenomena previously unnoticed, find methods to counteract and transform one’s own mind, and gain the strength to subdue it.

The first step now is to detach the mind from conditions, to let the mind be the mind, conditions be conditions, people be people, and objects be objects. Let all phenomena abide in their own places, having nothing to do with one’s own mind. When the mind is separated from conditions, the power of awareness and discernment becomes strong, making it easy to realize the true nature of phenomena. Meditative concentration will naturally increase, and wisdom will naturally arise.

The above explains the principle of "from precepts arises meditative concentration." Restraining one’s own mind constitutes the precepts. The mind refraining from wrongdoing is the precept. The mind not engaging in chaotic thinking, chaotic deliberation, chaotic movement, chaotic decision-making, or chaotic action is the precept. This "mind" primarily refers to the seventh consciousness, the mental faculty (manas). The contact, volition, sensation, perception, and cognition of manas can trigger the volition, contact, sensation, perception, and cognition of the six consciousnesses, leading to the scattered activity of the bodily, verbal, and mental actions of the six consciousnesses. Restraining manas is equivalent to controlling the master switch of bodily, verbal, and mental actions. It is like subduing the general and commander, so that the subordinate soldiers of the six consciousnesses will obediently follow orders, remaining docile and still. Then why worry about lacking meditative concentration?

The most crucial point in cultivation is "from meditative concentration arises wisdom." "Arises" (发, fā) means to generate or bring forth. The Buddha instructs us that through the power of meditative concentration, a settled mind gains strength, and this strength can generate wisdom. It is like a force that causes a sprout to break through the soil. Breaking through is called "arising" (生, shēng) or "generating" (发, fā). Wisdom arises from the mind through the power of meditative concentration. Without meditative concentration, the mind lacks strength and cannot generate wisdom.

The treasure the Buddha bequeathed to us is the Three Undefiled Learnings: precepts, meditative concentration, and wisdom. If, due to an inability to uphold the precepts and cultivate meditative concentration, we discard the first two treasures, claiming they are useless and that one treasure alone suffices, then we must ask ourselves: Are we not prodigal sons? Having ruined the Buddha’s family heirlooms, abandoning them without care, are we still the Buddha’s disciples? If we do not safeguard the Buddha’s family treasures, we are not the Buddha’s filial descendants. Without the first two treasures, the last one cannot be attained. Even if the last one seems present, it is merely a counterfeit, not genuine wisdom.

The precepts, if elaborated upon, are inexhaustible. Meditative concentration, if elaborated upon, is inexhaustible. Wisdom, if elaborated upon, is even more inexhaustible. Ultimately, the precepts, meditative concentration, and wisdom must progress from the superficial level of the six consciousnesses to the fundamental level of the seventh consciousness, manas. Only this is the true precepts, meditative concentration, and wisdom. True precepts, meditative concentration, and wisdom pertain to the mind: mind-precepts, mind-concentration, and mind-wisdom. It is not merely the surface-level bodily and verbal actions of the six consciousnesses, nor merely the mental actions of the sixth consciousness (mano-vijñāna), but the issue of the mental actions of the seventh consciousness, manas. When manas is restrained, refraining from wrongdoing and agitation, wisdom will inevitably arise. The precepts, meditative concentration, and wisdom of manas govern all dharmas. Ultimately, it is through the precepts, meditative concentration, and wisdom of manas that one achieves complete Buddhahood.