How Can One Enter Meditative Concentration Quickly?

When sitting in meditation, if one contemplates the Dharma teachings, one enters meditative concentration faster than by silently reciting the Heart Sutra, and more deeply; faster than by regulating the breath, and faster than by using other methods. This is true for those of sharp faculties whose afflictions are mild and whose wandering thoughts are few, because they already have a foundation in cultivating meditative concentration, so the preliminary methods can be omitted. But for beginners in meditation who are heavily prone to grasping and whose minds are full of scattered thoughts, the more they contemplate, the more chaotic their minds become; without meditative concentration, it is just scattered thinking—scattered thoughts and a chaotic mind—so they should wait until they have a foundation in meditative concentration before contemplating. When I take my seat and cross my legs, I use no preliminary methods at all, but go directly into deep contemplation. There is no thinking by the mind consciousness; it is all done by the manas. After crossing my legs, I first focus on the Dharma that needs to be contemplated, and then settle upon that Dharma without moving, without a single wandering thought. This is the state of the manas investigating and probing in Chan.

The manas deliberates deeply and slowly, but thoroughly; the mind consciousness thinks quickly and shallowly, neither thoroughly nor penetratingly. Thinking by the mind consciousness is a preliminary method, whose purpose is to arouse the contemplation of the manas; at the very beginning, this is a process that must be gone through. In the deliberation and investigation of the manas, there is almost no knowledge to be gained, and one's store of knowledge does not increase, but it is very interesting—there is a delight of exploration, a joy of dimly and vaguely being about to discover something. What is developed is the wisdom within one's own field of mind; wisdom is not obtained from outside—what is obtained from outside is only knowledge. At this level, one no longer feels tired; I can sit for a whole morning, or even a whole day. It is only when there are concerns weighing on my mind that I have to come off the seat.