How to Enter Samadhi Quickly

When contemplating Dharma principles during seated meditation, it leads to deeper and faster entry into meditative concentration compared to silently reciting the Heart Sutra or mantras. It is faster than entering concentration through breath regulation and surpasses all other methods. This applies to those with sharp faculties who have minimal afflictions and few discursive thoughts, as they already possess a foundation in meditative cultivation, allowing them to omit preliminary expedients. However, for beginners in concentration practice whose minds are heavily entangled and restless, the more they contemplate, the more chaotic their minds become. Without meditative concentration, it becomes mere scattered thinking; scattered thoughts agitate the mind. Therefore, such individuals should wait until they have established a foundation in meditative concentration before engaging in such contemplation. When I sit down, legs crossed, I need no preliminary methods. I directly enter deep contemplation—a state of mental deliberation without conscious thinking, entirely the functioning of the mental faculty. After settling into the cross-legged posture, I first focus on the Dharma principle to be contemplated, then fixate steadily upon that principle without moving. Not a single discursive thought arises. This is the state of the mental faculty engaged in Chan investigation.

The deliberation of the mental faculty is deep and slow yet thorough. The thinking of the conscious mind is fast and shallow, neither thorough nor penetrating. Conscious thinking serves as a preliminary expedient, its purpose being to trigger the deliberation of the mental faculty. Initially, this is a necessary process to undergo. Within the deliberation and investigation of the mental faculty, there is almost no acquisition of knowledge; it does not increase the volume of knowledge. Yet it is profoundly interesting, carrying a deep sense of exploratory fascination, a hazy joy of being on the verge of discovering something. What is developed is the wisdom inherent within one's own mind. This wisdom is not obtained externally; what is gained externally is merely knowledge. Upon reaching this stage, one no longer feels weary. I can sit for a whole morning or even an entire day. It is only due to worldly obligations that I am compelled to rise from the seat.