The Relationship Between Afflictions and Meditative Concentration

Question: Is it that when one cultivates to a certain level, one becomes more sensitive to the external world, easily perceiving others' subtle ill will, and thus becomes prone to losing one's temper?

Answer: It is because your own body's qi flow is not smooth, with qi and blood congested and blocked, that your emotional state is depressed, giving rise to negative emotions. When you look at others, you mistakenly assume they harbor ill will, but in reality this is not necessarily so—it is the projection and reaction of your own inner emotions. Because your emotional state is depressed, when you encounter people and situations you cannot help but want to vent your emotions, so you easily lose your temper. For some people, at some times, temperament and temper are easily affected by physical health; when the body is healthy and the mind is at ease, all bad moods and afflictions will disappear.

By the same principle, only when a person is in joy can the mind be open and expansive, and only then can afflictions be eliminated—and meditative concentration (samādhi) precisely produces joy, allowing body and mind to be comfortable and delighted, and therefore afflictions can be eliminated. The depth and level of concentration differ, the degree of joy produced differs, and thus the level of afflictions eliminated also differs. Preparatory concentration (anāgamya-samādhi) and first-dhyāna concentration are concentrations of different levels: one is attained in the desire realm, the other in the form realm. The degree of joy attained in the desire realm's preparatory concentration is low, so the afflictions eliminated are shallow; the degree of joy attained in the form realm's first-dhyāna concentration is high, so the afflictions eliminated are deep.

Why is it that only after sentient beings attain realization of the fruits and cultivate to first-dhyāna concentration can they eliminate the fundamental afflictions of greed, hatred, and delusion? This is because first-dhyāna is a concentration of single-minded joy and bliss. When a person is in this concentration, the mind is extremely joyful and happy. Because of that bliss which transcends the greed of the desire realm and the human world, the afflictions of greed, hatred, and delusion of the human world are all cast off and eliminated, and thus the third fruit is attained.

Although in preparatory concentration one cannot eliminate the fundamental afflictions of greed, hatred, and delusion, one will eliminate a portion of the view-delusions and thought-delusions of the desire realm, being able to eliminate self-view (ātma-dṛṣṭi) and attain the first and second fruits. Therefore, the fruits of the Small Vehicle are related not only to the wisdom of no-self, but also to meditative concentration and the elimination of afflictions. Having both concentration and wisdom determines that afflictions can certainly be eliminated; afflictions are closely related to the presence or absence of concentration and wisdom—with concentration and wisdom there are no afflictions; without concentration and wisdom, delusion arises and afflictions arise. Therefore it is said that once self-view is eliminated and the fruits are realized, those view-delusions and thought-delusions are also removed; when bodily, verbal, and mental actions are purified, one no longer commits relatively great unwholesome karma, let alone grave unwholesome karma. As long as a person still commits relatively great afflictive unwholesome karma in the world, with defiled bodily, verbal, and mental actions, it can be concluded that this person has not eliminated self-view, has not attained the fruits of the Great or Small Vehicle, and even less could be a bodhisattva on the bhūmis. No matter how dazzlingly and eloquently he expounds the Dharma, as long as his words and deeds are deficient and his defilements are somewhat heavy, it can be concluded that this person is an ordinary being/worldling (Skt. pṛthagjana).