The Process of Cultivating Access Concentration

Miemie's Meditation Experience: In October 2022, during a short retreat in my room, thoughts began to diminish by the third day. By the fifth night, distracting thoughts had almost vanished, with only rare occurrences. Suddenly, an intention arose spontaneously—to renounce worldly love and attachment for all future lifetimes. Immediately, a sensation of qi surged within, inflating my entire body like a balloon. I could hear the cracking sounds of my bones, and my mind became focused, no longer scattered. The next day, I felt physically and mentally joyful, my anxieties about the future disappeared, and my thinking became clear and sharp. After this, I believed in the power of meditative concentration and my faith solidified. I continued sitting in meditation but made no further breakthroughs.

In September 2023, while traveling to pay homage to the Sixth Patriarch, I encountered numerous animal carcasses along the way. This evoked immense fear within me, and I thought, "The game of samsara is terrifying. From an animal’s perspective, Earth is hell." During this journey, I listened to the Repentance Chapter of the Platform Sutra and fell asleep. In my dream, I saw my own karmic actions from an aerial perspective and deeply felt the gravity of my karmic burden, giving rise to a sense of shame. Upon arriving at the Sixth Patriarch Temple, a verse suddenly appeared in my mind: "With self, sins arise; Without self, blessings are matchless." In December, after returning home, I felt deeply ashamed and secluded myself in my room to meditate and practice.

Around May 2024, a fellow practitioner invited me to meditate together. We sat intermittently from 8 PM until after 5 AM. A thought arose in my mind: "I dedicate all the merit from my past lives of practice to you. May you swiftly attain Buddhahood and liberate sentient beings. It doesn’t matter who becomes a Buddha first, because sentient beings suffer too much." As this thought arose, an energy emerged from behind me, flowing upward. Unlike the previous qi sensation, this felt more like a liquid, bringing profound ease. In an instant, my breathing changed, becoming subtle and almost imperceptible.

In the following days, my meditation was free of distracting thoughts, and my body felt incredibly light, as if weightless. While seated, phenomena like the body dissolving into emptiness and continuous visualizations appeared. One day, as I sat down, my body vanished instantly, and the so-called world disappeared entirely. There was no matter, only "consciousness." The feelings and perceptions of this consciousness remained; it felt trapped in a vast prison, searching and longing for something. There was a tangible sense of existence. In that state, there was no language, yet there was a kind of understanding—I realized that the body is not the self, and I understood the Twelve Links of Dependent Origination.

After emerging from meditation, my mind was peaceful and expansive, as if everyone was a friend. When interacting with others, I could think from their perspective, recognize the limitations of my own perceptions, and refrain from immediate rejection, maintaining an awareness of my own partiality. Moreover, I saw the labels I had attached to various people, things, and events, as if I were operating according to a set program. This made me even more fearful—I thought, "This karmic burden is too heavy; I’m completely trapped in a cage." My determination to practice grew firmer.

Commentary: In meditative concentration, an intention arises—a thought, a wish—to sever worldly love and attachment. This arises spontaneously, not through deliberate thinking. It is the manas (mind-root) naturally initiating this virtuous aspiration when conditions ripen through practice. With this wholesome intention arising in the manas, a single virtuous thought seeks to cut off afflictions. The body follows the mind, and qi surges throughout the body, internally and externally. The body transforms, and both body and mind become joyful; worries and afflictions dissipate. Thus, it is evident that a single virtuous thought can transform both body and mind, deepening meditative concentration. Those with poor health may appropriately shift their mindset, frequently generating wholesome vows and pure, great aspirations. As the environment changes with the mind, breakthroughs in body, mind, and world will occur.

"With self, sins arise; Without self, blessings are matchless." All karmic offenses arise because of the self. Without self, there are no cravings, and many actions become unnecessary, for actions are performed for the sake of the self and its desires. If each person carefully observes all their bodily, verbal, and mental actions, they will find that the vast majority stem from the self and its greed—countless actions, including unnecessary high demands, chasing after wealth, sensual pleasures, fame, food, sleep, forms, sounds, scents, tastes, touches, and dharmas, all driven by insatiable craving.

If the self can be extinguished, the resulting merit and blessings are supreme, beyond compare in the world. Such verses arise naturally in the mind due to the arising of fear toward samsara and shame over past unwholesome karma. These are all wholesome mental factors. From the arising of these wholesome roots, virtuous words naturally emerge in the mind.

The body vanishes, and all worlds disappear, leaving only consciousness. This is not consciousness (vijñāna) but the manas (mind-root), isolated and without language, realizing that the body is not the self, being born of causes and conditions. This wholesome state was induced by the virtuous thought and action of dedicating merit and liberating sentient beings. A wholesome mind transformed the state, and the state became wholesome.

In summary, all phenomena in the world arise from mental activity. To transform worldly phenomena, one must first transform the mind. With the arising of a single wholesome thought, a million obstacles close; with the arising of a single unwholesome thought, a million obstacles open. The essence of practice is to cultivate the mind. If one abandons mind-cultivation and instead constantly pursues physical attainments, it is like "whipping the cart instead of the horse." Cultivating the mind is the shortcut, the direct path; cultivating the body is the winding path, the detour. How does one cultivate the mind? Observe your own mind. Observe all thoughts that arise in the mind. Discern right from wrong, good from evil, straight from crooked. Continuously generate wholesome thoughts and abandon unwholesome ones. Then, states will transform from unwholesome to wholesome, and everything will become wholesome.

The Buddha taught in the Avataṃsaka Sūtra: At all times, in every thought, and in all actions, we should recite virtuous mantras and generate wholesome thoughts, leaving no room for unwholesome thoughts. Over time, the mind will surely become wholesome, and all states will likewise become wholesome. When you have time, read the relevant chapters of the Avataṃsaka Sūtra yourself to learn how to recite mantras, which mantras to recite, and what thoughts should arise in the mind according to different objects of focus.