The Method and Process of Ven. Shi Ruyuan's Cultivation of Buddha-Recitation Samādhi

In the past, I did not understand what cultivating meditative concentration (samādhi) meant, nor did I understand what the recollection of the Buddha (buddhānusmṛti) meant; I just learned to recite and recite, and as I recited I felt very tired, so I began to recite in a low voice. Reciting in a low voice also felt very tiring and I could not keep it up—perhaps I had gained a bit of meditative power by then. At that time I knew nothing at all; let alone cultivating the samādhi of Buddha-recollection, I did not even know what meditative concentration was for. I had only heard that reciting the Buddha's name was a good thing.

From the time I began studying Buddhism, I recited the Diamond Sutra and the Amitābha Sutra once each in the morning and evening, made prostrations to the Buddha, and spent the rest of my time reciting the Buddha's name. As I recited I felt very tired, so I switched to reciting in a low voice and reciting silently, but as I recited I still felt tired; I felt weak all over and did not want to move, and I sat drowsily and dully, unable to keep reciting. At that time I did not know that this was inert emptiness-like blank concentration.

Then in 2019, without my knowing any of these things, I happened to meet Master Shengru, who came to the nunnery to give us the Bodhisattva Precepts and taught us how to prostrate to the Buddha and the dharma method of breathing Buddha-recollection to attain samādhi. I forget whether it was for one year or two. Then once, quite unintentionally, I heard the sound of the Buddha's name in my mind. Because I did not understand what was going on, I even puzzledly poked at my ears with my fingers. I asked the Master for instruction, and He explained that it was the samādhi of Buddha-recollection (buddhānusmṛti-samādhi). After that, I requested the Master's teachings on the Dharma and have studied them up to now.

At the very beginning one must recite aloud; once the recitation becomes familiar, recite in a low voice; when that becomes familiar, recite silently; when that too becomes familiar, recite in the mind and listen with the mind; and later, when the recitation has become very familiar, it is as if one has a bit of meditative power. Then recite for a while, stop, and listen to see whether there is a sound of Buddha-recollection in the mind; if there is not, the meditative power is not yet deep. Continue reciting and continue listening, until you recite to the point where the mind listens and the mind recites—then you have a samādhi that is neither deep nor shallow. Later on, you no longer need to recite with the mouth, and you can hear the sound of the Buddha's name in your mind, so much so that you cannot stop it even if you try not to listen. This is realizing the profound samādhi of Buddha-recollection. Within this profound samādhi, it is not only the sound of the Buddha's name in one's own mind—even the sound of the wind, the sound of cars, the cries of birds, all that one hears is the sound of the Buddha's name. Moreover, without thinking or looking, the Dharma teachings automatically arise in the mind—this is the accomplishment of the merit of cultivating samādhi through Buddha-recollection. Fellow practitioners and good friends who wish to attain the samādhi of Buddha-recollection: if you cultivate according to this method, you can all attain it.