The Sublime Realm of Samadhi through Buddha-Recitation

Shi Ruyuan: When I sit for meditation morning and evening, I first observe my breath several times. After observing for a while, I unconsciously forget about observing the breath and automatically shift to contemplating the impurity of the material body. I contemplate that both my own physical body and those of all sentient beings are utterly impure. Sometimes, when my daughter speaks beside me, I often cannot hear her; her voice feels very distant, and I feel nothing in my heart. Sometimes I feel flustered, my mind goes blank, as if in a dream, my body feels weak and dazed, and I simply have no inclination to listen to what she says.

Simultaneously, the sound of the Buddha's name continuously arises in my mind. The quieter my mind becomes without thoughts, the more relaxed my brain feels, and contemplation of the Dharma meanings flows uninterrupted. The sound of the Buddha's name in my mind cannot be suppressed; as soon as my mind rests, the chanting of the Buddha's name becomes continuous and unbroken. I even hear surrounding sounds as the chanting of the Buddha's name, and I cannot shift my thoughts away. Now, when I wake up in the morning, I first sit up and quietly listen to the sound of the Buddha's name for a while before getting up to wash my face and brush my teeth, while the chanting in my mind continues unceasingly. At this point, I shift my thoughts to contemplate the impurity of the material body, contemplating the phenomena of birth, aging, sickness, and death from infancy, childhood to youth, middle age, old age, and finally death. I contemplate the process of dying and the suffering involved.

Therefore, I made a great vow to diligently and wholeheartedly study the Dharma meanings of my respected teacher, Sheng Ru, and to cultivate well. When my father passed away, it was as painful as Teacher described—like peeling the shell off a living turtle. The process of his death is deeply imprinted in my mind. Sometimes, as soon as I sit down, those memories come back, and my mind presents an image of my father turning into a skeleton, which then slowly disintegrates and disappears. When I first began hearing the Dharma, I didn’t know how to practice. At that time, my elder brother and sister-in-law told me that if I didn’t understand, I should just recite the Buddha’s name well. From then on, I started reciting the Buddha’s name with an attitude of seeking, and I chanted for several years, but even while chanting, my mind still produced wandering thoughts.

It was only after I had the good fortune to encounter the Dharma meanings of Teacher Sheng Ru that I underwent a great transformation. At the end of 2019, Teacher Sheng Ru administered the Five Precepts and the Bodhisattva Precepts to us at a temple in Zhejiang. During the precept ceremony, I experienced the Teacher’s blessing power as inconceivable; my body became fixed and unable to move, and my mind felt completely empty. Since then, every time I read the Teacher’s Dharma meanings, I make progress. Whether reading physical books or e-books, I can smell a special fragrance that does not exist in the human world. Moreover, the gap between my lower left teeth and inside my mouth have emitted fragrance several times. No matter what I do, my mind feels empty. When others speak to me, their voices seem to come from very far away, as if not directed at me.

Because when I sit and contemplate the Dharma meanings, my mind remains clear and lucid. Why is it that when I recite the Shurangama Mantra, reciting it over and over, I become unaware of the recitation, as if half-asleep? When I recite with my eyes open, I feel physically and mentally exhausted, and my eyes feel very tired. If I recite with my eyes closed, reciting over and over, I become unaware, and when I “wake up,” I find I’m still reciting, but I don’t know which part I’m at. Sometimes, I have to repeat this back-and-forth four or five times before I can recite it smoothly. If I look at the book, I am very clear-headed, but as soon as I sit down, I feel extremely tired, as if lacking mental energy.

Commentary: Shi Ruyuan attained the Buddha-recitation Samadhi (nianfo sanmei) in 2023. She recites the Buddha’s name without interruption every day, and her meditative power (dhyana-samadhi) is very strong. Within such samadhi, contemplating the impurity of the material body yields excellent results. Why did she attain such excellent samadhi? Firstly, it is due to the virtuous roots from her cultivation in past lives. Secondly, in this life, she possesses a strong renunciation mind (chuxin), finding worldly dharmas utterly tasteless and unable to generate the slightest interest or thought about them. Under such circumstances, what other wandering thoughts or delusions could possibly arise in her? Naturally, her meditative skill is very good; she attained samadhi quickly, and her contemplation and practice of the Buddha Dharma are very effective. Ultimately, it is because her renunciation mind is strong; she has seen through the vanity and dullness of the world and has completely shut off thoughts about worldly matters. She couldn’t avoid attaining samadhi even if she tried; the meditative state came to her naturally. The fundamental reason why some people cannot cultivate and attain meditative states is that they are too close to and too attached to worldly dharmas. Merely exerting effort on the physical body or external appearances is useless.