What is Samādhi?

Samādhi (meditative absorption) is an Indian term meaning meditative concentration (samādhi). Within samādhi there are the states of meditative concentration, and there must also be wisdom states of varying degrees. If wisdom is not deep, the samādhi is dominated by the state of concentration; if wisdom is very deep, it is the state of the equal cultivation of Samādhi and Prajñā.

The recollection of the Buddha (buddhānusmṛti) samādhi has different levels. The buddha-recollection samādhi dominated by concentration is one in which one enters concentration by orally reciting the Buddha's name; whether walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, one can recite the Buddha's name, and finally reaches the state of no-thought, yet cognizing; cognizing, yet no-thought — the sound of the Buddha's name continuously lingers in the mind and lingers by the ears; even without wanting to listen, one can hear it, continuously and unbroken.

The buddha-recollection samādhi of the equal cultivation of Samādhi and Prajñā realizes the patience with the non-arising of beings and the patience with the non-arising of dharmas. For example, in buddha-recollection by contemplating an image and buddha-recollection by contemplation, starting from orally reciting the Buddha's name and mentally reciting the Buddha's name, finally the subjectively imagined realm manifests, the concentration-born material form appears, one realizes the principle of non-arising, and clearly understands the self-nature Buddha.

After the contemplation of the skeleton and the contemplation of impurity are accomplished, that is also a samādhi state, the equal cultivation of Samādhi and Prajñā. Concentration is a one-pointed state of mind — from the first dhyāna and above; wisdom is the realization of non-arising, knowing that the physical body is impure and that the five aggregates (pañca-skandha) are without self; the fruit attained is the third or fourth fruit, and this is also the Lesser Vehicle's emptiness samādhi. The subjectively imagined realm manifests, and the concentration-born material form appears.

The accomplishment of the four foundations of mindfulness (catvāri smṛty-upasthānāni) is also the Lesser Vehicle's emptiness samādhi, the equal cultivation of Samādhi and Prajñā, attaining the third or fourth fruit.

The Mahāyāna samādhis include one, the accomplishment of the buddha-recollection samādhi, and another, the sixteen contemplations of the Contemplation Sūtra (Amitāyurdhyāna Sūtra), all of which are the equal cultivation of Samādhi and Prajñā. Without attaining samādhi, without concentration, wisdom-contemplation is also not accomplished. In these samādhis, concentration often exceeds wisdom.

In Mahāyāna Chan investigation, when the investigation is finally broken through, that too is a samādhi state, with both concentration and wisdom. If concentration is shallow, wisdom is shallow, and only the seventh or eighth abode stage is accomplished; if concentration is deep, wisdom is deep, and one can reach the first or second bhūmi. The mind abides in the emptiness (śūnyatā) of the tathāgatagarbha; the five aggregates of one's own being are all the emptiness of the tathāgatagarbha; whether walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, it is as if abiding within the tathāgatagarbha, without a self of the five aggregates.

When the Lesser Vehicle's contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā) and investigation eradicate the view of self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi), that too is the manifestation of samādhi, with both concentration and wisdom. If concentration is shallow, wisdom is shallow, and only the first or second fruit is accomplished; if concentration is deep, wisdom is deep, and the third or fourth fruit can be accomplished. The mind abides in the emptiness samādhi of the five aggregates being without self; there is no feeling of a self of the five aggregates; when facing conditions and circumstances, the mind does not give rise to the notion of self, does not treat any person or affair as an enemy or adversary, and does not care about everything around oneself, because there is no self in the mind.

If it is merely the mind consciousness's intellectual understanding of the Buddha-dharma, or an intellectual awakening to the Buddha-dharma, there is not the slightest samādhi — no state of concentration, no felt experience of emptiness; the mind still has a self, the self-mind does not die; when encountering conditions and facing circumstances, one must rely on the mind consciousness's attention (manaskāra) to recall that the five aggregates are without self. Once the mind consciousness loses its vigilant awareness, the self-mind suddenly pops up, and bodily, verbal, and mental actions lose their restraint. Moreover, the mind consciousness's power of vigilant awareness is very limited; its intermittence is extremely severe and obvious — it will always lose awareness and cannot sustain it. Even if the mind consciousness's power is very strong and can sustain awareness for a period of time, sooner or later it will lose that awareness, especially at the time of death.

All samādhis, whether dominated by the state of concentration or of the equal cultivation of Samādhi and Prajñā, are the result of the manas's accomplishment. Only by fixing the manas in concentration, without scattering and chasing after objects everywhere, can there be a state of concentration; only then does the manas have sufficient energy to deliberate (manasikāra) upon the dharmas brought over by the mind consciousness, and only then can it clearly understand the fundamental meaning and essential substance of the dharmas — samādhi will surely appear, and only this is called realization.