Attaining meditative concentration through deeply recollecting the Buddha within the mind

To attain meditative concentration (samādhi) through recollection of the Buddha (buddhānusmṛti), one must go deep into the mind. Our mind consciousness is sometimes as scattered as a monkey, able to reach any sense object; the manas, even more so, grasps at everything everywhere and refuses to settle down. In order to tether these two conscious minds—the manas and the mind consciousness—one must learn to recite the Buddha's name slowly. The more slowly one recites, the more slowly the mind moves, and only then can it finally come to a stop. While reciting the Buddha's name, at the same time listen attentively with the mind to the sound of the recitation; in this way the mind consciousness can be tethered, and the manas will then have no way to grasp at other mental objects (dharmas). In this way the mind becomes focused on a single state of Buddha-recollection, and one can reach single-mindedness; the power of meditative concentration will naturally improve.

If one's cultivation can reach the manas, all problems can be resolved. Starting cultivation from the manas is the fastest and most direct approach. This can also be understood from the principle of how we cultivate meditative concentration: concentration is a state of the mind, a state of the deluded seven consciousnesses, with the sixth and seventh consciousnesses as the mainstay. The mind's various states of focused attention constitute concentration in motion, and also include concentration in stillness. When the dharmas the mind perceives become fewer and fewer, lighter and lighter, and even disappear, this is concentration in stillness, which allows one to enter relatively deep states of meditative concentration. Before attaining enlightenment, do not expend too much energy cultivating this kind of deep concentration without thought.