What is wrong concentration? What is right concentration? How to transform wrong concentration into right concentration?

Wrong samādhi is a path that is not on the path to liberation; it is a meditative concentration that cannot give birth to the wisdom of liberation, a concentration that cannot lead toward liberation, a concentration shared with non-Buddhist paths. In such concentration, the conscious mind is dull or drowsy, with nothing to apply the mind to, no deliberation arising, and no contemplation of the teachings.

The most correct among correct states of samādhi is one in which, within concentration, the mind is not inverted or deluded; it does not contemplate any worldly dharmas, contemplates neither good nor evil, and does not cling to any dharma, yet possesses supreme wisdom that accords with sentient beings to give rise to all dharmas, is not obstructed or bound by any dharma, and is liberated from all dharmas. The next most correct concentration is one in which, within concentration, one can deeply and subtly contemplate various correct principles, not clinging to any worldly marks, not attached to good or evil, able to give birth to great wisdom of liberation of many kinds, able to transform worlds, and to mature all the roots of goodness, merit, and conditions of both self and others, with the mind oriented toward the correct path and the mind abiding in the correct path.

When meditative concentration has been cultivated to a certain degree, the mind becomes purified, mental power can become highly concentrated, and thinking reaches a certain depth; then within concentration one should give rise to deliberation, contemplating the Buddhist questions that currently need to be resolved, contemplating the questions that currently need to be understood. Moreover, after emerging from concentration, one should also apply the mind to contemplating the Dharma, from morning to evening, with every thought revolving around the Dharma, revolving around the Buddhist questions that currently need to be resolved. In this way one can clearly understand the Dharma, and when causal conditions are complete, one may realize the corresponding dharma and open up wisdom.

In relatively deep correct samādhi, the deliberation of the mind consciousness is less and slighter, without emotional sentiment or intellectual interpretation, yet there is the deliberation (manasikāra) of the manas that is not easily noticed; the manas must deliberate deeply, exerting more effort than the mind consciousness, with the manas's deliberation as the mainstay. Here there is both concentration and wisdom—the concentration is correct samādhi; in wrong samādhi there is no such deliberation. One must earnestly and solidly do the work, master the technique of deliberation, and learn to deliberate; it will certainly be beneficial—a hundred benefits and not a single harm.

Drowsiness in meditative concentration has several causes; find out the causes and counteract them, and the problem of drowsiness can be solved. One cause is blocked circulation of qi and blood, clogging the blood vessels; insufficient blood supply causes drowsiness. While sitting, one may massage acupoints to unblock the circulation of qi and blood. Another cause is insufficient sleep or physical fatigue. One may regulate the breath and take several deep breaths. Another cause is the lack of an object of contemplation that interests the manas, causing the mind to become dull. At such times one can visualize interesting scenes to free the mind from its dullness.

When there is no meditative concentration, do not first engage in contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā) of the Dharma; when the power of concentration is insufficient, do not engage in contemplative practice of the Dharma either, for this easily leads to reasoning out a conclusion, an answer, after which one can no longer genuinely apply effort to investigation, and subsequent realization becomes very difficult, greatly obstructing one's progress on the Path. Contemplative practice of the Dharma without meditative concentration is of no benefit to liberation and no benefit to one's progress on the Path; it only increases views and the conceit of self, cannot eradicate the view of self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi), and yields no beneficial experience of merit.