Chapter Three: Consciousness and Meditative Concentration

I. The Difference Between Sleep and Meditative Concentration

So-called meditative concentration (dhyāna) is the undistracted concentration of the mind, the gathering of the six sense faculties, focusing on a single object without chaotic mental wandering. The visual consciousness and mental consciousness focus on a single form-dust (rūpa), shutting out other sense objects; or the auditory consciousness and mental consciousness focus on a single sound-dust (śabda), shutting out other sense objects; or the mental consciousness focuses on a single dharma-dust (dharma), shutting out other sense objects. Among these concentrations of the six consciousnesses, mental consciousness is primary, as the mind faculty (manas) governs all dharmas. If the mind faculty does not chaotically wander but only attends to a few dharma-dusts, the six consciousnesses can focus on a single object. Because the mind faculty is the master consciousness, the six consciousnesses all obey its directives. Therefore, subduing the mind faculty is essential for achieving results in concentration practice.

So-called sleep is the temporary cessation and non-appearance of all six consciousnesses, allowing the body and mind to eliminate fatigue. If the six consciousnesses do not cease, the conscious mind remains active, just as when awake, and this is not sleep. In that case, the body and mind cannot attain true rest, and the body will still feel fatigued.

Sleep is divided into two types: dreamless and dreaming. When asleep without dreams, the six consciousnesses do not arise; only the eighth consciousness (ālaya-vijñāna) and the seventh consciousness (manas) remain at their posts to maintain the life activities of the physical body. When dreaming, the conscious mind engages in subtle discriminatory activities within the dream state. In this case, sleep is not deep, the body cannot obtain sufficient rest, and a feeling of fatigue will appear the next day.

In both meditative concentration and sleep, the seventh and eighth consciousnesses are operating. In meditative concentration, the seventh consciousness has been effectively subdued, its mental wandering reduced. The less and more subtle the wandering, the deeper the consciousness enters concentration. In sleep, the seventh consciousness is still wandering, clinging to the body faculty and dharma-dusts. It only knows the body needs rest and prevents the six consciousnesses from engaging in discrimination.

In the concentration before the first dhyāna, the six consciousnesses discriminate the six dusts, but the degree of discrimination varies, the degree of mental focus differs, and the physical and mental sensations also differ. In the first dhyāna, the olfactory consciousness and gustatory consciousness do not arise. In the dhyāna of the second level and above, the first five consciousnesses disappear, leaving only the sixth consciousness (mano-vijñāna), the seventh consciousness, and the eighth consciousness. The mental consciousness abides in a relatively deep and subtle state of concentration, cognizing the dharma-dusts of the meditative state. In the state of non-perception (asamjñi-samāpatti) and the state of cessation (nirodha-samāpatti), even mental consciousness ceases, leaving only the seventh and eighth consciousnesses.

II. The Discriminative Power of Five-Concomitant Consciousness is Greater Than That of Independent Consciousness

For example, if the conscious mind thinks of a square moon, a square moon appears in the brain. But when looking at the round moon in the sky and trying to imagine the moon before one's eyes as square, it is impossible to imagine a square moon. This is due to insufficient concentration power of the consciousness; it is disturbed by the present object, making it difficult to clearly imagine and conceptualize non-actual perceptions.

When the eyes are open, what consciousness sees is the dharma-dust on the five dusts. When the eyes are closed, consciousness imagines an independent image. If one opens the eyes and sees the round moon on the five dusts, the five-concomitant consciousness cognizes the round moon, aided by the direct perception (pratyakṣa) of the visual consciousness. The power of seeing with one's own eyes is strong, so the mind faculty can confirm and support it. After seeing the round moon, trying to imagine a square moon becomes very difficult because the image of the round moon remains in the conscious mind. The consciousness has to discriminate two objects simultaneously, causing the mind's focus to split. The resulting imaginative function becomes very weak, making it difficult to imagine a square moon.

Independent consciousness is most easily disturbed, so its power to imagine a square moon is insufficient. After all, independent consciousness is non-actual perception (non-pratyakṣa), with fewer external conditions. The round moon is direct perception, combined with simultaneous cognition by the visual consciousness, making the force imagining the round moon strong. It becomes somewhat difficult for the independent image to manifest, so the square moon in the mind does not easily appear.

If the concentration power of consciousness is quite good, independent consciousness might gain the upper hand, and one can imagine a square moon in the mind, contradicting the moon on the form-dust. At this point, the round moon and the square moon might appear alternately, round one moment and square the next. A person with very strong concentration might be able to manifest both moons simultaneously, or perhaps only a square moon. Try practicing your own concentration to see which consciousness gains the upper hand. If this concentration power can be developed, one will be able to transform all dharmas in the future, and manifest the trichiliocosm in a single thought. Healing and adjusting illnesses for others also entirely rely on this concentration power. Changing others' minds also entirely relies on this concentration power.

III. Under What Circumstances Does the Thinking Function of Consciousness Achieve Its Maximum Potential, Thinking Best and Most Clearly?

Consciousness attends to a single dharma, or primarily one dharma while attending to two or three dharmas, moving from scatteredness towards focus. At this time, thinking is clearest. This is the function of concentration power. When scattered, the thinking power of consciousness is weak, and thoughts are unclear. When concentration is too deep, consciousness cannot move, mental activity stops, and thinking is laborious. Only when there is concentration, but it is not overly deep, can the thinking of consciousness be deep, subtle, clear, and expansive.

IV. Consciousness in the Waking State

In the waking state, consciousness cognizes the dharma-dusts on the six dusts. The outflow of mental seeds is relatively dispersed, but there is still a dominant direction. To completely focus the outflow on a single dharma requires training, such as cultivating concentration to gain concentration power. The deeper the concentration power, the more focused the outflow. Therefore, the Buddha taught us to cultivate concentration first and then practice contemplation and Chan (dhyāna) investigation; only then can there be results. However, ordinary people generally cannot distribute mental seeds evenly across two or more dharma-dusts; there is always a primary and secondary focus. If several dharma-dusts need to be cognized simultaneously, the attention of consciousness must constantly jump between different dharma-dusts. For example, when walking on a road with heavy traffic and many people, consciousness must constantly cognize form-dharma-dust, sound-dharma-dust, and touch-dharma-dust, outflowing mental seeds onto all three dharma-dusts simultaneously. However, there is still a primary-secondary relationship, and this relationship switches constantly with changes in the external environment.

The above description is correct for ordinary people, meaning those without concentration or with little concentration, who have not undergone special training. If trained, a person with good concentration power can cognize multiple objects simultaneously with concentration, cognizing them all clearly. This is what is meant by "seeing in six directions and hearing in eight directions." A person with good concentration power can handle several things simultaneously without issue, doing them all well, with energy highly focused on several matters, managing them effectively. When the conscious mind is well-trained, both concentration (śamatha) and wisdom (prajñā) are very strong; it is like this.

V. Why Does One Pick Up the Wrong Thing When Thinking About a Problem?

When thinking about a problem, consciousness may be intensely focused on pondering the issue, with only a very small part of its energy paying attention to what the hand is picking up. Therefore, it cannot correctly judge or choose whether the thing being picked up is what is desired. The body consciousness's ability to discriminate objects is very poor; it must work together with the conscious mind to discriminate. If the conscious mind is distracted, one picks up the wrong thing. Therefore, lack of concentration and focus leads to mistakes. However, a well-trained person with concentration power can "see in six directions and hear in eight directions," coordinating and handling various matters well. Thus, focus, meditative concentration, and concentration power are extremely important.

With concentration power, the thinking of consciousness becomes clear and lucid, wisdom arises, and one can handle affairs in an orderly manner. This is true for both worldly wisdom and supramundane wisdom. In the Buddha Dharma, to think through a doctrinal principle clearly, attention must be extremely focused, without interference from distracting thoughts. Only after focused contemplation can one understand the meaning of the doctrine, comprehending the true meaning within the sutras. Therefore, focused attention is crucial; concentration power is the key and prerequisite for the arising of wisdom. A very few exceptionally well-trained individuals can multitask, handling several things simultaneously, because their concentration power is strong. Others cannot do even one thing well because their conscious mind is too scattered, lacking any concentration power, so thinking is disordered and superficial, and consequently, they cannot do anything well.

VI. A Scientist Ate Steamed Buns Dipped in Ink Without Realizing It

A scientist was reading a book with intense concentration. While eating steamed buns, he dipped them in ink without realizing it. His consciousness was entirely focused on the book. Did he have gustatory consciousness at that time? If he had gustatory consciousness, he would surely know the ink tasted bad. Why didn't he know?

Eating food necessarily involves gustatory consciousness; consciousness alone cannot taste food. When concentrating intensely on reading, eating steamed buns dipped in ink without noticing, this situation occurs because consciousness is focused on reading and not paying attention to what is being eaten. Discrimination is present but very vague. Gustatory consciousness exists and is still discriminating the food, but only the coarse aspects. The subtle aspects, such as what kind of food it is and the specific taste and texture, are discriminated by the conscious mind. Gustatory consciousness cannot discriminate such subtleties. Since the conscious mind was focused on reading, and gustatory consciousness cannot discriminate finely, the scientist did not notice eating the ink. This example also proves that as long as practitioners do not pay attention to worldly enjoyments, they can reduce attachment to worldly dharmas.

VII. Some People Have Experienced Soul Leaving the Body

Some people have experiences of the soul leaving the body (out-of-body experience). It is unclear which consciousness leaves the body. When the soul leaves the body, the person is not dead; the life body still exists. Therefore, the eighth consciousness and the mind faculty together maintain the life activities of the physical body and have not left it. The first five consciousnesses cannot exist separately from the five physical sense faculties and have independent discriminatory functions. Only the conscious mind can leave the body; it does not require the cooperation of the five sense faculties to have mental activities. However, the existence and discriminatory activities of consciousness also cannot occur apart from the mind faculty and the eighth consciousness; the three are combined together and inseparable.

Sentient beings have eight consciousnesses in total. The mind faculty and the eighth consciousness can be outside the physical body at any time and place, even in past and future lives, yet simultaneously do not leave the body, not apart from the present moment. Because the eighth consciousness pervades all places, all dharmas, and all times, for it, there is no spatial distance, no time, no three periods (past, present, future). The mind faculty, following the Tathāgatagarbha (Buddha-nature), also has no spatial distance and no three periods.

For the conscious mind to actively leave the body requires the blessing of some kind of spiritual power or the skill of meditative concentration, relying on concentration power to leave the physical body and operate independently. Concentration has depth; shallow concentration can only occasionally achieve a state of single-minded focus, temporarily forgetting the body, ignoring its existence. At this time, consciousness can leave the body. After consciousness leaves, it can see the state of its own body – whether it is dead or in a meditative posture – and the surrounding situation; consciousness can cognize all of this.

The body left behind, although it may be lying down or sitting in meditation, has no emotions, no emotional states; the inner mind is numb, like a robot. Emotions and emotional states are precisely the function and sensation of consciousness. If the lifespan has not ended and the karmic connection with this life is not exhausted, consciousness can return to the body, and the functions of the five aggregates (skandhas) can return to normal. When consciousness leaves the body, it is called a mind-made body (manomaya-kāya) in the case of Bodhisattvas. After Bodhisattvas realize the mind and see the nature (enlightenment), and then cultivate the four dhyānas and eight samāpattis, the mind-made body appears. Based on the physical body of the five aggregates, consciousness further manifests multiple physical bodies, like the bodies of heavenly beings, relatively ethereal and without substantial physical matter, thus possessing immeasurable spiritual powers and abilities. The hundredfold transformation bodies, thousandfold transformation bodies, or even more transformation bodies of the great Bodhisattvas are all achieved through the transformations accomplished by the conscious mind after cultivating the four dhyānas and eight samāpattis. It is the result of the combined operation of the three transformative consciousnesses: the eighth consciousness, the mind faculty, and consciousness.

VIII. The Feeling When Consciousness Leaves the Body

When consciousness leaves the body, the feeling is like flying above or beside the body, looking at the body. When consciousness does not leave the body, the feeling is that it is inseparable from the body. These feelings are, after all, just feelings. Whether leaving the body or not, they are not real. One should diligently investigate the Tathāgatagarbha nature of all dharmas as explained in the Shurangama Sutra (Śūraṅgama Sūtra). Nothing is outside the Tathāgatagarbha. Within the Tathāgatagarbha, there is fundamentally no inside or outside. Therefore, what these dharmas are or what state they are in, whether they have substantiality – these contents are extremely important, utterly crucial. Penetrating these dharmas, emptying the mind completely – only then can one directly become a Buddha. Nothing else can lead directly to Buddhahood.

IX. The Phenomenon of Consciousness Leaving the Body

When consciousness has this phenomenon of leaving the body, it is firstly in a state of concentration, and secondly, consciousness has a very independent reflective quality. It can reflect on the state of itself (the body) and reflect on its own thoughts and feelings. However, this reflection is different from the reflection when consciousness does not leave the body; it is more objective, like observing another person. This is very similar to a person's soul leaving the body. When a person undergoes surgery, the six consciousnesses cease and there is no perception; or after a person loses consciousness or dies, the conscious spirit leaves the body, looks at the body, and tries to return to it to come back to life. These two phenomena are the same, only the mental state differs. After consciousness leaves the body, the body becomes like wood – numb, without emotions or thoughts, but it can move. Consciousness observing the body is like observing another object.

X. The Importance of Concentration Power for Practitioners

For us practitioners seeking to realize the Buddha Dharma, concentration power is extremely important. Every step of realization in the Buddha Dharma relies on concentration power for contemplation (vipaśyanā), after which one can understand the true nature of all dharmas. For example, to contemplate whether the eye consciousness arises first or the mental consciousness arises first, whether form-color (varṇa) or shape-form (saṃsthāna) comes first, one must first have concentration power to contemplate and realize it. Otherwise, with a scattered mind, one will certainly not be able to contemplate and realize the correct result. We can look at the scenery outside, look at the sky, trees, flowers, plants, forests, rivers. When the eye consciousness is directed outward, first observe the external object the eyes are facing. Does one first see the form-color, or the shape-form, or the meaning within these forms? Step by step like this, one can only contemplate and realize it with concentration power. Without concentration power, relying only on brain imagination, it is absolutely impossible to think clearly, nor can one realize the Buddha Dharma.

The realization of Buddha Dharma, divorced from concentration power, cannot be called realization. That is merely imagination, thinking, emotional understanding, and intellectual interpretation. Relying on emotional understanding and intellectual interpretation, we cannot have true wisdom; the wisdom we originally had will not increase. Only this bit of wisdom learned from the outside increases very slowly. Without concentration power, even if one barely realizes the mind (understands where the eighth consciousness is, knows the answer), one cannot contemplate and realize it, wisdom cannot increase, and the wisdom of contemplation (vipaśyanā-jñāna) cannot arise.

Divorced from concentration power, after realizing the mind, the Illusory-like Contemplation (māyopama) of the Ten Abidings (daśa-vihāra) cannot manifest. Special physical and mental sensations will not appear, and the body and mind cannot undergo any changes. If the physical and mental sensations do not change, one has not attained the Illusory-like Contemplation. Divorced from concentration power, the Mirage-like Contemplation (marīcikopama) of the Ten Practices (daśa-caryā) cannot be contemplated; one will not have those physical and mental sensations of the Mirage-like Contemplation and cannot pass the Ten Practices. Adding the Dream-like Contemplation (svapnopama) of the Ten Dedications (daśa-pariṇāmanā), if concentration power is lacking, the sensations of the Dream-like Contemplation will not arise. If one cannot pass these contemplations one by one, the Bodhisattva's path work remains stagnant and cannot advance. Separated from concentration, wanting to realize the Buddha Dharma is a fantasy. With concentration power, at the time of severing the view of self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi) and realizing the mind, those physical and mental sensations and the joy of meditation (dhyāna-sukha) are simply indescribable. Afterwards, the increase of wisdom, the increase of concentration and wisdom, and the increase of Bodhisattva stages also happen very quickly.

If one wants to contemplate whether the ear consciousness hears the sound first or the mental consciousness hears it first, or what kind of sound the ear consciousness hears, one must cultivate concentration – both concentration in activity (moving concentration) and concentration in stillness (sitting concentration). Only with sufficient concentration power can one contemplate and realize it. It is not that one contemplates first and then cultivates concentration; that is practicing upside down. Even if one succeeds, it is through the initial scattered contemplation gradually leading to the mind settling on one point, concentration power becoming sufficient, and then beginning true, proper contemplation according to principle. It is still concentration first, then contemplation, called śamatha-vipaśyanā (calming and insight), not vipaśyanā-śamatha (insight and calming).

If one lacks the seated meditation concentration (stillness concentration), having only very weak concentration in activity, it is not very effective. Seated meditation, this stillness concentration, can nurture concentration in activity and enable our thinking to be very deep and subtle. To observe and experience the activities of ear consciousness and mental consciousness when hearing sounds, one can observe within concentration. When an external sound arises, observe what the vibration on the eardrum is like, what kind of sound the ear consciousness hears – distinguish them one by one. But without concentration power, this is absolutely impossible to observe. Moreover, the requirement for concentration power cannot be ordinary; it needs to be relatively deep and focused to be able to observe it. Observe a loud sound, a faint sound: first, what the ear consciousness and mental consciousness respectively hear; what effect the sound heard by ear consciousness has on the ear faculty and eardrum. Then observe the sound heard and felt by mental consciousness – what state is it in? If you can distinguish them all one by one, you can distinguish whether ear consciousness arises first or mental consciousness arises first, and what kind of sense objects each consciousness discriminates. In these contemplations, there is the simultaneous functioning of concentration and wisdom. Lacking either one, contemplation cannot succeed. Therefore, studying and practicing the Buddha Dharma is the equal cultivation of concentration and wisdom, the dual upholding of śamatha and vipaśyanā.

Another example: contemplating the dharmas of the mind faculty requires not only meditation but also wisdom. Without meditation, even if all the dharmas of the mind faculty are explained to you, you still cannot contemplate and realize them. Once you have meditation and a certain level of wisdom, and then the dharmas of the mind faculty are taught to you, following the text and contemplating accordingly, you can quickly realize the mind faculty. After realizing the mind faculty, you can even observe some subtle characteristics of its nature; then the wisdom is truly remarkable. If meditation is lacking, even if all the various dharmas of the mind faculty's operation are explained to you, it is useless because without realizing the mind faculty, you cannot observe it, cannot truly understand its nature, wisdom cannot substantially increase, and in a different context, you won't know how the mind faculty operates.

Therefore, the enhancement of wisdom, the realization of the Bodhisattva path, and the various levels of contemplation cannot be achieved without sufficient and necessary concentration power. Separated from concentration power, wanting to have the wisdom of contemplation, true wisdom, is impossible. The Buddha taught us the "Threefold Training of Precepts (śīla), Concentration (samādhi), and Wisdom (prajñā)." We must never discard the precepts, discard concentration, and then only want dry wisdom or wild wisdom; this is almost like drawing a cake to satisfy hunger. Some people seem to know a lot about Buddhist knowledge and grand principles, seem to have wisdom, and can speak eloquently. But the content of their speech is only empty theory; they cannot explain specifically how to operate to actualize this principle, to make phenomena accord with this principle. It's all verbal descriptions on the level of general principles, very non-specific, very crude, indicating they have no realization and cannot explain the specifics of how to cultivate and realize. Especially, although they can speak eloquently, their mental conduct cannot change; it does not accord with what they say, and they have no experiential benefit of mental liberation.

If we do not diligently cultivate concentration, lacking concentration power, then increasingly profound dharmas, increasingly subtle dharmas, become impossible to understand, let alone contemplate. Practice gradually falls behind, and one will fall behind. Then one will lose confidence, turn to study other shallow dharmas, and those shallow dharmas have many errors and omissions. Without the ability to discern, one studies for a lifetime without realizing the Buddha Dharma, wasting one's precious time.

For the great liberation of body and mind, for realizing the Buddha Dharma, for attaining Buddhahood sooner, we must value meditative concentration. Without meditative concentration, when encountering crucial and important dharmas, one cannot understand or digest them, cannot realize them, cannot experience the supreme Buddha Dharma, and cannot rely on it to attain liberation. Therefore, I urge everyone to seize time as much as possible, fully utilize existing conditions, even create conditions to cultivate concentration. Concentration in activity during walking, standing, sitting, and lying down, and seated meditation concentration in stillness – we must cultivate both, training our minds to be able to settle down at any time, training it to be even more subtle. Then, contemplating the dharmas one has studied becomes easy to realize. Afterwards, wisdom can arise, knowledge transforms into one's own experiential realization, bringing true benefit. Practicing like this, both concentration and wisdom can continuously increase and become complete. Practice is very rapid, no effort is wasted, and one can achieve the greatest accomplishment on the Buddha Path.