Cultivation of Concentration and Chan Meditation for Realization of the Way (Part 1)
Chapter One Specific Methods for Cultivating Meditative Concentration
Section One The Method of Entering Meditative Concentration through Recollection of the Buddha (buddhānusmṛti)
1. The Breath-Based Recollection of the Buddha Method
A method of reciting the Buddha's name while sitting in meditation, regulating the breath to expel illness, clearing away distracting thoughts, and swiftly attaining meditative concentration.
Step one: First exhale through the mouth, expelling the turbid air from the chest cavity and lungs. Exhale as completely as possible, leaving nothing behind, until no more air can be exhaled. At this point the belly is flat, because the air has been fully expelled.
Step two: After the air has been fully exhaled, pause for a short while, then inhale through the nose—do not inhale through the mouth, as inhaling through the mouth easily draws in cold air, causing abdominal and stomach bloating. While inhaling, let the air travel downward all the way to the dantian in the lower abdomen, and pause there; then, while exhaling, recite the two syllables "A-mi" with the mouth. Use nasal resonance and throat resonance—the heavier the nasal and throat resonance, the better—and prolong the sound in coordination with the exhalation. In this way the sound vibrates the entire chest cavity, which can open up the channels of the chest, get the qi channels flowing, thereby expelling diseased qi and also reducing wandering thoughts. When the air is fully exhaled, the sound stops at the same time. The vibration of the sound stream can expel obstructions within the body and drive out diseased qi, allowing the qi channels to flow freely; the interior of the body can then be adjusted, and the body becomes healthy.
Step three: After the air has been fully exhaled, pause briefly, then inhale through the nose. The inhaled air slowly and gently enters the lungs through the nasal cavity, then travels downward, reaching the dantian in the abdomen as far as possible. The deeper this breath descends, the better—descending to the dantian or even lower, it may be expelled from any point below the dantian. Those who have practiced to proficiency can contemplate the qi exiting through the soles of the feet. In this way the channel through which the air travels can be very long, and the places the air passes through can open up the Conception Vessel and the qi channels of the legs. This also relies partly on the power of one's own intention; in fact, the air may not actually reach that far.
Step four: After inhaling fully through the nose, pause for a moment, then switch to exhaling through the mouth. While exhaling, recite the two syllables "tuo-fo." The air must be fully exhaled; at this point the belly is flat, because there is no air left in the abdomen. After this breath is exhaled, those whose health is poor may breathe normally once or twice in between—just regulate the body's breathing well so as not to become fatigued.
Step five: After the previous breath has been exhaled, hold the breath briefly with a slight pause, then inhale through the nose again. After inhaling fully, recite "A-mi," then slowly release this breath. When reciting the Buddha's name, the longer the duration the better, and the slower the better, letting the nasal sound stream vibrate the five organs and six viscera of the body; in this way diseased qi can be expelled and the qi channels opened. When exhaling while reciting "tuo-fo," the air passes through or surges into the chest cavity, and the entire chest feels as if it is expanding, with an empty, spacious sensation that is very comfortable; one's mental capacity opens up and afflictions lessen. Then the air surges up to the two shoulders, which also feel very comfortable; the shoulders naturally droop and stretch out, drawing back toward the spine, no longer hunched—thus the qi flows smoothly. Finally the air is exhaled through the mouth; when exhaling, exhale completely, leaving no residual air.
Step six: Breathing back and forth like this a few times is enough—at most ten times—and the body will be regulated and the mind will calm down, accompanied by a feeling of mental clarity and refreshment. When the qi travels to the dantian, there is a sensation in the lower abdomen, a feeling of contraction, followed by a feeling of comfort; the body also grows warm. At this point one no longer feels like talking, wandering thoughts diminish, and thinking about things feels very tiring, so one no longer wishes to indulge in discursive thoughts. When the breath is exhaled and passes through the chest, the chest feels very relaxed and pleasant, as if the chest has opened up; one's mental capacity gradually expands, and one's state of mind improves.
Step seven: When the qi travels to the shoulders, the two shoulders naturally sink down; once the shoulders sink, the whole body relaxes, the mind also settles down, and meditative concentration can be attained. After attaining concentration, the sound of reciting the Buddha's name can no longer be produced—uttering a sound feels tiring. At this point one may switch to reciting the Buddha's name in the mind, or change to other methods of cultivating concentration, or investigate Chan, or contemplate some principle of the Buddha-dharma. If the power of concentration grows stronger still, and even mental recitation of the Buddha's name cannot be produced, then switch to mindfulness of the Buddha or investigating Chan, or contemplating the Buddha-dharma.
Step eight: After several rounds of breath-based recollection of the Buddha, one can feel the dantian in the abdomen contracting tightly. As soon as the qi arrives there, wandering thoughts vanish; the shoulders and both arms feel extremely comfortable, the shoulders sink down, and the head also has sensations, as if wrapped and drawn by the qi. Body and mind are unwilling to move; both become calm, stable, and relaxed—that is attaining concentration. Wandering thoughts disappear and no longer appear, and the mind abides in this state of tranquility.
Step nine: This method of reciting the Buddha's name is for temporary use and is not suitable for long-term use; each session should not be too long—half an hour at most, or ten minutes or a few minutes is fine. Attaining concentration is extremely fast, and dispelling afflictions and wandering thoughts is also very fast. If the body is of a cold nature, then when the qi reaches the dantian one can feel the body becoming warmly suffused, and the body gradually softens, no longer stiff. With the impact and vibration of the sound stream through the lungs, diseased qi can also slowly be expelled; once the channels are opened, the body's cold qi and qi of disease-obstructions can be expelled.
Step ten: One point to note: do not inhale through the mouth. Otherwise cold air is drawn into the mouth and stomach, the stomach easily becomes bloated, the body feels unwell, and body and mind instead fail to attain tranquility (praśama). Inhale through the nose; when exhaling, use the mouth to expel the waste air. When the sound of reciting the Buddha's name can no longer be produced, this is the most preliminary stage of concentration; building on this foundation to cultivate concentration further, it comes quickly, and the duration of concentration can also be longer. When the five organs and six viscera all feel warmly suffused with heat, one no longer wishes to speak and no longer produces wandering thoughts. Using this method to dispel afflictions is especially fast; the mind feels especially relaxed and pleasant, the mood is good, thoughts of hatred no longer arise, one no longer bears grudges against others, and one's mental capacity can also open up.
2. Attaining Meditative Concentration through Recollection of the Buddha
When we first begin reciting the Buddha's name, because the mind is scattered and the power of concentration insufficient, we must recite aloud. When the mouth produces sound, it does not prevent the mind from chasing after random thoughts; even if the consciousness is very scattered, one can still recite the Buddha's name out of habit—the mental recitation need not be unified, does not require concentration, and does not require focus. This is what is meant by "the mouth recites while the mind is scattered." When reciting aloud, the ear consciousness and the mind consciousness listen together, and the manas also attends to the act of reciting the Buddha's name. If, although the mouth is reciting, the manas still chases after objects everywhere and the mind consciousness still thinks wildly, then there is basically no concentration to speak of.
After a period of reciting the Buddha's name, when one has gained a little power of concentration, the manas can be tethered somewhat, and the mind consciousness's wandering thoughts also diminish somewhat. When the power of concentration is better still, reciting aloud feels tiring and superfluous, and one can recite without voicing it aloud—silent recitation feels more comfortable and effective. When reciting the Buddha's name in the mind, at first the mind should recite and the mind should listen: the mind consciousness must focus intently on listening to the inner sound of reciting the Buddha's name, leaving no spare energy for wandering thoughts; the manas also has no energy or inclination to chase after other matters, and the mind stabilizes, no longer restless like a monkey. In this way the mind can focus, the power of concentration arises, and deeper dhyāna appears.
When the power of concentration in reciting the Buddha's name is better still, the mind no longer wants to recite—mental recitation feels tiring, and one constantly wants to let go of the thought. At this point one should extinguish the mental sound of reciting the Buddha's name and switch to mindfulness of the Buddha—keeping the Buddha in mind—or enter concentration. One must be mindful of the Buddha at every moment; in doing everything one should keep the Buddha in mind, the mind not apart from the Buddha, the Buddha not apart from the mind. Such power of concentration is quite excellent and can reach preparatory concentration (anāgamya-samādhi). Using such power of concentration to investigate and seek out the true suchness that is the eighth consciousness, when the conditions of the season ripen, one can quickly realize the eighth consciousness, thereby seeing the mind and attaining enlightenment.
3. Subduing Wandering Thoughts through Focused Recollection of the Buddha
When we recite "Amitābha" (A-mi-tuo-fo), those four characters are four wandering thoughts; we can divide the four characters into two parts, turning them into two wandering thoughts: "A-mi" is one part, "tuo-fo" is the other. The two characters "A-mi" should be recited connected together, counted as one syllable; the two characters "tuo-fo" should also be recited connected together, also counted as one syllable. Between these two syllables, the time can be stretched out, with a long interval, until wandering thoughts appear before reciting the other syllable. In this way wandering thoughts cannot easily slip in. When you recite the first syllable, the entire mind must be highly focused, waiting to hear the next syllable. Because the mind is so focused, you have no energy for wandering thoughts; in this way wandering thoughts are subdued very quickly, and attaining the skill of single-minded recitation of the Buddha's name is not difficult.
In fact, there are many methods for subduing wandering thoughts, and practitioners need to experientially understand them according to their own practice methods. As long as we can grasp the key point—keeping the mind single-pointedly on reciting the Buddha's name, single-pointedly on reciting mantras, single-pointedly on memorizing sutras—then wandering thoughts are not a problem; whether they exist or not doesn't matter, for wandering thoughts cannot obstruct our practice. As long as we focus single-mindedly on right mindfulness and pay no attention to wandering thoughts, they will lose interest and automatically disappear.
4. Attaining Concentration by Reciting the Buddha's Name Deep within the Mind
To attain concentration in reciting the Buddha's name, one must go deep into the mind. Our mind consciousness is sometimes as scattered as a monkey, able to reach any state; the manas even more so chases after objects everywhere, refusing to stop. In order to tether these two mental consciousnesses—the manas and the mind consciousness—one must learn to recite the Buddha's name slowly; the slower the recitation, the slower the mind moves, and only then can it finally stop. While the mind recites the Buddha's name, at the same time listen with the mind to the inner sound of the recitation; then the mind consciousness can be tethered, and the manas will have no way to chase after other mental sense-objects. In this way the mind focuses on the single state of reciting the Buddha's name, can reach single-mindedness, and the power of concentration naturally becomes good.
If practice can reach the manas, all problems can be solved. Starting practice from the manas is the fastest and most direct. For from the principles of cultivating concentration we can also know: 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 focus constitute concentration in motion, and also include concentration in stillness. When the dharmas the mind perceives become fewer and fewer, lighter and lighter, even disappearing—this is concentration in stillness, and one can enter deeper states of concentration. Before awakening to the Path, do not expend too much energy cultivating this kind of deep, thought-free concentration.
5. Focused Listening to the Inner Sound of Reciting the Buddha's Name Makes Attaining Concentration Easy
When cultivating concentration, listening to external sounds to enter concentration is not as fast or as deep as listening to the sounds within one's own mind. Because external sounds cannot easily tether the manas and make it focus on the sound, the manas will still chase after the other sense objects among the six, and the mind consciousness will be distracted by those other six sense objects; thus the mind consciousness becomes scattered and cannot easily settle. If the mind can recite the Śūraṅgama mantra or recite the Buddha's name, and let the mind also focus on listening, tethering the manas tightly so that it attends only to the sound of the mantra or the sound of the Buddha's name, then the mind can focus on a single object and gradually settle into concentration.
Throughout the twenty-four hours of the day, if the mind constantly recites the mantra without entertaining other thoughts, the mind consciousness can be transformed, no longer chasing after worldly things, and both body and mind attain lightness and ease. Moreover, reciting mantras and reciting the Buddha's name rely not only on one's own power but also on the Buddha's power of blessing. One's own power is weak, only because of drifting through birth and death for beginningless kalpas, with the mind deeply stained by worldly dharmas, making it hard to suddenly extricate oneself from the worldly; one must rely on the blessing power of the Buddha and the Dharma-protecting deities. The blessing power of reciting the Śūraṅgama mantra is even greater; it can make one's practice diligent, and one's power of concentration can also improve quickly.
In the course of practice, one must at all times and places find ways to counteract one's own various unwholesome mental activities, not letting various unwholesome mental activities move about freely at the mind's whim. The most important thing is to tether the manas, not letting Him chase after the six sense objects everywhere; in this way the mind consciousness can be gathered and focused, contemplation can be fine, dense, and thorough, and wisdom can be born. Cultivating concentration must start from the manas; in this way one can concentrate deeply and enter concentration quickly. Contemplation works the same way: through deep contemplation, one can mobilize the mental power of the manas; not only will the principles be contemplated thoroughly, but one's mental activities can also be transformed. As long as the manas accepts a certain principle, one's bodily, verbal, and mental actions can change. Therefore, practice must not remain superficial, cultivating only the surface level of the mind consciousness—it must reach the manas. As long as one can perfume the manas, one can achieve twice the result with half the effort.
