Cultivation of Concentration and Chan Meditation for Realization of the Way (Part 1)
Section Two: Meditative Absorption (Samādhi) and Right Reception
1. What Is Meditative Absorption (Samādhi)?
Samādhi is an Indian word meaning meditative concentration. Within samādhi there are states of meditative concentration, and also states of wisdom at varying degrees. If wisdom is not deep, samādhi is primarily a state of concentration; if wisdom is very deep, it is a state of the equal cultivation of samādhi and prajñā. The various levels of recollection-of-the-Buddha samādhi differ. Recollection-of-the-Buddha samādhi that is primarily concentration is entered by orally reciting the Buddha's name; one can recite the Buddha's name whether walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, 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 in the ears, audible even without wanting to listen, unbroken and continuous. Recollection-of-the-Buddha samādhi of the equal cultivation of samādhi and prajñā realizes the patience with the non-arising of dharmas and the patience with the non-arising of the birthlessness of all dharmas. For example, in recollection of the Buddha by contemplating an image and recollection of the Buddha by contemplation, starting from orally reciting the Buddha's name and mentally reciting it, finally the subjectively imagined realm manifests, the concentration-born material form appears, the principle of non-arising is realized, and the self-nature Buddha is clearly understood.
After the contemplation of the skeleton and the contemplation of impurity are accomplished, that too is a samādhi state, the equal cultivation of samādhi and prajñā. Concentration is a one-pointed state of mind, at the level of the first dhyāna and above; wisdom is the realization of non-arising, knowing that the physical body is impure and that the five aggregates are without self; the fruit attained is the third or fourth fruit, and it is also the Hīnayāna emptiness samādhi, with the subjectively imagined realm manifesting and the concentration-born material form appearing. When the contemplation of the four foundations of mindfulness is accomplished, it is also the Hīnayāna emptiness samādhi, the equal cultivation of samādhi and prajñā, attaining the third or fourth fruit. Mahāyāna samādhi includes one, the accomplishment of recollection-of-the-Buddha samādhi, and another, the sixteen contemplations of the Contemplation Sūtra (on the Buddha of Immeasurable Life); both are the equal cultivation of samādhi and prajñā. Without concentration, the contemplative wisdom also cannot be accomplished.
In these samādhis, concentration often exceeds wisdom. In Mahāyāna Chan investigation, when one finally breaks through, one is also in 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 oneself are all the emptiness of the tathāgatagarbha; walking, standing, sitting, or lying down is like abiding within the tathāgatagarbha, without the self of the five aggregates.
When Hīnayāna contemplative practice and investigation eradicate the view of self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi), samādhi also manifests, 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 attained. After realizing the fruit, the mind abides in the emptiness samādhi of the five aggregates being without self, without the 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 matter as an enemy or opponent, and does not care about everything around oneself, because there is no self in the mind.
If one merely understands the Buddha's dharma intellectually, or has an intellectual awakening to the dharma, without any samādhi at all—no state of concentration, no feeling of emptiness, with the self still present in the mind and the mind of self not dead—then when encountering conditions and 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 mind of self suddenly pops out, and bodily, verbal, and mental actions are without restraint. Moreover, the mind consciousness's power of vigilant awareness is very limited; its intermittence is very severe and obvious—it always loses awareness and cannot maintain it. Even if the mind consciousness's power is very strong and can maintain awareness for a period of time, it will sooner or later lose it, especially at the time of death.
2. The Sequence of Cultivating Concentration
When cultivating concentration, shallow concentration cultivates the consciousness accompanied by the five senses (pañca-sahagata-mano-vijñāna); deep concentration must cultivate all the way to the solitary consciousness (mano-vijñāna-eka-citta). The general procedure for cultivating concentration is: first subduing the consciousness accompanied by the five senses, gradually deepening and shifting to the solitary consciousness, and then subduing the solitary consciousness. All profound meditative concentration is cultivated from the solitary consciousness; for example, the various contemplation methods in the sūtras all subdue the solitary consciousness. Throughout the entire process of cultivating concentration, from beginning to end, it is the manas that dominates and draws the arising and ceasing changes of the six consciousnesses. Although sometimes, and initially, it is the mind consciousness that draws the manas, using reasoning and explanation to persuade the manas not to indiscriminately grasp at objects, in the end it is still essentially the manas that determines whether the six consciousnesses' discernment exists or not and its degree, the manas that draws the six consciousnesses coming and going, and the manas that weakens and extinguishes the six consciousnesses.
Because the solitary consciousness arises under fewer limiting conditions and is not easily extinguished, it is far more active than the consciousness accompanied by the five senses and is not easy to subdue; but once subdued, meditative concentration comes easily. Once one can grasp and draw the solitary consciousness, there is a way to enter and exit concentration. Grasping and drawing the six consciousnesses are all done by the manas, so the manas must have the mental factor of desire (chanda); subduing the manas's desire, mobilizing the manas's desire, and drawing the manas's desire make meditative concentration easy. Therefore, cultivating concentration is still cultivating the manas, subduing the manas, and drawing the manas.
The sequence of cultivating concentration: subdue the five sense consciousnesses until only one of the five sense consciousnesses remains—this is called one-pointedness. Then even that one sense consciousness must be weakened, allowing the functions of the consciousness accompanied by the five senses to strengthen. Afterward, shift the functions of the consciousness accompanied by the five senses to the solitary consciousness, then weaken the consciousness accompanied by the five senses and strengthen the solitary consciousness. After that, let the solitary consciousness become focused, unified, and deep.
In even deeper concentration, weaken the solitary consciousness and finally extinguish it. If the solitary consciousness is too strong, it also hinders meditative concentration, especially deep meditative concentration. For example, if one always needs to deliberate on dharma meanings, if there must always be thoughts in the mind, if thoughts cannot cease and must keep shifting, then deep meditative concentration is very hard to maintain.
From the principle of cultivating concentration, the manas must correspond to the mental factor of concentration (samādhi). Concentration means concentrating the manas; concentrating the six consciousnesses is useless and cannot hold the six consciousnesses—the child will inevitably follow the mother; concentrate the mother, and the child is concentrated at the same time. In looking at things, one cannot look only at surface phenomena; one must penetrate deeply into the essence and ultimate point of the matter. If one cannot observe the manas's operations, one also cannot observe the deeper essence; one can only stay on the surface of things, observing some false appearances, and in this way no wisdom will arise.
3. Samādhi Is Accomplished by the Manas
All samādhis, whether primarily states of concentration or the equal cultivation of samādhi and prajñā, are the result of the manas's accomplishment. Only by concentrating the manas so that it is not scattered and does not grasp at objects everywhere can there be a state of concentration; only then does the manas have enough energy to deliberate (manasikāra) on the dharmas brought over by the mind consciousness, and only then can it clearly understand the fundamental meaning and substantive content of the dharma; samādhi will necessarily appear—this is called realization.
Whether it is the sun contemplation in the Contemplation Sūtra, the skeleton contemplation, or any other contemplative practice, when it is finally accomplished, without the mind consciousness's attention, that image will manifest whether the eyes are open or closed; of course, if the mind consciousness gives attention, the image will be even clearer. So-called accomplishment means it appears naturally—that is called samādhi. If it cannot appear naturally and must appear only through the mind consciousness's attention, that does not count as accomplishment and is not samādhi.
So-called samādhi is a very deep state of concentration, but this does not exclude the simultaneous presence of a state of wisdom; the organic combination of wisdom and meditative concentration is called samādhi—lacking either one, it is not samādhi. In such samādhi there is already fairly deep meditative concentration, and the manas must have been trained to maturity; once the manas is trained to maturity, it can operate at every moment, and the mind can manifest this image at every moment.
If the power of concentration has not been cultivated to accomplishment, samādhi has not been accomplished; the manas has not been successfully permeated—it is only that the mind consciousness is relatively skilled. When the mind consciousness is skilled and gives attention, it draws the manas; only then can the manas give attention, and afterward the state manifests. Such a state is not skilled but intermittent; such power of concentration is insufficient, and therefore it cannot be called samādhi.
4. The State of Body and Mind When Realizing the Dharma
Samādhi and right reception are states of body and mind in which samādhi and prajñā are equally cultivated. When a person encounters a dharma meaning and, after deeply deliberating and investigating it with an engaged mind, suddenly the mind corresponds with the dharma meaning, deeply understanding its content, realizing the profound meaning that the dharma points to, wisdom wells forth, and the mind feels indescribable joy. Thereafter, body and mind are tranquil and at ease; whether moving, standing, sitting, or lying down is like abiding in empty space, like entering an uninhabited realm; the mind is open, vast, and tranquil; thought is profound and the mind is quick. The qi channels surge up into the chest and shoulders; the back is upright, the chest open, the shoulders settled, the body light as a swallow.
The mind is empty and vacant, corresponding with emptiness, corresponding with no-self, corresponding with the absence of the four marks; everything seen is felt to be illusory and unreal; thought is deep and one-pointed, subtle and clear. The mind has continuous joy, peaceful and serene, no longer with complicated deluded thoughts and floating notions; there is no past, no future, and even the present is not real—the three times are freed into emptiness, and even emptiness does not abide. The mind is broad and kind, tolerant and magnanimous, not contending over others' faults, not reckoning wholesome and unwholesome, true and false, good and bad (kuśala-akuśala, satya-mithyā, śubha-aśubha), not attached to form, sound, smell, taste, touch, or dharmas; before the five desires one is like a walking corpse; the eight winds cannot move one, as if sitting on a mountain of jewels.
Concentration and wisdom nourish each other equally, without leaning to either side; lacking either one, it is not samādhi; if the two are imbalanced, it is not right reception. The equal cultivation of samādhi and prajñā is true samādhi and also true reception.
5. The Difference Between States of Concentration and Samādhi
Buddhist samādhis are of two kinds: one is only a state of concentration, common to worldly non-Buddhist concentration; the other has not only a state of concentration but also a state of wisdom. Those with a state of wisdom are not common to worldly non-Buddhist meditative concentration.
The first kind, the concentration-state samādhi, has three types, called the three samādhis, including: the samādhi with initial application and sustained examination (vitarka-vicāra) (below the first dhyāna), the samādhi with initial application but without sustained examination (between the first and second dhyānas), and the samādhi without initial application or sustained examination (above the second dhyāna).
The three samādhis are merely gathering the mind and have nothing to do with wisdom. Samādhis with contemplation and contemplative practice can give rise to wisdom and are true samādhis, including the contemplative wisdom of the Mahāyāna and Hīnayāna. For example, in recollection of the Buddha by contemplating an image, when the samādhi is accomplished, one can see the mind and see the nature; when recollection-of-the-Buddha samādhi is accomplished, one can see the mind and see the nature; when the samādhi of contemplating the five aggregates is accomplished, one can obtain the pure dharma eye; when the skeleton-contemplation samādhi is accomplished, one can eradicate the view of self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi-prahāṇa) and realize the first through fourth fruits; when the samādhi of the contemplation of the four foundations of mindfulness is accomplished, one can realize the first through fourth fruits; when the seventh contemplation of the Contemplation Sūtra is accomplished, one can see the mind and attain enlightenment; the samādhi accomplished through the pratyutpanna-samādhi—standing before the Buddhas of the ten directions—has a wisdom state of seeing the mind and enlightenment. In the pratyutpanna-samādhi, one recites the Buddha's name for ninety days without sitting or lying down, only walking and standing, without sleeping. When the recollection-of-the-Buddha samādhi is accomplished at ninety days, standing before the Buddhas of the ten directions, one sees the Buddha—the Tathāgata; this is the state of enlightenment.
All samādhis are the combination of states of concentration and wisdom; lacking either one, it is not samādhi in the true sense. But some states of concentration have no wisdom and can only be called states of concentration; some states of concentration have wisdom, containing wisdom—these are called samādhi. The scope and content of states of concentration are relatively shallow and narrow, while the content of samādhi is relatively deep and broad; therefore samādhi necessarily includes a state of concentration—without a state of concentration it is not called samādhi, and without wisdom it is also not called samādhi. Realizations of fruits at all levels are samādhis; therefore samādhi must include both meditative concentration and wisdom.
6. All States of Concentration in Samādhi Are Subjectively Imagined Realms
When recollection-of-the-Buddha samādhi is accomplished, the Buddhas of the ten directions stand before one; the eye consciousness sees them with perfect clarity, yet others cannot see them—what kind of state is this? After the skeleton contemplation is accomplished, one sees everyone as interconnected white skeletons, very distinctly, yet others cannot see them—what kind of state is this? In the Contemplation Sūtra, after the first contemplation, the sun contemplation, is accomplished, with eyes open or closed, the setting sun appears like a suspended drum before one and in the mind, yet others cannot see it—what kind of state is this? After each of the sixteen contemplations is accomplished, a corresponding state appears, seen by the eye consciousness, yet others cannot see it—what kind of state is this?
Stars flash before the eyes, specks dancing before one's eyes, yet others cannot see them—what kind of state is this? A mirage can be seen by everyone—what kind of form is that? For example, with stars flashing before the eyes, can the eyes see golden stars and black stars? The white bones of the skeleton contemplation, the bright red color of the setting sun, and so on—what is going on here? The eye consciousness sees colors: red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, purple, black, and white. What is seen with the eye consciousness's participation cannot be a subjectively imagined realm; but the forms seen in any meditative concentration are all seen by the solitary consciousness, without the eye consciousness. The colors that manifest in memory and the colors seen in dreams are all seen by the solitary consciousness, not by the eye consciousness—there is no eye consciousness here.
7. Samādhi of the Equal Cultivation of Samādhi and Prajñā Requires at Least Preparatory Concentration
True samādhi is the equal cultivation of samādhi and prajñā, with both concentration and wisdom; it is a state after actual realization. Different methods of practice, different levels, different depths of meditative concentration, and different contemplative wisdom result in different accomplished samādhis. Any meditative concentration that requires contemplative wisdom must have preparatory concentration (anāgamya-samādhi) or first-dhyāna concentration; contemplative practice is most effective within first-dhyāna concentration; without first-dhyāna concentration, the more complete the preparatory concentration, the better—the closer to first-dhyāna concentration, the better. Without preparatory concentration, contemplative practice is impossible; the mind is very coarse and superficial and cannot observe any dharma; if preparatory concentration is insufficient, contemplative practice is also ineffective.
In concentration of the second dhyāna and above, the mind consciousness has no thoughts and cannot engage in contemplative practice and deliberation; one must emerge from meditative concentration to rely on the mind consciousness for contemplative practice and deliberation. The higher the meditative concentration, the better the power of concentration after emerging from it, and the more subtle, deep, and thorough the contemplative deliberation. Unless the mind consciousness has already transmitted the dharma of contemplative practice to the manas, and the manas wants to understand it clearly—in meditative concentration of the second dhyāna and above, the manas can then deliberate and investigate alone, without interference. All the Buddhas awakened within fourth-dhyāna concentration; perhaps it was the manas that awakened independently, with the mind consciousness playing little role.
With complete meditative concentration and having learned contemplative practice, many practitioners can then have a point of entry and can realize any kind of dharma. This is a very important method and route of practice, and also the bottleneck that modern Buddhist students find hard to break through. After the mind consciousness understands the Buddha's dharma, it can deeply contemplate and verify it; the dharma meaning is with the manas, ensuring that the manas deliberates on the dharma meaning and points of doubt; only after deliberating through to clarity can there be full confirmation, and only then is there no doubt about the dharma—that state of mind is very relaxed and joyful; liberation is just like that.
8. How to Accomplish Samādhi?
So-called samādhi is the state in which concentration and wisdom are perfectly combined. The Sūtra on the Samādhi of Sitting in Meditation (Zuochan Sanmei Jing) introduces several methods of cultivating samādhi, among them the method of accomplishing recollection-of-the-Buddha samādhi through recollection of the Buddha by contemplating an image. When practicing recollection of the Buddha by contemplating an image, with body and mind upright, single-mindedly focused, not engaging other dharmas, one single-mindedly contemplates the Buddha image before one. In contemplating the image, meditative concentration is complete, precepts are complete, and contemplative wisdom is complete—precepts, concentration, and wisdom are all complete—and finally the samādhi of recollection of the Buddha by contemplating an image is accomplished, the equal cultivation of samādhi and prajñā. The cultivation of the other samādhis is likewise accomplished only with precepts, concentration, and wisdom all complete; if the precepts are not complete, the mind is scattered and the inner mind agitated, and concentration will not be complete; if concentration is not complete, contemplative wisdom cannot arise; if contemplative wisdom is insufficient, samādhi cannot be born.
The Śūraṅgama Sūtra introduces the various samādhi states cultivated by the twenty-five sages, all with precepts, concentration, and wisdom complete; in profound meditative concentration, deeply and subtly deliberating and investigating, they accomplished profound samādhi and obtained vast wisdom. Attaining a samādhi state cannot be separated from profound meditative concentration, nor from the contemplative wisdom of the sixth and seventh consciousnesses; the role the manas plays in this is far greater than that of the mind consciousness; therefore, when profound samādhi is realized, great supernatural powers manifest.
In the Avataṃsaka Sūtra, in Sudhana's fifty-three visits, each teacher he visited taught him a method of cultivating samādhi, and he cultivated each one deeply and subtly in concentration; each time he accomplished a samādhi, his wisdom increased, ascending a step, until finally his wisdom reached that of a bodhisattva of equanimity (samatā-maṇi). Therefore precepts, concentration, and wisdom are the preparatory means; concentration is the intermediate link; contemplative wisdom is the bridge; samādhi is the fruit of the Path. The fifty-three teachers taught Sudhana fifty-three dharmas, and Sudhana diligently cultivated them all; his progress on the Path advanced by leaps and bounds, surpassing the cultivation time of other bodhisattvas by two or three incalculable eons—his practice was truly miraculously swift. Why so fast? His power of vows was vast and profound, he honored his teachers and revered the Way, his meditative concentration was profound, his wisdom deep and sharp, and his diligence incomparable; therefore he could accomplish all samādhis.
9. Śamatha and Vipaśyanā Are Concentration and Wisdom
Śamatha is concentration; vipaśyanā is wisdom; practice means the joint operation of śamatha and vipaśyanā, the equal cultivation of samādhi and prajñā. Śamatha is holding the mind on one state, adhering to one dharma without wavering; vipaśyanā is contemplative practice, deliberation, investigation, and reflection on the one dharma adhered to. Śamatha and vipaśyanā are connected and interlinked: without śamatha, one cannot contemplate; without contemplative practice, wisdom cannot arise; while contemplating, concentration can also arise and śamatha can also be obtained—the two complement each other. Without wisdom, there can be no concentration; without concentration, wisdom cannot arise.
When there is wisdom, one has discernment regarding dharmas, can abandon unnecessary worldly dharmas, can exclude the interference of other miscellaneous matters that are temporarily useless, and can choose the most important things to do. Once discernment is made, the mind can come to rest in one place. Wisdom is the result of the mind consciousness, through deep and subtle deliberation, being able to understand principles, and in the process of deep and subtle deliberation, further permeating and persuading the manas.
Whether śamatha or vipaśyanā, both involve the cultivation of the seven consciousnesses: letting the seven consciousnesses focus on one state, then letting the mind consciousness discriminate only one object, with concentrated energy and an undistracted mind, one can deliberate a problem thoroughly and understand the hidden principles within, thereby obtaining the wisdom of the Buddha's dharma. Contemplative wisdom giving rise to concentration is the result of the mind consciousness, after understanding the principles, further permeating the manas and persuading the manas not to be attached to worldly dharmas, thereby avoiding the mind consciousness's distraction.
Whether śamatha or vipaśyanā, both involve working on the seven consciousnesses: letting the seven consciousnesses focus on one state, letting the mind consciousness discriminate only one object, with concentrated energy, so that deliberation can be thorough, thereby understanding the true content within and obtaining true wisdom. Although the seventh consciousness cannot adhere to only one state, He can nevertheless reduce grasping, lessening attention and deliberation, and can also gradually tend toward concentration; only then does the mind consciousness have concentration and can obtain śamatha; otherwise, with the manas grasping everywhere, the mind consciousness can in no way come to rest in one place.
Concentration is the foundation and prerequisite for enlightenment. Among the bodhisattva's six perfections and the bodhisattva's three unconditioned studies, concentration is one of them—this shows the importance of cultivating concentration. Without power of concentration, contemplative practice is impossible; if the power of concentration is shallow, contemplative practice cannot go deep, nor can it be fine-grained, and wisdom cannot be developed. If one can cultivate the highest concentration of the desire realm—preparatory concentration (anāgamya-samādhi)—contemplative practice becomes effective; it is a concentration prior to the first dhyāna of the form realm. With this concentration, when investigating Chan, or investigating a dharma meaning, or contemplating the unreality of the five aggregates, the mind can be one-pointed, and the deliberation both profound and very fine-grained; only thus can the dharma principles be deliberated through thoroughly, and only then is there the possibility of breaking through and enlightenment. Because the result and purpose of practice is to develop wisdom; only with wisdom can one escape the cycle of birth and death and attain liberation; only with wisdom can one accomplish the Buddha Way. Awakening to the Way and opening wisdom is more precious and more important than all kinds of states of concentration; if one has only power of concentration without the wisdom of liberation, at most one can ascend to heaven to enjoy blessings, but when the merit is exhausted one must still descend into the three evil destinies to suffer. Therefore one must equally cultivate samādhi and prajñā and not cultivate one to the exclusion of the other.
With the joint operation of śamatha and vipaśyanā and the equal cultivation of samādhi and prajñā, studying Buddhism will surely bear fruit. One with wisdom but without concentration has wild wisdom; one with wild wisdom does not necessarily have virtue, and one's views are not necessarily true and reliable, since afflictions after all cannot be subdued—therefore it is said one does not necessarily have virtue. One with concentration but without wisdom clings to foolishness; the obstinate and uncomprehending have no Way. One with both concentration and wisdom will surely realize liberation and obtain genuine dharma benefit—such a one is a great person within the Buddha's dharma.
