Cultivation Requires Equal Emphasis on Samadhi and Prajna

Do not cling to states nor obliterate states; this is the method for cultivating concentration, to be applied during meditation. When the power of concentration is fully developed and the time for contemplative practice arrives, one must engage in contemplation within the state. Cultivation requires first establishing concentration, then developing wisdom to contemplate the Dharma. Only through the balanced cultivation of concentration and wisdom can one realize the Dharma. Without sufficient concentration, any attempt at contemplative practice will yield no accomplishment. At best, one may attain intellectual understanding, yet such understanding is like scratching an itch through a boot, or distant water failing to quench immediate thirst—for intellectual understanding remains unassimilated, the mental faculty remains obscured by ignorance, and thus it brings no actual benefit.