The Relationship between Contemplative Practice and Meditative Concentration

Meditative concentration (dhyāna) is śamatha, and contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā) is vipaśyanā; the two combined are called śamatha-vipaśyanā, also called the equal cultivation of Samādhi and Prajñā. Meditative concentration and wise contemplative practice are mutually complementary: to realize any dharma, one must equally cultivate Samādhi and Prajñā and practice śamatha and vipaśyanā together—neither can be lacking. In the process of cultivating and realizing the Buddha-dharma, meditative concentration is the preliminary expedient method, and the role it plays is extremely important and indispensable. Otherwise, one's contemplation becomes chaotic and blind, without a main thread, and will not go deep; one remains stuck at the surface level of emotional thoughts and intellectual interpretations of the dharma, unable to contemplate the substantive dharma, unable to reach conclusions that accord with reality—and even if one does reach a conclusion, it is merely intellectual interpretation, not something obtained through observation as it truly is and realized through direct perception.

When the World-Honored One first taught his disciples to realize the fruits of the Small Vehicle, he always taught theory on the one hand and meditative concentration on the other, letting the disciples equally cultivate Samādhi and Prajñā without leaning to either side, while the disciples practiced meditative concentration and at the same time contemplated and deliberated. Practicing in this way was very effective: afflictions were effectively subdued, and their thinking was also meticulous, so before long they realized the fruits of the Small Vehicle. Among the dharmas the World-Honored One taught in which meditative concentration and contemplative practice proceeded in step were the Sūtra on the Four Foundations of Mindfulness, the Zuochan Sanmei Jing (Sūtra on Sitting Chan and Meditative Absorption), the Chanfa Miyao Jing (Secret Keys to Chan Practice), and so on. Only after afflictions and scattered thoughts have been subdued through meditative concentration can contemplative practice get on the right track, can one contemplate in accordance with the truth and as things really are, can the mind-ground be transformed, and only after the thirty-seven factors of the path are complete can one realize the fruits. If one does not cultivate meditative concentration and lacks the merit of meditative concentration, the thirty-seven factors of the path and the Noble Eightfold Path cannot be fulfilled; afflictions remain heavy, the mind-ground remains impure, and neither body, mind, nor world is transformed—then the causes and conditions for realizing the Path are not complete.

Why did the non-Buddhist practitioners who met the Buddha realize the fruits so quickly, attaining the fourth fruit in an instant? The reason is that they already had the realization of meditative concentration, their afflictions had all been subdued, their mind-ground was pure, and their mind of renunciation was very strong; they lacked only the correct dharma meaning. As soon as the Buddha taught the dharma, it entered their hearts, and in an instant their minds opened and they understood, attaining the pure dharma eye and gaining liberation—just that fast. Therefore no one has any excuse not to cultivate meditative concentration, harboring a lucky mentality and hoping to obtain a fruit without effort. In the Buddhist community there really is no such cheap bargain; where one gains a bargain, one often loses a bargain. Great Vehicle bodhisattvas also need considerable meditative concentration to realize the dharma, and the meditative concentration they cultivate is all built on the foundation of meditative concentration laid in this life and past lives while practicing the Small Vehicle. In terms of meditative concentration, the Great and Small Vehicles do not differ much; the cultivation of foundational meditative concentration is the same.

Meditative concentration is the preliminary expedient for subduing afflictions. Subduing afflictions is similar to suppressing them; it is not eradicating or completely eliminating them. Only first dhyāna combined with the wisdom of eradicating the view of self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi-prahāṇa) can eradicate afflictions, and even completely eliminate them. One must first subdue and suppress afflictions, not producing evil and generating goodness, in order to eradicate the view of self; then one cultivates concentration more deeply, and with first dhyāna one can eradicate afflictions and become a third-fruit person liberated in mind. Only third- and fourth-fruit persons who have eradicated afflictions can be called noble ones. In Buddhism, fruits have always been realized through the equal cultivation of Samādhi and Prajñā, afflictions severed through the equal cultivation of Samādhi and Prajñā, and liberation attained through the equal cultivation of Samādhi and Prajñā. If afflictions are too heavy and scattered thoughts too many, one cannot cultivate meditative concentration, and contemplative practice is even more disorderly; but one can contemplate the suffering of the world and so on. Once the mind has settled down, one should cultivate concentration, and then contemplate. During contemplative practice, the power of concentration grows; as the power of concentration grows, contemplative practice goes deeper—meditative concentration and wisdom are mutually complementary.