The Method of Practicing Samāpatti in the Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment

若诸菩萨。唯观如幻。以佛力故。变化世界。种种作用。备行菩萨。清净妙行。于陀罗尼。不失寂念。及诸静慧。此菩萨者。名单修三摩钵提。

The second method of practice is samādhi (sanmopoti), which is contemplative wisdom, the contemplation of illusion. Do not assume that whenever contemplation is mentioned it refers to the contemplation of the mind consciousness. Here it is entirely the contemplation of the manas. Only when the manas' contemplation produces results does the illusion-like realm appear; the mind consciousness is utterly powerless, because the mind consciousness cannot be the master at all—its power is far too small. For example, transforming and manifesting the bodies of all Buddhas, manifesting the trichiliocosm, manifesting fish, rice, meat, and mountains, manifesting various kinds of sentient beings, manifesting realms of karmic retribution. These illusory manifestations are, of course, the result of the manas' mental engagement (manaskāra) and choice, manifested by the tathāgatagarbha from within its own mind, relying on the conditions of meritorious wholesome karma and on seeds, using the seven great seeds. The tathāgatagarbha plays the role of a magician, and all dharmas arise in dependence on it—arising from nothing, and what exists becomes non-existent.  

This requires the manas' power of mental engagement to be extremely strong, that is, the contemplative wisdom to be extremely strong; the power of merit and the power of meditative concentration must both be extremely strong; the five faculties—the faculty of faith, the faculty of vigor, the faculty of mindfulness, the faculty of concentration, and the faculty of wisdom—must be firm, and the five powers arising from them—the power of faith, the power of vigor, the power of mindfulness, the power of concentration, and the power of wisdom—must be flourishing; only then can the contemplation of illusion be accomplished. The great matter of accomplishing all dharmas is the result of the manas' mental engagement; the mind consciousness's mental engagement and power are weak. The higher one cultivates, the more prominent the manas' power becomes, while the mind consciousness's power becomes relatively weaker. Of course, all these accomplishments are the bodhisattva's pure and subtle practice. Whether it is the mind consciousness or the manas, only when the mind-ground is pure can such accomplishments occur; a defiled mind cannot accomplish them—a defiled mind accomplishes only the karmic afflictions of greed, hatred, and delusion.

The bodhisattva, with a pure mind, transforms and manifests worlds, contemplating in meditative concentration that worlds are like illusions—neither empty nor existent, both empty and existent, non-duality of emptiness and existence, and neither empty nor existent. Only with this power of wisdom can one transform and manifest worlds. If one contemplates worlds as not empty, it obstructs the power of the Path; if one contemplates worlds as empty and non-existent, then worlds cannot be accomplished. Only by dialectically contemplating the emptiness and existence of worlds can worlds be perfectly accomplished. In the process of contemplative wisdom, the bodhisattva's mind serenely recollects the general framework of the Buddha's Dharma—the dhāraṇī—and from this power of mindfulness arises the power of action and the power of choice; the tathāgatagarbha cooperates, and all dharmas of the world are accomplished. The tathāgatagarbha is the first transformative consciousness (parināma), the manas is the second, and the six consciousnesses are the third, with merit diminishing in sequence. The accomplishment of the contemplation of illusion is accomplished by the power of wisdom, and the power of wisdom is produced within profound meditative concentration—without concentration there is no wisdom, without tranquility there is no wisdom. A mind of tranquility is filled with the power of wisdom; only with power can the fruit of virtue be accomplished. This is the method of practice in which the bodhisattva cultivates contemplation alone, called samādhi (sanmopoti).  

In this contemplative practice, the manas' mental faculty of mindfulness and mental faculty of wisdom are highlighted, while the mental faculties of concentration, determination (adhimokṣa), and desire are implied; the operative power of the five object-specific mental faculties is extremely strong. Therefore, do not say that the manas lacks the five object-specific mental faculties. If the manas lacked the five object-specific mental faculties, it could not accomplish any dharmas—not even a single dharma could be accomplished—and the tathāgatagarbha would exist but be useless. Nor should one say that the manas' wisdom is inferior. If the manas' wisdom were always inferior, the contemplative wisdom of samādhi (sanmopoti) would have no power at all and could not accomplish the contemplation of illusion, manifesting the great thousand worlds and manifesting all dharmas. If someone says that samādhi (sanmopoti) is accomplished by the mind consciousness's five object-specific mental faculties, that person not only slanders the bodhisattvas but also slanders the Dharma—a considerable offense. One must proceed from facts and view the manas' functions realistically; only then can great wisdom be born. Both sentient beings and all Buddhas and bodhisattvas have the five object-specific mental faculties in their manas; the difference is that Buddhas and bodhisattvas skillfully employ the manas' five object-specific mental faculties, while sentient beings employ them unskillfully.  

I have said before that contemplating the physical body to eliminate illness and transform the body is the most preliminary samādhi (sanmopoti). It also relies on the manas' power of mindfulness and power of wisdom, never apart from the power of meditative concentration. Of course there is also the mind consciousness's contemplative wisdom and power of mindfulness, but ultimately it is accomplished by the manas, with the tathāgatagarbha merely cooperating. Visualizing the Buddha's image while practicing recollection of the Buddha (buddhānusmṛti), cultivating the method of accomplishing the Buddha-recollection samādhi—that too is a method of samādhi (sanmopoti), requiring good meditative concentration, great power of mindfulness, and deep power of wisdom. At the same time, there must be corresponding power of merit; without the support of merit, contemplative practice also cannot be accomplished.  

The sixteen contemplations of the Contemplation of the Buddha of Infinite Life Sutra and the contemplation of the white bones both belong to the methods of samādhi (sanmopoti), both relying on the manas' operative power, power of mindfulness, power of concentration, and power of wisdom. The mind consciousness plays an auxiliary role, but the mind consciousness is not the principal agent. No matter how the mind consciousness imagines the white bones, the white-bone contemplation will not appear; when there are no white bones before one's eyes, one contemplates the sun—no matter how the mind consciousness imagines the setting sun, the setting-sun contemplation will not appear. Therefore, for accomplishing all dharmas, the mind consciousness is powerless; it must assist the manas in order to accomplish all dharmas within meditative concentration.