Which Path Does Meditation Belong To

The Path is divided into the mundane path and the transcendental path. The mundane path is also called the external path, which lies outside the Buddha Dharma. It encompasses only the Four Dhyanas and Eight Samadhis, lacking the wisdom of liberation and failing to realize the fruit of liberation. The transcendental path is further divided into the Buddha Path, the Bodhisattva Path, the Pratyekabuddha Path, and the Śrāvaka Path. The Buddha Path and Bodhisattva Path are paths of liberation that combine the Four Dhyanas and Eight Samadhis with the Prajñā (Wisdom) and Vijñapti-mātratā (Consciousness-only) wisdom of Mahayana. The Pratyekabuddha Path is the path of liberation combining the Four Dhyanas and Eight Samadhis with the wisdom of the Twelve Links of Dependent Origination. The Śrāvaka Path is the path of liberation combining the Four Dhyanas and Eight Samadhis with the wisdom of the Four Noble Truths. All four paths have corresponding fruits of liberation. Even if the transcendental path only possesses the Four Dhyanas and Eight Samadhis but lacks liberating wisdom and cannot achieve liberation, it is still vastly superior to external paths that do not practice the Buddha Dharma. Possessing the Four Dhyanas and Eight Samadhis grants the Five Supernormal Powers. Compared to those without meditative concentration, one gains relative freedom in birth and death, temporarily mastering oneself within a certain scope, though beyond that scope, mastery is lost. In the long term, birth and death remain unfree, and one does not escape the Six Realms of Rebirth.

During the Tang Dynasty, the teacher of Zen Master Yunmen of the Yunmen school was called Muzhou. Monk Muzhou possessed supernormal powers. The emperor once invited Muzhou to become the National Teacher, but Muzhou, unwilling to be constrained by the emperor's side, insisted on living alone in the mountains to propagate the Dharma. He had many disciples under him, yet he never appointed a chief seat because he was dissatisfied with the disciples around him. He had his eye only on Yunmen, who at that time had not only not yet renounced household life but hadn't even been born. Thus, despite Muzhou guiding sentient beings for over ten years and dwelling in the mountains for nearly twenty years, he still did not appoint a chief seat, reserving the position for Yunmen. One day, he announced to the assembly of disciples: "My disciple Yunmen has just been born." His supernormal powers were considerable; he knew the moment Yunmen was born. When Yunmen grew to over ten years old and began herding cattle, Muzhou told the assembly, "My disciple Yunmen is now herding cattle."

When Yunmen reached adulthood, he began traveling to various monasteries to seek instruction. One day, Muzhou informed all his disciples: "My chief seat has arrived." At that time, Yunmen, still a layperson, approached from afar carrying his bundle. He had no supernormal powers nor meditative concentration yet. Muzhou went out to welcome him as the chief seat. Yunmen entered the monastery, received tonsure, and directly became the chief seat. Muzhou's character was such that he would rather go without than accept the subpar; he recognized only one disciple, looking down on all others, hence he did not appoint a chief seat. What is a chief seat? The chief seat is the foremost disciple of the presiding monk, the supervisor of all major and minor affairs in the monastery, including Dharma study, meditation, and all other monastery matters. Except for the master, he is the foremost.

During the Tang and Song dynasties, there were many Zen masters like Muzhou who possessed supernormal powers. Although some attained enlightenment, their spiritual attainments primarily manifested in possessing the Four Dhyanas. With the Four Dhyanas, one could attain relative freedom in birth and death within a certain scope, able to be reborn at will, usually into the human realm, choosing whichever family one wished, simply by informing the head of that household. Some could be born immediately the next day or within days after choosing rebirth. Those with great merit could seize the opportunity to be born early, avoiding the ten-month gestation period. One Zen master, wishing to prove his attainment, demonstrated freedom in birth and death by lighting an incense stick. Before the incense burned out, he had already departed for rebirth. Nevertheless, truly enlightened Zen masters would say: "Even if you possess the ability to depart at will, it does not mean you have true freedom in birth and death, because you have not attained enlightenment and cannot escape the Six Realms of Rebirth. In this life you may avoid wretched states, but in the next life you will not escape them."

Another Zen master, after developing supernormal powers, knew that a woman in the south had been pregnant for three years without giving birth, waiting for him to enter the womb and be born. His fellow practitioners repeatedly invited him to travel south. Finally, unable to refuse, he went along. Halfway there, by a river, he saw the pregnant woman washing clothes. Knowing he could no longer avoid it, he told his companion: "I cannot accompany you further, for I must go to be reborn. Nine years after my rebirth, you will come south and see a nine-year-old boy riding an ox and playing a flute. That child will be me." Sure enough, nine years later, his companion went to that place and saw a young boy riding an ox and playing a flute. Even though the Zen master possessed such supernormal powers, it did not signify he had attained enlightenment.

The various recorded cases (gong'an) of Zen masters from the Tang and Song dynasties show that practitioners of that time, especially monastics, generally possessed the Four Dhyanas. Lay practitioners also had meditative concentration. After renouncing household life, their main practice was cultivating concentration, followed by investigating Chan (Zen). Many who investigated Chan did not penetrate it, yet all developed meditative concentration. Why were they able to cultivate the Four Dhyanas while we today cannot? Because people's minds were comparatively pure then, with deep roots of goodness and merit, without the complex interpersonal relationships and social information overload of today. People's minds were simple, making it easier to develop meditative concentration. Every monastery had a meditation hall. Monastics went to the meditation hall daily at fixed times to sit in meditation, cultivate concentration, and investigate Chan. Even when working in the fields, their minds remained in concentration, investigating Chan, diligently practicing the Path at all times. It was not like today, where constant busyness prevents concentration practice. Studying a little Dharma leads only to intellectual understanding; even memorizing texts leaves one far from the Path. Unable to develop meditative concentration, one can only understand intellectually.

Those possessing the Four Dhyanas can choose when to be reborn and into which family. They can inform the head of the chosen household in advance. The manner of rebirth can also be very special. Those with great merit and no desire can be reborn without sexual union, directly entering the womb, and may even seize the opportunity to be born early, as in the case of the Fifth Patriarch's rebirth. In his previous life, when the Fifth Patriarch encountered the Fourth Patriarch, he was a Taoist practitioner, not Buddhist, and very old. The Fourth Patriarch, recognizing his capacity, said to him: "This body of yours is no longer serviceable; get another one." The Fifth Patriarch understood immediately and went to seek an opportunity for rebirth. Coming to a river, he saw a young girl washing clothes and said to her: "I have nowhere to stay; may I stay at your home?" The girl, thinking he meant to stay with her parents, unaware he meant to be reborn, agreed.

Shortly after returning home, the girl felt as if she were pregnant. When the signs of pregnancy became evident, her parents discovered it. The girl couldn't explain clearly what had happened, and her parents expelled her from the home. From then on, the girl wandered about in hardship and eventually gave birth to the Fifth Patriarch. When the Fifth Patriarch was a few years old, he encountered the Fourth Patriarch, renounced household life under him, received tonsure, and attained enlightenment at a very young age. Even as a Taoist, the Fifth Patriarch had attained meditative concentration. However, a path possessing only meditative concentration is not the true path of liberation; the path realized through enlightenment is the true path.

The highest achievement in cultivating meditative concentration among external paths was that of the ṛṣi Uruvilvā Kāśyapa, the external teacher of Śākyamuni Buddha. When the Buddha first renounced household life, he studied the Four Dhyanas and Eight Samadhis under Uruvilvā as his teacher. After mastering them, the Buddha realized this was not the true Path, abandoned both the Four Dhyanas and Eight Samadhis and his ascetic practices, and resolved to seek the Path anew. He bathed in a river, drank the goat's milk offered by a shepherdess, then sat under the Bodhi tree. At midnight, seeing the morning star, he attained great enlightenment and became a Buddha. After enlightenment, he wished to liberate his teacher. Knowing Uruvilvā practiced external paths and could not attain enlightenment, the Buddha sought him but could not find him. Using his divine eye, the Buddha saw that Uruvilvā was no longer in the human realm; he had been reborn in the Heaven of Neither Perception Nor Non-Perception, where he entered samadhi for eighty thousand great kalpas, enjoying the bliss of concentration.

Eighty thousand great kalpas is an immensely long time for us, but for one in samadhi, it passes very quickly, like an instant. This is because a person in samadhi has only subtle consciousness, with the three consciousnesses of the manas (intellect), the sixth consciousness, and the eighth consciousness (ālaya-vijñāna). Without a physical body, in a state of no-mind, and experiencing great bliss in samadhi, the passage of time seems extremely rapid. After emerging from the eighty thousand great kalpas, whatever karmic seeds ripen in the ālaya-vijñāna, the being will be reborn in the Six Realms accordingly. Using his divine eye, Śākyamuni Buddha saw that his teacher had once made a terrible vow during his practice. While sitting in meditation, disturbed by the constant chirping of birds around him, he had vowed: "In my next life, may I become a great bird and kill you all."

After making this terrible vow, he continued his practice, finally attaining the highest samadhi in the Triple Realm and was reborn in the Heaven of Neither Perception Nor Non-Perception. Because of this vow, after he eventually falls from that heaven, he will fulfill it—he will be reborn as a great bird and kill all those small birds, thereby creating heavy negative karma. Upon death, due to this sinful karma, he will directly fall into hell to suffer retribution. The Buddha did not wish for Uruvilvā to create such negative karma in the future, but it was too late; the Buddha could no longer find him. To this day, he remains in heaven, absorbed in samadhi.

Therefore, we see that the Path of cultivation is not limited to the Buddha Path; there are also various external paths outside the Buddha Path. The Buddha Path is the path leading out of the suffering of birth and death. Although external paths may possess profound meditative concentration, they lack the wisdom of liberation and do not belong to the liberation paths of either Mahayana or Hinayana. The Buddha Path requires not only the Four Dhyanas and Eight Samadhis but also the wisdom of selflessness of Mahayana and Hinayana; it is the path possessing both concentration (samadhi) and wisdom (prajñā). Even if one studies Buddhism and cultivates the Path, if one possesses only meditative concentration without severing the view of self and without realizing the mind and seeing one's true nature, then one has not yet attained the Path and cannot transcend the suffering of birth and death. Only the path possessing both concentration and wisdom can eliminate the karma of the Three Wretched Destinies, eliminate the suffering retribution of birth and death, and truly end birth and death to attain liberation. Other paths are not the true path.

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