The Meditative Concentration of Recollection of the Buddha (buddhānusmṛti-samādhi) Is the Manas's Practice of Recollecting the Buddha

How does the sound of reciting the Buddha's name that arises involuntarily in the mind come about? Who is reciting the Buddha's name? The sound of Buddha-name recitation that appears involuntarily is all initiated by the manas; it is the manas that is reciting the Buddha's name. At first, the mind consciousness cannot perceive it, but once it becomes aware of it, it cannot control it and has no choice but to follow along and listen to the sound of the Buddha's name. Being conscious is the mind consciousness's own awareness; being involuntary is not the mind consciousness's own awareness, but the manas's awareness, the manas's activity. This kind of recollection-of-the-Buddha (buddhānusmṛti) meditative concentration is a state of meditative concentration (samādhi), and this concentration is relatively firm. Relying on this samādhi state, if one then engages in contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā) of the four foundations of mindfulness, the mind is also pure, and contemplative practice becomes easy.

When the sound of Buddha-name recitation arises involuntarily, continuous and lingering in the mind and brain, this is recollection-of-the-Buddha samādhi. All kinds of samādhi are brought forth by the manas. Why can the manas give rise to samādhi? For those whose Buddha-name recitation practice is not yet proficient, recollection-of-the-Buddha samādhi will not appear; for those whose contemplative practice in various respects is insufficient, samādhi states will not appear either. What is meant by proficient practice is that, through long-term persistence in one kind of cultivation, the manas has been successfully permeated; once the manas has been permeated to accomplishment, it will automatically and consciously recite the Buddha's name and engage in contemplative practice, and then all kinds of samādhi will appear. The arising of the various samādhis is not decided by the mind consciousness and is not controlled by it; the mind consciousness can only passively accept and passively merge into the samādhi state, experiencing the samādhi and the feelings of body and mind.