More Cultivation of Concentration Leads to Samādhi

Meditative concentration is nothing more than a form of focused attention—concentrating one's energy on doing well what should be done at present, with no other thoughts in the mind; only in this way can things be done well. First, one must have a high sense of responsibility toward what one is doing, and a strong interest in it; only then can one devote oneself single-mindedly to it and solve the problem. The more focused one is, the better one solves problems, the more one can discover profound and significant truths, and the deeper one's wisdom becomes.

For example, scientific researchers, investigators, and scientists have a strong sense of responsibility toward their research, are deeply fond of it, and have a strong interest in exploration; therefore they study diligently and tirelessly, day and night, forgetting food and sleep, paying no attention to anything else, and in the end they can achieve certain research results and make astonishing discoveries.

For those whose minds are still scattered, during the daytime while walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, they should persistently recite mantras in their minds, or recite the Heart Sutra from memory. In their free time they should sit in meditation, so that the mind can settle down, and only afterward can they engage in contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā) and reflect on the Buddha-dharma. After being able to contemplate the Buddha-dharma during sitting meditation, they should then train themselves during the daytime—while walking, standing, sitting, or lying down—to contemplate simple Buddhist teachings. As initial training, regarding whatever one is currently doing, the mind should know it clearly and distinctly; one must not fall into indeterminate (avyākṛta) distraction and grasping at external objects. Keeping the mind on what one is doing at present is a coarse, shallow form of concentration.

For those whose minds are rather scattered, in order to gather the mind, when first beginning to cultivate meditative concentration, it is best to start with reciting the Śūraṅgama Mantra—reciting it three or seven times every day, and it is best to reach the point of being able to recite it from memory. In this way, whether walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, the mind will be on the Śūraṅgama Mantra, grasping less at the realms of the six sense objects, and gradually meditative concentration will arise. Moreover, reciting the Śūraṅgama Mantra carries the blessing power of all the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Dharma-protecting deities, so one's progress on the Path will also be somewhat faster. For those with scattered minds, when sitting in meditation, visualize an extremely interesting realm; the process should be somewhat lengthy and require a certain degree of conception, so that the mind can focus on the visualization, and then meditative concentration will appear. After the meditative concentration has stabilized, then discard these visualized realms and switch to contemplating a principle of the Dharma. If one always takes the visualized realms as real, it is easy to go astray.