Only with Sufficient Samadhi Is Enlightenment Possible

The so-called contemplation and practice, before realization, is called thinking, inquiry—profound and subtle thinking, investigating, probing, seeking, and scrutinizing—not superficial mental activity; it must settle upon the manas. After realization, it is called observation, directly observing the various operations of Tathagatagarbha within the five aggregates body, observing the mysteries of all dharmas, which still involves deeper and subtler thinking and inquiry activities, all of which must settle upon the manas. Contemplation and practice both before and after realization must occur in access concentration (anāgamya-samādhi) or in the first dhyāna. Without dhyāna, it is merely the learning, understanding, and reasoning activity of consciousness alone—the thinking is very shallow. Even with dhyāna, if the dhyāna is relatively shallow, the power of thinking is insufficient, and it remains only within consciousness, unable to lead to realization. The contemplation and practice of the Four Noble Truths, the contemplation and practice realizing Tathagatagarbha, the contemplation and practice of illusion-like observation, the contemplation and practice of mirage-like observation, the contemplation and practice of dream-like observation, the contemplation and practice of mirror-image observation—these layers of contemplative wisdom progressively deepen, becoming increasingly profound and subtle.

The so-called awakening (wu) must involve the consciousness and manas directly realizing Tathagatagarbha themselves; it does not merely mean understanding the principle of Tathagatagarbha. Those principles can be known through various means, but awakening to Tathagatagarbha must be personally realized through Chan (Zen) inquiry. Awakening is not knowledge or principles learned; it is what the manas personally attains through effective inquiry.