The Principle of Mind-Thought and Mind-Listening

Mind reciting and mind listening is not mind reciting and ear listening. Although it is called ear listening, it is actually not ear listening: the ear consciousness cannot hear the sounds within the mind; it can only hear the external sounds of vocal recitation of the Buddha's name. The mind consciousness hears both inner (mental) and outer (vocal) sounds, and depending on the depth of meditative concentration (samādhi), the manas participates in the listening to varying degrees. In mind recitation, no sound is uttered, so there is no body consciousness involved in reciting the Buddha's name—only the mind consciousness, or the manas and mind consciousness reciting together; in that case, the mind consciousness is a solitary consciousness (mano-vijñāna-eka-citta). The conscious mind that listens to the sound of the mind's recitation is the solitary consciousness listening, and the manas also listens along with it.

There is another kind of mind recitation, in which the manas recites the Buddha's name alone. In this case, what observes is also the solitary consciousness, and the manas also engages in introspection together with it. Generally, when meditative concentration is not deep and there is no power of introspection (pratyavekṣā-bala), the solitary consciousness cannot easily observe the manas reciting the Buddha's name; only when meditative concentration is deep can one observe one's own mind reciting the Buddha's name. When the mind recites the Buddha's name, the deeper the meditative concentration, the deeper the manas's participation in the recitation, and the clearer and more distinct the manas and the solitary consciousness observe the mind's recitation of the Buddha's name—this has already reached the realm of the recollection of the Buddha (buddhānusmṛti) meditative absorption (samādhi).

The manas's mental recitation is also manifested in reciting mantras. When reading sutras and reciting mantras, one can also let the manas follow along in the recitation; this requires meditative concentration (dhyāna), and the deeper the meditative concentration, the deeper the manas's participation. When the mind is quiet, the solitary consciousness can observe the manas's mental recitation, but the manas has no language, words, or sounds—only mental recitation, and mental recitation is the recitation of the mental factor of mindfulness (smṛti-caitta). When reading sutras and reciting mantras, one should read and recite slowly and silently, so that the manas can follow along in the recitation with focus. When meditative concentration is deep, the manas not only recites deeply and with focus, but its power of introspection is also strong. Here, both the solitary consciousness and the manas possess the power of introspection, and the two are difficult to distinguish; it requires very deep meditative concentration and a very quiet mind to have the discerning ability, so misunderstanding easily arises regarding the introspective power of the two.

Concentration is focus. To be able to focus without distracting thoughts, there are two methods: one is extremely fast recitation, so that there is no time for distracting thoughts—they cannot keep up and thus cannot arise; the other is extremely slow recitation, so that the mind has no thoughts of distraction and becomes single-mindedly focused. However, the first method of extreme speed can only be used temporarily, not for a long time, because it consumes energy and strength, and one's physical stamina cannot keep up. The strength of meditative concentration directly affects the degree of the manas's participation in all dharmas; the more the manas participates, the more things can be accomplished—this is wisdom. Therefore, having meditative concentration and the power of concentration is not only useful for learning Buddhism and cultivating practice, but also of great benefit for living in worldly affairs.

In cultivation, as long as one applies the mind diligently, once one crosses a threshold, one will advance by leaps and bounds. I hope everyone can let go of worldly dharmas, wholeheartedly devote themselves to the Buddha's dharma, seek the fundamental, and not grasp at the superficial and flashy.