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 arises involuntarily is all initiated by the manas; it is the manas that is reciting the Buddha's name. At first, the mind consciousness is unaware of it, and once it becomes aware, 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 awareness of the manas, the action of the manas. This kind of recollection-of-the-Buddha (buddhānusmṛti) meditative concentration (samādhi) is a state of meditative concentration, and this concentration is relatively firm. Relying on this state of samādhi, 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 reciting the Buddha's name 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 recollection of the Buddha is not yet proficient, recollection-of-the-Buddha samādhi will not appear; for those whose contemplative practice in various respects is insufficient, states of samādhi 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 and accomplished, it will recite the Buddha's name and engage in contemplative practice automatically and spontaneously, and then all kinds of samādhi appear. The arising of various samādhis is not decided by the mind consciousness and is not controlled by the mind consciousness; the mind consciousness can only passively accept and passively merge into the state of samādhi, to experience the samādhi and the feelings of body and mind.