Explaining the Methods and Procedures of Venerable Ju-yuan-hsiu's Practice of Buddha-Recitation Samadhi

I didn't understand what meditation meant before, nor did I know what chanting the Buddha's name was about. I just learned to chant, chanting over and over until I felt exhausted. Then I started chanting softly, but even soft chanting felt too tiring to continue; perhaps I had developed a bit of concentration power then. At that time, I understood nothing—not only did I not know about cultivating Buddha-recitation samadhi, I didn’t even know what meditation was for. I just heard that chanting the Buddha’s name was a good thing.

Since I began learning Buddhism, I have only chanted the Diamond Sutra and the Amitabha Sutra once each morning and evening, paid homage to the Buddha, and spent the rest of the time chanting the Buddha’s name. As I chanted, I felt increasingly tired, so I switched to soft chanting and silent chanting. Yet, even then, I still felt weary, lacking energy all over, unwilling to move, and ended up drowsily sitting in a daze, unable to continue chanting. At the time, I didn’t realize this was empty samadhi.

Then, in 2019, while I was unaware of these circumstances, I happened to meet Master Shengru, who came to the nunnery to confer the Bodhisattva Precepts upon us and taught us methods for paying homage to the Buddha and practicing breath-focused Buddha-recitation to attain samadhi. I can’t remember whether I practiced for one or two years. Once, unintentionally, I heard the Buddha’s name resounding in my mind. Not understanding what was happening, I even felt puzzled and reached to clean my ears with my hand. I then sought guidance from the Master, who explained that it was Buddha-recitation samadhi. After that, I began studying the Master’s Dharma teachings and have continued to this day.

At first, you must chant aloud. Once you become familiar with it, chant softly. As you grow more accustomed, switch to silent chanting. Then, once you are thoroughly familiar, practice “mind-chanting and mind-listening.” Later, when chanting becomes very familiar and you seem to have developed some concentration power, chant for a while and then pause to listen—check whether the sound of Buddha-recitation is present in your mind. If not, your concentration is still shallow. Continue chanting and listening until you reach the state of “mind-listening and mind-chanting.” At this point, your samadhi will be neither shallow nor deep. Eventually, you no longer need to chant with your mouth; you can hear the Buddha’s name in your mind, and even if you try not to listen, you cannot control it. This is the realization of profound Buddha-recitation samadhi. Within this profound samadhi, not only is the Buddha’s name heard in your own mind, but even the sound of wind, vehicles, and birds—all sounded like the Buddha’s name. Moreover, without thinking or looking, Dharma teachings spontaneously arise in your mind. This is the meritorious achievement attained through cultivating samadhi and Buddha-recitation. Fellow practitioners and virtuous friends who wish to attain Buddha-recitation samadhi, if you practice according to this method, you can all achieve it.