Only when body and mind attain bliss can the states of meditative concentration (samādhi) of tranquility and insight (śamatha-vipaśyanā) arise.

Original text of the "Maitreya Bodhisattva's Questions" chapter of the Samdhinirmocana Sutra (Deep Secret Liberation Sūtra):尔时圣者弥勒菩萨。白佛言。世尊。菩萨未得内心观像。未得身乐。未得心乐。佛说彼观。名何等观。佛言。弥勒。非奢摩他。是随顺奢摩他。是故我说名为随顺信奢摩他。弥勒菩萨言。世尊。菩萨未得身乐心乐。观于内身三昧境界。思惟彼法。如是观心。佛说彼观名何等观。佛言。弥勒。我说彼观非毗婆舍那。名随顺信毗婆舍那。

Explanation: At this time the noble Maitreya Bodhisattva said to the Buddha: World-Honored One, if a bodhisattva has not yet manifested the image of the contemplated object within the mind, has not attained bodily bliss, and has not attained mental bliss, what does the Buddha call this kind of contemplation? The Buddha said: Maitreya, this is not śamatha; it is not meditative stillness. It should be called conformity to śamatha, conformity to stillness. I say that such contemplation is called faith-conformity śamatha.

Maitreya Bodhisattva said: World-Honored One, if a bodhisattva has not attained bodily bliss or mental bliss, yet contemplates the samādhi realm of the inner body and deliberates upon those dharmas—such contemplation of mind, what kind of contemplation does the Buddha say it is? The Buddha said: Maitreya, I say that this kind of contemplation is not vipaśyanā; it lacks the wisdom of contemplation. It should be called faith-conformity vipaśyanā.

What is faith-conformity? It means having studied a certain dharma, or certain dharmas, and believing in them deeply in one's mind, without the slightest doubt, but without deliberating through to realization—that is, without present-life personal realization, without the image of a samādhi realm appearing. This is called faith-conformity. Faith is not the same as realization. For example, some people have studied the dharma of tathāgatagarbha and deeply believe that tathāgatagarbha truly exists, deeply believe that tathāgatagarbha has such functions and powers, deeply believe that tathāgatagarbha exists within the operation of the five aggregates, and so on. Because of this deep belief, they constantly declare that all dharmas are tathāgatagarbha and all possess the sustaining function of tathāgatagarbha, and thus mistakenly believe they have realized tathāgatagarbha and attained samādhi. In fact, this is merely faith-conformity; there is still a distance, long or short, before realization. Both śamatha and vipaśyanā are insufficient, and only after they are supplemented can realization occur.

Because śamatha is insufficient and meditative concentration is lacking, neither body nor mind has attained bliss, and the seven factors of enlightenment are therefore incomplete. If one deliberates on the Buddha's teachings with great single-mindedness, the dharma principles enter the mind deeply, and one joyfully accepts the dharma with faith, then meditative concentration will arise, resting upon the meaning of the dharma, and gradually bliss will be attained. The so-called false enlightenment we spoke of before—part of it can be called faith-conformity, but most does not even reach faith-conformity; it is greatly watered down.

What is the merit of attaining bodily bliss and mental bliss? The merit is subduing or eliminating afflictions. Because the mind abides in a blissful state, the mind's capacity and outlook open up; one sees through many things and no longer cares about them; greed diminishes, anger lightens, or there is no greed or anger at all. For example, the devas of the desire realm are very happy; apart from busying themselves with enjoyment, they pay no attention to anything else. Because they possess everything, arising naturally and self-sufficiently, needing nothing from outside, they do not fight or snatch, and there are no disputes or scheming. Even when they look at the emperors of the human world, they disdain to give them a glance. Everything in the human world is trivial to the devas; the level is very low. As for the devas of the form realm, they all enjoy the supreme bliss of the four dhyānas and eight samādhis; apart from this they need nothing—not even gender—and they disdain the pleasures of the desire realm.

When one's cultivation reaches a considerable degree, the mind holds only the cultivation of the Path and enjoys the bliss of dharma; nothing else can fit inside. One likewise disdains the fame, profit, power, and influence that worldly people all compete for. The world is just like children at different stages playing with different toys—nothing remarkable about it. Whoever wants to compete may compete; with the Path in hand, one no longer cares about anything else. Therefore, the merit of meditative concentration is subduing and eliminating afflictions, with both body and mind attaining bliss.