What is Meditative Concentration (Samādhi)?

Samādhi is an Indian word meaning meditative concentration. Within samādhi there are the states of meditative concentration, and also states of wisdom at varying degrees. If wisdom is not deep, samādhi is dominated by the state of concentration; if wisdom is very deep, it is the state of the equal cultivation of Samādhi and Prajñā.

The levels of the recollection of the Buddha (buddhānusmṛti) samādhi differ. The buddha-recollection samādhi dominated by concentration is one in which one enters concentration by orally reciting the Buddha's name; whether walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, one can recite the Buddha's name, and finally one reaches no-thought, yet cognizing; cognizing, yet no-thought—the sound of the Buddha's name continuously lingers in the mind and lingers by the ears; even without wanting to listen, one can hear it, continuously and unbroken.

The buddha-recollection samādhi of the equal cultivation of Samādhi and Prajñā realizes the tolerance of non-arising and the tolerance of the dharma of non-arising. For example, in buddha-recollection by contemplating an image and buddha-recollection by contemplation, starting from oral recitation and mental recollection of the Buddha, finally the Image-Only Object manifests, the form born of concentration appears, one realizes the principle of non-arising, and clearly understands the self-nature Buddha.

After the contemplation of the white bones and the contemplation of impurity are accomplished, that too is a state of samādhi, the equal cultivation of Samādhi and Prajñā. Concentration is a one-pointed state, from the first dhyāna and above; wisdom is the realization of non-arising, knowing that the physical body is impure and that the five aggregates (pañcaskandha) are without self. The fruit attained is the third or fourth fruit, and this is also the Small Vehicle's samādhi of emptiness. The Image-Only Object manifests, and the form born of concentration appears.

The accomplishment of the contemplation of the four foundations of mindfulness is also the Small Vehicle's samādhi of emptiness, the equal cultivation of Samādhi and Prajñā, attaining the third or fourth fruit.

As for Mahāyāna samādhi, one is the accomplishment of the buddha-recollection samādhi, and another is the sixteen contemplations of the Contemplation of Amitāyus Sūtra; both are the equal cultivation of Samādhi and Prajñā. There is no samādhi without accomplishment of concentration, and without concentration, the contemplative wisdom is also not accomplished. In these samādhis, often concentration exceeds wisdom.

In Mahāyāna Chan investigation, when one finally breaks through the investigation, that too is a state of samādhi, with both concentration and wisdom. If concentration is shallow, wisdom is shallow, and one only attains the seventh or eighth stage of abiding; if concentration is deep, wisdom is deep, and one can reach the first or second bhūmi. The mind abides in the emptiness (śūnyatā) of the tathāgatagarbha; the five aggregates of oneself are all the emptiness of the tathāgatagarbha; whether walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, it is as if abiding within the tathāgatagarbha, without the self of the five aggregates.

In the Small Vehicle's contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā) and investigation for eliminating self-view (ātma-dṛṣṭi), samādhi likewise manifests, with both concentration and wisdom. If concentration is shallow, wisdom is shallow, and one only attains the first or second fruit; if concentration is deep, wisdom is deep, and one can attain the third or fourth fruit. The mind abides in the samādhi of emptiness in which the five aggregates are without self, without the feeling of a self of the five aggregates; when facing conditions and circumstances, the mind does not give rise to the notion of self, does not take any person or matter as an enemy or opponent, and does not care about everything around oneself, because there is no self in the mind.

If it is merely the mind consciousness's intellectual understanding of the Buddha-dharma, or interpretive awakening to the Buddha-dharma, there is not the slightest samādhi—no state of concentration, no feeling of emptiness; the mind still has a self, the mind of self does not die; when encountering conditions and circumstances, one must rely on the mind consciousness's mental engagement to recall that the five aggregates are without self. Once the mind consciousness loses its vigilant awareness, the mind of self suddenly pops out, and bodily, verbal, and mental actions are without restraint. Moreover, the mind consciousness's power of vigilant awareness is very limited; its intermittency is extremely severe and obvious—it always loses awareness and cannot sustain it. Even if the mind consciousness's power is very strong and can sustain it for a period of time, sooner or later it will lose vigilant awareness, especially at the time of death.

All samādhis, whether dominated by the state of concentration or of the equal cultivation of Samādhi and Prajñā, are the result of the accomplishment of the manas. Only by fixing the manas in concentration, without scattering and without chasing everywhere after objects, can there be a state of concentration; only then does the manas have sufficient energy to deliberate (manana) upon the dharmas brought over by the mind consciousness, and only then can it clearly understand the fundamental meaning and substantive content of the dharmas. Samādhi will then necessarily appear—this is what is called realization.