Cultivation of Concentration and Chan Meditation for Realization of the Way (Part 1)

Section Two: The Meditative Concentration Required for Investigating Chan

1. Only When Meditative Concentration Is Complete Can One Awaken to the Path in Response to Conditions

Meditative concentration (samādhi) is shared with the non-Buddhist paths; having meditative concentration does not necessarily mean having the Path, but without meditative concentration, one certainly cannot have the Path. Apart from meditative concentration, it is impossible to accomplish the endeavor of the Path. A person without the power of concentration has a coarse mind and cannot penetrate the deeper principles of the Buddha's Dharma; thus it is impossible to truly eradicate the view of self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi) and see the mind. Therefore, investigating Chan requires an excellent power of concentration. Before investigating Chan, one must cultivate meditative concentration well, and only after preparatory concentration (anāgamya-samādhi) is complete should one investigate Chan.

The patriarchs of successive generations all taught their disciples to cultivate meditative concentration. The Chan halls set up in monasteries in the past were precisely for students to sit in meditation, cultivate concentration, and investigate Chan. Practitioners during the Tang and Song dynasties all had meditative concentration. At that time, sutra books were rare and hard to come by; very few could be found and studied, so Buddhist practitioners could only sit in meditation and cultivate concentration. Therefore, their power of concentration was all very good. Both concentration in stillness and concentration in movement were complete; their minds did not extend toward external objects and were constantly in concentration. Therefore, when they encountered Chan masters expounding the true meaning of the Buddha's Dharma, they could quickly awaken and enter it. They could also leave the world and take rebirth anytime, anywhere, freely taking rebirth in the homes of parents suited to their study of Buddhism and cultivation.

With such excellent power of concentration complete, when Chan masters ascended the hall and expounded the Dharma in response to listeners' capacities, some among those below the hall awakened on the spot. Buddhist practitioners of the past investigated Chan and contemplated the Dharma at all times, day and night, so the moment they touched a condition they could awaken. At that time they did not have too many views about Chan methods, nor many theories of the Buddha's Dharma; they only knew some of the characteristics of the tathāgatagarbha, the true-suchness mind, and believing and accepting this without doubt, they began to investigate Chan, seeking the tathāgatagarbha. Therefore, they awakened faster and more easily than people today, precisely because their precepts, concentration, and wisdom were complete, and their good roots and merit were complete as well. In the past, the language Chan masters used in teaching was rather veiled; what they expressed was not very direct or explicit. If a student's precepts, concentration, and wisdom were incomplete, realization would be very hard to attain. It is not like today, when the Buddha's Dharma has already been spelled out very clearly and yet students still fail to grasp the point of it.

2. Only Suitable Meditative Concentration Can Guarantee Awakening to the Path

Investigating Chan requires either the first-dhyāna concentration of the form realm or the preparatory concentration (anāgamya-samādhi) that precedes the first dhyāna; only then can one investigate the true mind, the tathāgatagarbha, and awaken to the Path. These correspond to the highest concentration of the desire realm and the shallowest concentration of the form realm; if the concentration were any deeper or any shallower, ordinary people would have no way to apply their minds to investigation. When the concentration deepens further, one enters the second dhyāna: the eye does not see forms, the ear does not hear sounds, the five consciousnesses are absent, and only the manas and the mind consciousness remain; ordinary people then cannot investigate Chan and realize the Path amid the six sense objects. Realizing the tathāgatagarbha occurs right at the moment when bodily, verbal, and mental actions are being created—especially at the moment bodily and verbal actions are created. Only when the true and the false are conjoined can the true mind, the tathāgatagarbha, be realized; therefore the participation of the five consciousnesses cannot be lacking at that time, nor can the mind consciousness's power of discrimination and knowing be too weak.

When the mind consciousness is faint and rarely active, it is very difficult to personally realize the true mind, the tathāgatagarbha. Unless one possesses exceptionally fine spiritual faculties (indriya), one should not expect to see the mind and attain enlightenment within deep concentration. If the concentration is shallow, or there is no concentration at all, the mind consciousness becomes scattered, the thoughts coarse and agitated, and one cannot open wisdom and awaken to the true mind either. In the intermediate preparatory concentration (anāgamya-samādhi) or first-dhyāna concentration, the mind consciousness is not scattered; it can focus on the huatou and draw the manas into the investigation—only then can one awaken to the Path.

Enlightenment cannot be apart from the mind consciousness's fixing the mind on one point, nor from this power of wholehearted, single-minded focus. Therefore, in investigating Chan and attaining enlightenment, one cannot awaken in a state where the concentration is very deep, nor in one where it is very shallow. After the meditative skill of concentrating and fixing the mind on one point has been developed, one must still know what that one point is; at that point one must know the direction of Chan investigation and where its point of entry lies—otherwise one still cannot awaken. One must know what one is to awaken to and what the target of that awakening is; without knowing this, there is still no way to attain enlightenment.

After seeing the mind, wisdom opens, and one can know through direct perception how the tathāgatagarbha coordinates with the five aggregates (pañca-skandha) and the seven consciousnesses in their operation, and how bodily, verbal, and mental actions are created. Some of the coarser, shallower characteristics of the tathāgatagarbha can be observed to some extent, and in time one comes to know the causes and conditions for the arising of worldly events. Without having cultivated the profound fourth-dhyāna concentration, one cannot have supernatural powers nor know hidden worldly matters—this is a matter resolved by meditative concentration alone and has nothing to do with prajñā wisdom. The state of enlightenment differs from the state of meditative concentration, and the two must not be conflated. Knowing everything—that is the realm of supernatural powers and meditative concentration, unrelated to enlightenment. "Empty space shatters and the great earth sinks flat"—that is a state of meditative concentration, likewise unrelated to the wisdom-state of enlightenment.

3. When the Conditions for Investigating Chan Are Incomplete, One Must Not Rush to Investigate Chan

When the precepts, concentration, and wisdom have not yet been well cultivated and the six pāramitās are not yet complete, the time for investigating Chan has not yet come; hold off on the investigation for now—meditative concentration must be able to keep up. If meditative concentration is insufficient, contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā) cannot gain any force, and what is contemplated will be neither deep nor thorough. Like looking at flowers through a fog, contemplative practice becomes mere research and analysis by the mind consciousness. Although such analysis may yield a superficially similar result, body and mind receive no benefit from it and there is no enjoyment of merit whatsoever—this is utterly not worth adopting.

When even the bodhisattva's six pāramitās are not complete, rushing into Chan investigation usually makes things go contrary to one's wishes. This master will not pull up the seedlings to help them grow for any of you, and you must not pull up your own seedlings either. A tiny sapling that has barely emerged from the soil—if it is pulled up to a meter tall, can that young sprout still survive? If the sprout dies, there is no hope for the small tree, let alone the great tree. If in this life of studying Buddhism one is given mere intellectual understanding, not only is this life's talent wasted; in later lives this person will also find it hard to become a talent. Pulling up seedlings may ruin more than one life: the pillar [of the Dharma] of the next life cannot be formed, and the opportunity to become such a pillar is lost.

Quite a few people urge me to hurry up and hold a three-day Chan retreat. I ask why I should hold one, and they say it is to guide three days of Chan investigation in preparation for enlightenment. Everyone, tell me: could I make everyone enlightened in three days? Chan master Xiangyan served as an attendant at his master's side for eighteen years, and even with those spiritual faculties (indriya) and those favorable conditions he did not awaken. Sentient beings in today's Dharma-ending age have no meditative concentration, cannot uphold the precepts, and lack the bodhisattva's complete six pāramitās—would a three-day opportunity enable them to awaken? If that were so, then when the Buddha was in the world, how many people would awaken in the Dharma-ending age of the Sahā world? Why did the Buddha not do it that way? But within three days I could make everyone awaken—it is not that I cannot; it is a matter of a single sentence, not difficult. But after everyone awakened like that, what would they become? What would the Sahā world become? Which way would the Buddha's Dharma turn?

In ancient times there was a Chan master whose disciple blocked him on a narrow road, brandishing a knife and threatening him, demanding that the master reveal the secret meaning. Facing such a situation, the master was not the least bit afraid and refused to answer directly. He simply pushed the disciple aside and said: "You come over, and I will go past." This was a master who took complete responsibility for his disciple, engaging in no buying, selling, or bargaining, and boasting neither of how many disciples he had delivered nor of how capable he was. When the disciple's causes and conditions were complete, he would awaken spontaneously; when they were not complete, he would go on supplementing the conditions of the six pāramitās and cultivating precepts, concentration, and wisdom. The master would absolutely never give away the Chan gate as a personal favor. There are many such instances from ancient times. Only such a one is a good Chan master, responsible to Buddhism and to sentient beings. Only thus can one repay the four kinds of kindness, acting not for personal fame and renown.

When the Buddha's Dharma is transmitted for a long time, defects arise. In fact, defects had already begun one hundred years after the Buddha's parinirvāṇa, when it started to degenerate little by little: "the dharma of arising and ceasing" was being turned into "the water-old crane," and this already pained Ānanda so deeply that he could not bear it—he entered nirvāṇa and departed. If Ānanda were to come to today's world, where the Buddha's Dharma has been circulating for more than two thousand years, he would probably not want to stay even a single day, nor would he want to know of or tolerate even a trace of evil dharma or evil habit. Fortunately, he had cultivated the fourth dhyāna and supernatural powers and had the ability to leave whenever he pleased, so that what he did not see would not vex his mind. What are bodhisattvas without his kind of ability to do? They can only tolerate and accept, and then find ways to transform the evil atmosphere—there is no line of retreat.

4. Only When the Power of Concentration Is Deep Can the Manas Investigate

Investigating the huatou means investigating a sentence that directly points to the tathāgatagarbha; that is, one must clearly understand the true meaning of this sentence and be able to observe directly, here and now, the true function of the tathāgatagarbha, thereby realizing the tathāgatagarbha. Investigating the hidden meaning contained in a sentence carries the same sense—wanting to clearly understand the true meaning of that sentence. When doing the work of investigation, the mind consciousness's surface-level, coarse and shallow thinking is relatively little; its mental activity consists mainly of deep-level thinking within the mind. The mind is both focused and deep, able to investigate the substance and deeper meaning of a sentence. With shallow concentration, this cannot be done.

In doing the work, "being mindful without anything being mindful" means that on the surface the mind consciousness has no thoughts and is not mindful of any dharma, yet deep within, the manas still has mindfulness, with a thought suspended in the mind without interruption—this is the work and state of investigation. Doing the work with the manas is not easy, because the power of concentration is insufficient. When one truly reaches the point where the manas is doing the work, the mind consciousness can hardly observe it either; the manas's functioning is too concealed, and the mind consciousness's observational wisdom is very weak, so it feels somewhat unequal to the task.

In investigating Chan, the closer the questioning doubt is to the target, the better, and the smaller its scope, the better. This is the same principle as searching for a person: if the scope is set to the entire nation, it is as good as not setting it at all; if it is set to a specific area, the person can be found very quickly. It is just that the smaller the scope set, the more evidence and data are needed, the more information one must grasp, and the deeper and finer one's wisdom must be. The most direct huatou in the Chan school is "Who is dragging this corpse around?" Realizing the tathāgatagarbha through the aggregate of volitional formations is the fastest, but the measure of realization is somewhat smaller and the wisdom somewhat shallower. If one can awaken on the level of Consciousness-Only, awakening to the ultimate source of the conscious mind, then once one thing is penetrated, all is penetrated. Especially awakening through the functions of the manas is the most direct and the most ultimately thorough.

5. The Concentration of No-Thought and No-Perception Is Equivalent to Foolish Concentration

Some people cultivate for a long time the concentration of no-thought and no-perception, but no matter how long they cultivate, the first dhyāna never arises, and it is impossible to see the Path and open wisdom. Cultivating like this is simply wasting precious time for studying Buddhism. Long-term no-thought and no-perception, without proper contemplation and contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā) of the Buddha's Dharma, cannot give rise to any wisdom and cannot realize the Path. When life ends, how will one settle this body with outflows (sāsrava)? Once the power of concentration has been well cultivated and the views and knowledge are complete, within meditative concentration there must be the thought of investigation; one can no longer be thinking of nothing whatsoever. Only with thoughts and questioning doubt can one break through the questioning doubt and obtain wisdom. Without concentration but with questioning doubt—in blunt words, this is called blind pondering.

If one cultivates only the body and not the mind, then no matter how long one sits in concentration, the first-dhyāna concentration will not appear. Only by becoming free of desire for the desire realm, removing greed and attachment, can the first-dhyāna concentration appear. What benefit is there in dwelling for a long time in the dark and dim state of preparatory concentration (anāgamya-samādhi)?

6. Cultivation Requires the Equal Cultivation of Samādhi and Prajñā

The Buddha said that bodhisattvas in their cultivation should be skilled at cultivating concentration and cultivating wisdom, striving to achieve the equal cultivation of Samādhi and Prajñā. If one finds oneself with much concentration and little wisdom, one should cultivate more wisdom; if one has much wisdom and little concentration, one should cultivate more concentration. Although bodhisattvas all have wisdom greater than concentration, the gap between concentration and wisdom should not be too large; otherwise, one's cultivation of the Buddha's Dharma will be hindered. Non-Buddhists have concentration without wisdom; arhats have more concentration and less wisdom; bodhisattvas have more wisdom and less concentration; the Buddha possesses the equal cultivation of Samādhi and Prajñā.

The mark of a bodhisattva's true accomplishment is the four immeasurable minds of loving-kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity. Only with such a mental character does it show that this person is a bodhisattva who can truly benefit and bring joy to sentient beings. A person with wild wisdom does not thereby prove to be a true bodhisattva; with a mental character that is not gentle and pliant and a heavy mind of self, such a person cannot benefit and bring joy to sentient beings. Therefore, in our study of Buddhism and cultivation, the most important thing is to cultivate the bodhisattva's gentle and compassionate mental character, with compassion and equanimity toward sentient beings. The most fundamental purpose of cultivation is for the sake of sentient beings, not for one's own personal gain—this should be the intention of a true bodhisattva.

7. Only Cultivating Concentration and Wisdom Together Is Correct Cultivation

Cultivation must be the joint cultivation of concentration and wisdom, practicing according to the method of jointly cultivating precepts, concentration, and wisdom that the Buddha taught us. One must not depart from the Buddha's teachings and cultivate however one pleases—that will not do. The existing environmental conditions in today's world make it difficult for sentient beings to cultivate concentration. But one cannot, just because concentration is hard to cultivate, emphasize only concentration in movement, or hold that a coarse, shallow concentration is sufficient. People with shallow concentration have very many afflictions, disputes, and gossip. A group will be extremely chaotic; when everyone is together, there will be many entanglements and conflicts, with fierce mutual strife. Then no group can be harmonious and united, which will lead to the Buddha's Dharma gradually fading away and perishing, and Buddhism will collapse. Moreover, people with shallow concentration are very ineffective in contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā). Do not be impressed by their eloquent words, everything sounding logical, talking on and on without pause—most of it is learned from outside, not produced by their own diligent contemplative practice, and therefore it is not their own wisdom. As for the problem of birth and death, they have no way to resolve it.