The Benefits of Meditative Concentration

If one's meditative concentration is insufficient, one cannot contemplate and practice contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā) of the Buddha's teachings; reading books is like viewing flowers from horseback, unable to grasp their essentials. When cultivating meditative concentration, just go into concentration without fear of going too deep—being deep in concentration is fine. After emerging from concentration, then investigate and contemplate the Buddha's teachings; with a pure mind and subtle, meticulous thinking, one's contemplative practice will be quite effective, yielding far greater benefit than having no meditative concentration or only shallow concentration. The deeper the concentration, the better. After body and mind have been transformed within concentration, when one comes back to investigate Chan and contemplate and practice, one is extremely effective and adept; contemplative practice is very fast and right on target.

When non-Buddhist practitioners cultivated the four dhyānas and eight samādhis and then listened to the Buddha's teaching of the Dharma, they realized the fruits right then and there—this was precisely the benefit of profound meditative concentration. After emerging from concentration, they heard the Dharma, contemplated, and practiced, and wisdom quickly arose. Those without meditative concentration feel satisfied after understanding a bit of the principles, but the wisdom of contemplative practice cannot emerge; even after twenty years they are still treading water in place, and their progress on the Path cannot advance at all. There are also some people who cultivate concentration but covet the states of concentration, enjoying them within concentration, playing with sensations, thinking that having various states is something extraordinary, not knowing what cultivation is for or what cultivating concentration is for. Such people are purely playing with feelings, not cultivating the Path.