Watching the Huatou Is a Method of Cultivating Meditative Concentration

Question: When contemplating the huatou, is it the mind consciousness doing the contemplating, or the manas? If it is the mind consciousness contemplating, and this is transmitted to the manas so that the manas's mental activity becomes unified, no longer or only rarely grasping at objects, gradually unifying the mind on one point—then the manas also engages in discernment, reducing its grasping, and the mind consciousness becomes unified. At this point, if merit is complete and the conditions converge, suddenly there is a moment of resonance, and one recognizes that the tathāgatagarbha is the true master—is this the roadmap for investigating Chan and awakening to the true mind?

Answer: That is correct. Contemplating the huatou is a method of cultivating meditative concentration (samādhi). The purpose of cultivating concentration is to make the mind consciousness unified, so that its energy is not scattered, allowing focused and precise deliberation and investigation. However, the content that the mind consciousness discerns, and the content of its deliberation and investigation, are all directed by the manas. If the manas not only attends to the huatou but also grasps at many dharmas and is interested in many dharmas, then the manas applies its mental engagement (manaskāra) and deliberation to many dharmas, and the tathāgatagarbha will give rise to the mind consciousness to discern the many dharmas toward which the manas has directed its mental engagement and deliberation. With the mind consciousness discerning so much content, can it still be unified? Then it cannot be unified, and there can be no samādhi.

The purpose of investigating the huatou is precisely to make the manas attend only to the huatou, no longer or only rarely grasping at other dharmas, so that the mind consciousness achieves unified concentration of mind. Cultivating concentration appears on the surface to be cultivating the mind consciousness, but in reality it is still about subduing the manas, so that the manas does not grasp at too many dharmas. Investigating the huatou is, as much as possible, tethering the manas to the huatou; in this way the mind consciousness becomes settled in concentration. When the mind consciousness has samādhi, its deliberation becomes deep and subtle. When the mind consciousness perfumes the manas, the manas likewise attends to the huatou and participates in deliberating (manana) on the huatou. If the investigation of the huatou penetrates deeply into the manas, so that the manas forms the habit of it and takes investigating the huatou as its obligatory task, then even during sleep the manas will continue to work, causing the mind consciousness to investigate the huatou even in dreams; and it will make the mind consciousness investigate the huatou whether walking, standing, sitting, or lying down. When the mind consciousness's concentration is deep and its deliberation is minimal, the manas's function becomes prominent, secretly and continuously attending to the huatou. When the conditions and the proper season are complete, one can realize the tathāgatagarbha and awaken to the true mind through direct realization. If the concentration is shallow, the mind consciousness's function is dominant, and the manas participates little or not at all; then there tends to be much sentimental conjecture and intellectual interpretation, with a large component of intellectual understanding/interpretive awakening rather than direct realization. Everything rests on the manas. The mind consciousness arises from conditions; the manas is characterized by imputed grasping (parikalpita); the tathāgatagarbha is without knowing or perceiving. The manas's imputed grasping causes its wisdom to be covered in dust and unable to manifest. Only by making its mental activity unified, not grasping or grasping only rarely, can accomplishment be achieved. Therefore, cultivating concentration is extremely important.