The Relationship Between Contemplative Practice (Vipaśyanā-caryā) and Meditative Concentration

Meditative concentration (dhyāna) is śamatha, contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā) is vipaśyanā, and the two together are called śamatha-vipaśyanā, also called the equal cultivation of Samādhi and Prajñā. Meditative concentration and wise contemplative practice are mutually complementary: to realize any dharma, one must cultivate the equal cultivation of Samādhi and Prajñā, practicing śamatha and vipaśyanā in tandem—neither can be lacking. In the process of cultivating and realizing the Buddha's Dharma, meditative concentration is the preliminary expedient method, and the role it plays is extremely important and indispensable. Otherwise, one's contemplation becomes chaotic and blind, without a main thread, and will not go deep; one remains stuck at the surface level of the dharma with sentimental thoughts and intellectual interpretations, unable to contemplate out the substantive dharma, unable to reach conclusions that accord with reality. Even if a conclusion is reached, it is merely intellectual interpretation, not something obtained through observation as it truly is and realized through direct perception/valid direct cognition.

When the World-Honored One first taught his disciples to realize the fruits of the Small Vehicle, he always taught theory on the one hand and meditative concentration on the other, letting his disciples maintain the equal cultivation of Samādhi and Prajñā without leaning to either side. The disciples, in turn, practiced meditative concentration while simultaneously deliberating and contemplating. Practicing in this way was very effective: afflictions were effectively subdued, and their deliberation was meticulous. Before long, they realized the fruits of the Small Vehicle. Among the dharmas the World-Honored One taught in which meditative cultivation and contemplative practice proceeded in step were the Satipaṭṭhāna Sūtra, the Zuochan Sanmei Jing (Sūtra on Sitting Chan Meditative Concentration), and the Chanfa Miyao Jing (Secret Keys to Chan Methods), among others. Only after afflictions and distracting thoughts have been subdued through meditative concentration can contemplative practice get on the right track; only then can one contemplate in accordance with truth and as things really are, and only then can the mind-ground be transformed. Only when the thirty-seven aids to the path are complete can one realize the fruits. If one does not cultivate meditative concentration and lacks the merit of meditative concentration, then neither the thirty-seven aids to the path nor the Eightfold Noble Path can be fulfilled; afflictions will still be heavy, the mind-ground still impure, and neither body, mind, nor world will have been transformed. The causes and conditions for realizing the path will then be incomplete.

Why did the non-Buddhists who met the Buddha realize the fruits so quickly, attaining the fourth fruit in an instant? The reason is that they already had the realization of meditative concentration: their afflictions had all been subdued, their mind-ground was pure, and their mind of renunciation was strong. All that was lacking was the correct meaning of the Dharma. As soon as the Buddha expounded the Dharma, it entered their hearts, and in that moment their minds opened and they understood, attaining the pure Dharma eye, and they were liberated—just that fast. Therefore, no one has any excuse not to cultivate meditative concentration, harboring a lucky mentality, hoping to obtain a fruit without effort. In the Buddhist community there really is no such bargain; where one gains a cheap advantage, one often loses it. Great Vehicle bodhisattvas also need considerable meditative concentration to realize the Dharma, and the meditative concentration they cultivate is likewise built on the foundation of meditative concentration laid in this life and past lives while cultivating the Small Vehicle. In terms of meditative concentration, there is not much difference between the Great and Small Vehicles; the cultivation of foundational meditative concentration is the same for both.

Meditative concentration is the preliminary expedient for subduing afflictions. Subduing afflictions is similar to suppressing them—it is not eliminating or utterly eradicating them. Only first dhyāna combined with the wisdom of eliminating self-view (ātma-dṛṣṭi) can eliminate afflictions, and even utterly eradicate them. One must first subdue and suppress afflictions, so that one does not produce evil and instead produces good, in order to eliminate self-view; then one cultivates concentration more deeply, and only with first dhyāna can one eliminate afflictions and become a third-fruit person liberated in mind (cetovimutti). Only third- and fourth-fruit persons who have eliminated afflictions can be called noble ones. In Buddhism, fruits have always been realized through the equal cultivation of Samādhi and Prajñā, afflictions eliminated through the equal cultivation of Samādhi and Prajñā, and liberation attained through the equal cultivation of Samādhi and Prajñā. If afflictions are too heavy and distracting thoughts too many, one cannot cultivate meditative concentration, and contemplative practice will be even more disorderly. But one can reflect on the suffering of the world and so forth; once the mind has steadied, one should cultivate concentration, and then engage in contemplative practice. During contemplative practice, the power of concentration grows; as the power of concentration grows, contemplative practice goes deeper. Meditative concentration and wisdom are mutually complementary.