The Meditative Concentration Required for Chan Practice

To investigate Chan, one needs the first dhyāna of the form realm or the preparatory concentration (anāgamya-samādhi) prior to the first dhyāna; only then can one investigate the true mind, the tathāgatagarbha, and thereby break through and find the true mind, the tathāgatagarbha. This corresponds to the meditative concentration of the sixth heaven of the desire realm; if the concentration is deeper or shallower than this, it becomes difficult to investigate Chan and examine the true mind, the tathāgatagarbha. If the concentration deepens further, one enters the second dhyāna, where the eyes do not see forms and the ears do not hear sounds; there are no five sense consciousnesses, only the manas and the mind consciousness, and one cannot find the true mind in the coalescence of the real and the deluded within bodily, verbal, and mental actions. Seeking the tathāgatagarbha within deep meditative concentration makes it hard to find, because at that time the mind consciousness is rather weak and dull, making it very difficult to discern which is the true mind, the tathāgatagarbha. Moreover, at that point bodily and verbal actions have ceased, leaving only faint mental activity; the mind consciousness cannot easily find the true mind within mental activity, and it is very hard to find. Seeking the tathāgatagarbha occurs at the very moment bodily, verbal, and mental actions are being carried out—especially at the moment bodily and verbal actions are being performed; only in the coalescence of the real and the deluded can the true mind, the tathāgatagarbha, be found.

When the mind consciousness is weak and mental activity is scant, it is very difficult to find the true mind, the tathāgatagarbha. Unless one possesses exceptional spiritual faculties, one should not expect to attain the awakening of seeing one's true mind within deep concentration. If the concentration is shallow, or if there is no concentration at all, the mind consciousness becomes scattered and restless, the thoughts coarse and agitated, and one likewise cannot open wisdom and awaken to the true mind. In the intermediate preparatory concentration or the first dhyāna, the mind consciousness is not scattered but rather focused, and one can attain single-mindedness without distraction; in this way thinking becomes relatively fine and dense, and it is easier to open wisdom.

Awakening cannot be separated from the mind consciousness's fixing the mind on one object, nor can it be apart from this kind of wholehearted, concentrated focus. Therefore, in investigating Chan and attaining awakening, one cannot awaken in a state where concentration is very deep, nor in a state where concentration is very shallow. After the meditative skill of fixing the mind on one object has been cultivated, one must also know what this one object is. At this point one must know the direction of Chan investigation and where the point of entry lies; otherwise, awakening is still impossible. One must know what it is that one awakens to and what the target of awakening is; if one does not know this, there is still no way to attain enlightenment.

After seeing one's true mind, wisdom opens up, and one knows how the tathāgatagarbha coordinates with the five aggregates and the seven consciousnesses in their functioning, and how bodily, verbal, and mental actions are carried out. One can observe something of certain characteristics of the tathāgatagarbha, and henceforth one can also know the causes and conditions for the arising of all things. At this time, if one has not attained profound meditative concentration, supernatural powers are impossible, and one cannot know worldly secrets. The state of enlightenment differs from the state of meditative concentration; the two must not be conflated. Knowing everything—that is the realm of supernatural powers and meditative concentration, and has nothing to do with enlightenment. "Space shatters and the great earth sinks level"—that is a state of meditative concentration, and likewise has nothing to do with the wisdom state of enlightenment.