Two Approaches to Cultivating Meditative Concentration

Question: Does cultivating śamatha mean using the manas to watch over a single thought and keep it continuously unmoving, or does it mean having not a single thought arise in the mind? 

Answer: Śamatha (stopping) means stopping, ceasing, and holding still—that is, samādhi, being settled and unmoving. Who stops whom, and who settles whom? It is the body that stops and the body that settles, thereby allowing the sixth and seventh consciousnesses to stop and settle; mainly it is letting the sixth and seventh consciousnesses stop and settle. When bodily activity ceases, the body consciousness and the mind consciousness will gradually cease their activity—not extinguished, but still perceiving, only very faintly. Once the six consciousnesses stop moving, the seventh consciousness can no longer move either, because the six consciousnesses do not follow along, and the seventh consciousness, having no alternative, also comes to a stop. However, because of the manas's special status and function, He must still take as object dharmas and the body; it is only that He takes fewer dharmas as object and moves rather faintly.

If the mind consciousness takes a single thought as object and holds it unmoving, there is still a thought, and this belongs to the domain of contemplation (vipaśyanā). When the mind consciousness contemplates, the seventh consciousness, the manas, will necessarily take as object the dharma that the mind consciousness is contemplating; over time, the manas will come to contemplate as well. Once the manas contemplates with focus, one has entered the right path, and sooner or later one will see the true facts of reality. This is the contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā) of the four foundations of mindfulness. 

As for having not a single thought arise, this means the mind consciousness no longer has thoughts and no longer contemplates, having completely ceased and become unmoving. The seventh consciousness, the manas, cannot completely cease and become unmoving; there is necessarily a thought. The key lies in what that thought is and whether it is held single-pointedly. If it can be held single-pointedly, and there is also questioning doubt, then one is engaged in meditative investigation. This can serve as a deep-level method of investigating Chan, but it is rather difficult to cultivate; most people cannot handle it well. It is not as easy to grasp as the contemplative practice in which the mind consciousness remains in a state of knowing. However, the more difficult a method is to cultivate, the more effective the meditative skill becomes, and the easier it is to enter the Path and realize the Path. Once the Path is realized, the wisdom and realization attained will be very high.