The Order of Cultivating Meditative Concentration

Why is it that when meditative concentration (samādhi) is present, the seeds of consciousness flow forth less and less, and the discerning becomes weaker and weaker? Who decides to discern? Who decides to discern less or not to discern? Within meditative concentration, why does the manas decide to discern less or not to discern? Why does the manas not make such a decision when one is not in meditative concentration? What is the relationship between the manas and meditative concentration?

If meditative concentration only stabilizes the six consciousnesses without stabilizing the manas, and the manas clings at eight places, strongly wanting to discern at those eight places, what will the result be? When the manas clings less, or stops clinging and settles down, what is that called? What phenomenon is it?

In cultivating concentration, shallow concentration trains the consciousness accompanied by the five senses (pañca-sahagata-mano-vijñāna), while deep concentration must be cultivated all the way to the solitary consciousness (mano-vijñāna-eka-citta). The general procedure for cultivating concentration is: first subduing the consciousness accompanied by the five senses, gradually deepening and shifting to the solitary consciousness, and then subduing the solitary consciousness. All profound meditative concentrations are cultivated from the solitary consciousness; for example, the various visualization dharma-gates in the Buddhist sutras all subdue the solitary consciousness. Throughout the entire process of cultivating concentration, from beginning to end, it is the manas that governs and draws the arising and ceasing changes of the six consciousnesses. Although at times, and initially, it is the mind consciousness that draws the manas—using reasoning and rational deliberation to persuade the manas not to cling indiscriminately—in the end it is still in substance the manas that determines the presence or absence, the weight or lightness, of the six consciousnesses; it is the manas that draws the six consciousnesses as they come and go, and it is the manas that weakens and extinguishes the six consciousnesses.

The solitary consciousness is far more active than the consciousness accompanied by the five senses, and is not easy to subdue; but once it is subdued, meditative concentration comes with ease. Once one can grasp and draw the solitary consciousness, there is a way in and out of concentration. Both the grasping and the drawing are done by the manas, so the manas must possess the mental factor of desire (chanda). Subduing the manas' desire, mobilizing the manas' desire, and drawing the manas' desire—then meditative concentration comes with ease. Therefore, in cultivating concentration, one is still cultivating the manas, subduing the manas, and drawing the manas.

The sequence for cultivating concentration: subdue the five consciousnesses until only one of the five consciousnesses remains—this is called one-pointed focus. Then even that one of the five consciousnesses must be weakened, allowing the functions of the consciousness accompanied by the five senses to strengthen. After that, shift the functions of the consciousness accompanied by the five senses over to the solitary consciousness, then weaken the consciousness accompanied by the five senses and strengthen the solitary consciousness. After that, let the solitary consciousness become focused, single-minded, and deep.

In still deeper concentration, one weakens the solitary consciousness, and finally extinguishes the solitary consciousness. When the solitary consciousness is too strong, it also hinders meditative concentration, especially deep meditative concentration. For example, if one always needs to deliberate on dharma meanings, if the mind always has to have thoughts, if thoughts cannot cease and must even be shifted from one to another, then deep meditative concentration is very hard to maintain.

From the principle of cultivating concentration, the manas must necessarily correspond with the mental factor of concentration (samādhi). Concentration means concentrating the manas; concentrating the six consciousnesses is useless, and the six consciousnesses cannot be stabilized anyway—the children will inevitably follow the mother; stabilize the mother, and the children are stabilized at the same time. In looking at things, one cannot look only at surface appearances; one must penetrate deeply into the essence and ultimate point of the matter. If one cannot observe the operations of the manas, one also cannot observe the deeper essence, and can only remain on the surface of things, observing some false appearances.