Can One Attain the Fruits and Liberation Without Meditative Concentration?

Question: I often hear about recollection of the Buddha (buddhānusmṛti) meditative concentration (samādhi). In terms of the four dhyānas and eight concentrations, which dhyāna does the samādhi of recollecting the Buddha correspond to? 

Answer: The samādhi of recollecting the Buddha is divided into the samādhi of recollecting the Buddha that is a meditative state, and the samādhi of recollecting the Buddha that is the awakened state of mind in which samādhi and prajñā are equally cultivated. Whichever kind of samādhi of recollecting the Buddha it is, it involves fully endowed preparatory concentration (anāgamya-samādhi), or the concentration of the first dhyāna. Meditative concentration is the foundation of samādhi; without meditative concentration, no kind of samādhi will arise, no dharma will be accomplished, and in future lives one will continue to transmigrate through the suffering of birth and death. Therefore, everyone should not be content with broad learning and much hearing, should not be content with extensive knowledge, and should not rely on knowledge and views passed on by word of mouth. You must delve deeply into meditative concentration and investigate, striving to cultivate true wisdom. Do not believe the nonsense that one can still attain the fruits and liberation without meditative concentration; believe instead what the Buddha says in the Buddhist sutras.