The Inspiration from Śuddhipanthaka's Cultivation of Meditation and Attainment of Fruition

In worldly affairs there is a saying: "Focus the mind on one point, and nothing cannot be accomplished." Consider this: which penetrates deeper into the ground—the tip of an awl, or a flat board? The answer is certainly the awl's tip. Deeply cultivating meditative concentration (samādhi) follows this same principle. When the mind abides in a single state, the mind's power becomes unified and undispersed; the concentrated mind penetrates deeply, and by carefully deliberating on a single principle, one can thoroughly comprehend its meaning and thereby give rise to wisdom. Without concentration, the mind is like that wooden board—large in surface area, with its strength dispersed—and thus cannot penetrate deep into the soil. Cultivating concentration means fixing the mind on one object and focusing one's energy; only in this way can nothing be left unaccomplished.

There is a special case of cultivating concentration that demonstrates that when the mind's thoughts are unified and the power of concentration is deep, one can realize the Buddha's Dharma and attain wisdom. Śākyamuni Buddha had a disciple named Cūḍapanthaka who, due to the karmic retribution from his past-life conditions, was extremely dull-witted—whatever he learned, he would forget: learning what came later, he forgot what came before; learning what came before, he forgot what came later; learning one sentence, he forgot that one sentence. Seeing him so dull, the World-Honored One felt compassion and taught him to recite two words: "broom." No matter what Cūḍapanthaka did each day, he kept the words "broom" in his mind. Eventually his mind became purified, and he was able to contemplate the principles of the Small Vehicle within meditative concentration, ultimately realizing the fourth fruit of arhatship. When Cūḍapanthaka recited "broom," his mind had no scattered thoughts; with this power of concentration, he contemplated the Dharma principles taught by the World-Honored One and realized the fruit. Therefore, in our cultivation of concentration, we too must let the mind abide in a single state and fix the mind on a single thought. Persisting in this way without interruption, the power of concentration will arise, and ultimately contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā) and deliberation will succeed. This single state and single thought can be a phrase of Buddha-recollection, a mantra, or a short sūtra; no matter what one is doing, the mind holds the sūtra or mantra, holds the recollection of the Buddha, casting aside attachment to worldly things. The power of concentration will surely arise.