How Are the Innumerable Hundreds of Thousands of Meditative Concentrations (Samādhis) Accomplished?

Countless hundreds and thousands of meditative concentrations (samādhi) are all accomplished within profound meditative concentration; all are accomplished by the manas. In profound meditative concentration, the mind consciousness can no longer deliberate, yet the manas still engages in deliberation (manana). If the manas did not deliberate, no samādhi would appear. All samādhis are the result of the manas's deliberation; the deliberation of the mind consciousness cannot manifest any samādhi whatsoever. Only after the manas has deliberated—when thoughts and views change, wisdom arises, the mind gains decisiveness, and choices are made—does the state of samādhi appear. Therefore, train so that the wisdom-based deliberation of the mind consciousness guides the deliberation of the manas, entering deep into meditative concentration where there is the equal cultivation of Samādhi and Prajñā; profound samādhi will surely appear, and in the future hundreds of thousands of millions of samādhis will appear, along with immeasurable supernatural powers and spiritual powers to receive and liberate sentient beings. Even the twenty-five pure concentration wheels of accomplished practice in the Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment were also accomplished by the manas within profound meditative concentration. 

In the Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment, the World-Honored One expounded the twenty-five pure concentration wheels: 

（一）若诸菩萨唯取极静，由静力故，永断烦恼，究竟成就，不起于座，便入涅槃，此菩萨者，名单修奢摩他。（二）若诸菩萨唯观如幻，以佛力故，变化世界，种种作用，备行菩萨，清净妙行，于陀罗尼，不失寂念，及诸静慧，此菩萨者，名单修三摩钵提。（三）若诸菩萨唯灭诸幻，不取作用，独断烦恼，烦恼断尽，便证实相，此菩萨者，名单修禅那。

The twenty-two practice methods that follow are all formed by combining the preceding three methods—śamatha, vipaśyanā, and realizing the true reality of dharmas—in various ways according to spiritual faculties, and all are accomplished by the manas within profound meditative cultivation. The Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment is most supreme, exceedingly supreme; it is a practice of true cultivation and true realization, admitting not the slightest fakery, and all sentimental thinking and intellectual interpretation are of no use here. Profound meditative concentration is indispensable; the deliberation of the manas is indispensable; profound contemplative wisdom is indispensable—that is to say, the manas's contemplative wisdom is indispensable. In such practice, no matter how the mind consciousness deliberates, infers, speculates, or guesses, it cannot play the slightest role, cannot push forward even a trace of samādhi's appearance, and still less will any shadow of supernatural powers and spiritual powers appear.

If you want to calm your mind but simply cannot calm it, this is the mind consciousness wanting calm while the manas does not want calm. If you feel that all dharmas are like illusions and want to extinguish these illusory dharmas, yet cannot extinguish even a single dharma, this is the mind consciousness wanting to extinguish them, while the manas does not feel they are illusory and does not want to extinguish them. If you feel that greed, hatred, and delusion are afflictions and want to eliminate them, yet cannot eliminate them, and afflictions keep arising without pause, this is the mind consciousness wanting to eliminate afflictions, while the manas does not want to eliminate them. Therefore, if practice remains merely at the level of the mind consciousness, it simply cannot resolve the great matter of birth and death. So from now on we must practice in a solid, down-to-earth manner, not deceiving ourselves and others, and not playing with flowery fists and embroidered kicks or false posturing.