How to Induce Meditative Concentration with Wisdom

Use wisdom to induce meditative concentration (samādhi), and one will enter concentration very quickly. The prerequisite is that one's foundation in both meditative concentration and contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā) is fairly good, so that upon taking one's seat, one can quickly dispel distracting thoughts and deluded imaginings. One deliberates on a piece of Dharma meaning with clear content, able to focus quickly, and becoming more and more focused, weakening and eliminating the obvious deliberation of the mind consciousness, while the manas within the mind is still deliberating and pondering—without language, without sound, without words—deliberating very deeply. At the beginning of practicing this, it feels rather forced and hard to endure, but once one becomes accustomed to it, entering concentration becomes very fast; body and mind feel extremely comfortable, the whole body is clear and transparent, the mind is lucid, and after emerging from concentration, body and mind are joyful and one's energy is a hundredfold—it is far more effective than sleep. 

During the process of the manas's deliberation, one can observe that the manas does not consult any Dharma meanings, does not compare them with other Dharma meanings, and does not guess or imagine. Therefore, the manas has no mode of deliberation by inference or non-valid cognition; its deliberation is entirely direct perception. Once it reaches a conclusion, that is wisdom of direct perception—relatively true, not easily overturned or regretted, and trustworthy. Deliberation with the mind consciousness is not like this. Because the manas's deliberation involves no language, words, or sound, for the conclusions it deliberates to take the form of language, words, and sound, the mind consciousness must come to help: the mind consciousness must be awakened, the conclusion transmitted to it, and only after the mind consciousness understands it does it organize language, forming words and sounds. The language and words thus formed will be very concise, clear, penetrating, and apt. 

This process is rather complex and slow—much slower than the mind consciousness deliberating on a problem alone—but although slow, it is deep, thorough, and apt, representing one's true wisdom. Therefore, if a person deliberates a great deal with the mind consciousness, relying primarily on mind-consciousness deliberation, then although their writing and speaking will be very fast, and the content abundant and sprawling, the quality cannot be guaranteed—much less can it be guaranteed to be wisdom of direct perception. There will be a great deal of inference and non-valid cognition, more referenced content; their memory may be very good and their performance may be very good, but it does not fully represent their true wisdom. Hence, a good meal does not fear being late, nor does it fear being slow—refinement and deliciousness are the greatest enjoyment.