How to Attain the Concentration of the First Dhyāna

Some people say that by persistently sitting in meditation for a few hours every day, one can attain the first dhyāna. This is not necessarily so. Entering the first dhyāna does not depend on how long one sits in meditation, but on whether the mind can relinquish the craving desires of the desire realm. Many people, even if they can remain in meditative concentration for a year or half a year without eating or drinking, still cannot enter the first dhyāna, because their craving within the desire realm is heavy and they cannot relinquish and depart from the dharmas of the desire realm. Of the dharmas of the desire realm, relinquish as much as you can; the more you relinquish, the deeper your meditative concentration will be. 

The first dhyāna corresponds to the first dhyāna heaven of the form realm; only when the mind is the mind of a deva of the first dhyāna heaven can there be the first dhyāna. Since one must have the mind of a deva of the form realm, there must not be the various dharmas of the desire realm in one's mind. If every day you strive to relinquish and distance yourself from the dharmas of the desire realm, your mind will come to correspond with the states of the form realm heavens, and at that time the first dhyāna will inevitably arise—it comes uninvited. To relinquish the dharmas of the desire realm, you must contemplate which dharmas belong to the desire realm, what dharmas exist in the desire realm, and how to relinquish them.