Genuine Doubt Arises Within Samadhi

Shi Ruyuan: Nowadays, whether walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, I am always in a state of samadhi, contemplating the Dharma principles familiar to my mind. Primarily, I contemplate the skeleton visualization in my mind and my own skeleton, showing no interest in or discrimination toward people or matters external to the mind. Once, my daughter took me to the supermarket to buy snacks. Along the way to the supermarket, I maintained internal contemplation, unable to clearly hear others' speech, and felt no inclination to observe the surrounding people or objects. When my daughter asked me to pick out items, I felt as if my body was drifting unrealistically, like in a dream. My hands and eyes seemed disobedient, making it difficult to select things properly, as my mind was absent. If I didn't muster my spirits to face people and things, a shift in thought would leave me standing dazed and blank.

Last year, while practicing skeleton contemplation, I experienced some physical and mental sensations. Looking at family members who were once closest to me, or at exceptionally beautiful people outside, they all seemed like filthy piles of flesh and blood. Sometimes, even when using the restroom, I contemplated that all people are this filthy, with their bodies' nine orifices constantly expelling impurities. It made the human form feel unreal and meaningless to think about, so I stopped caring about eating well or dressing finely; good or bad became irrelevant. Recently, whether during the day or night, awake or asleep, I have remained in samadhi, with Dharma principles continuously flowing in my mind.

Commentary: Practicing skeleton contemplation can fully eradicate self-view. If the image of a skeleton can appear in the mind at all times, it indicates that one is constantly in skeleton contemplation, meaning constantly in samadhi. If the skeleton can manifest automatically and consciously, eradicating self-view can happen at any moment; it may occur anytime, anywhere, perhaps even having already occurred without one's awareness due to a lack of discerning wisdom. The mental state and sensations may also be difficult to articulate clearly. Only by clearly recognizing one's current state and thoroughly understanding one's mental impressions and feelings can one properly assess the level of wisdom and discernment—whether it belongs to the state of eradicated self-view or how far it remains from it. At the moment self-view is eradicated, there are corresponding physical and mental states. If these are misunderstood and treated as ordinary events, the opportunity is missed.

If a person consistently shows no interest in external people, affairs, or objects, this is not merely the merit of meditative concentration but also the merit of wisdom. It fully recognizes the world as suffering, impure, empty, and illusory. Only when the contemplation of the five aggregates becomes proficient and the mind can accord with emptiness can such reactions arise. Alternatively, such reactions can occur consistently only after self-view is eradicated. If one's practice is insufficient, it is impossible to be uninterested in or uninquisitive about people and things. Therefore, this state is over ninety percent indicative of eradicated self-view, though specifics still require observation and understanding.

The description of the experience with skeleton contemplation shows that Shi Ruyuan's practice has achieved remarkable results. She can constantly perceive all sentient beings as impure, fully recognizing (or realizing) the emptiness and unreality of sentient beings' five aggregates. Her mind has relinquished greed, becoming indifferent to food and clothing, and she remains in meditative concentration whether awake or asleep, with the state of samadhi uninterrupted. Her skill is quite excellent; the state of clear awareness after eradicating self-view is precisely like this.

Generally speaking, these states are those experienced after self-view is eradicated. Before self-view is eradicated, even if meditative concentration is quite good and the "approaching concentration" (未到地定) is complete, there are still interruptions. Only after self-view is eradicated and the mind is empty can meditative concentration become continuous and constant, abiding in samadhi at all times. Various phenomena indicate that Shi Ruyuan has over a ninety percent probability of having already eradicated self-view; she simply describes it unclearly. In the state of samadhi, everything indeed appears unreal, as if in a dream. This state resembles the state after self-view is eradicated. What significant events previously occurred in her body and mind, which she overlooked, I cannot accurately judge now. With insufficient experiential wisdom and poor verbal expression, what can I do?

Being in meditative concentration and contemplation whether walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, unmoved by external circumstances—this indicates exceptionally firm meditative concentration, with a mind like an impenetrable fortress. At this point, enlightenment can happen at any moment; this applies to both Mahayana and Hinayana. Hence, barring unforeseen circumstances, it is almost certain that in this life, she will attain enlightenment and become a sage or bodhisattva. Others may struggle to enter concentration, unable to be pushed in, yet she cannot be pulled out—the difference is immense. Why such a great difference?

Apart from the wisdom discernment within this samadhi, no other circumstances constitute true realization of the path. Outside the state of samadhi, neither Mahayana nor Hinayana can truly realize the path. Even if one has meditative concentration but is not constantly abiding in it, believing that one's discernment without concentration still constitutes path-realization is impossible. Shallow concentration also cannot lead to true path-realization; it is all fabricated by the conscious mind and does not count.

Shi Ruyuan: Once, a phrase inexplicably popped into my mind: "The wooden puppet with mechanisms; the mechanism triggers, the form arises." At the time, I hadn't fully processed it, so I silently repeated it, recalling that the master had mentioned this phrase in his book. Previously, I didn't understand its meaning. Now that it suddenly emerged, I pondered its significance. It should be using iron men, wooden men, and shadow-play puppets controlled by strings, etc., as metaphors for the activities of the five aggregates in humans, right?

The lively movements of sentient beings' five-aggregate shell are all the wondrous functions arising from the Tathagatagarbha's inherent nature in the background. The Tathagatagarbha's functional wonders manifest in all dharmas. All kōans or huatou investigations speak of the inherent functional wonders of sentient beings' Tathagatagarbha. Therefore, in samadhi, everything appears unreal, as if in a dream, devoid of any sensation. Sometimes, even while asleep at night, I am awakened by mantras recited in my mind.

Commentary: The inexplicable emergence of the phrase "The wooden puppet with mechanisms; the mechanism triggers, the form arises" signifies a sudden burst of Mahayana doubt and questioning from the mental faculty (manas) while in samadhi. This indicates the natural maturation of causes and conditions for Mahayana Chan (Zen) investigation. Being able to spontaneously generate such doubt shows that the mental faculty is deeply anchored in the Dharma principles; otherwise, only the conscious mind (mano-vijñāna) could raise doubts, not the mental faculty. The mental faculty's ability to generate Mahayana doubt arises for two reasons: First, the Hinayana foundation is extremely solid, with firm conviction in the selflessness of the five aggregates and no doubt about it, leading to the question: "If the five aggregates are empty, why do their activities still exist?" Second, the maturation of Mahayana Dharma cultivation. Therefore, when self-view still exists or is even relatively strong, the mental faculty will not generate Mahayana doubt—though the conscious mind might, as it can leap across many levels to engage in non-valid cognition, which the mental faculty cannot.

Thus, genuine doubt arises spontaneously in samadhi; it is not chanted out by the conscious mind like a mantra. It emerges from the mental faculty when causes and conditions ripen, after knowing the five aggregates are empty, seeking to understand the mechanical mysteries within the five-aggregate body. This is a natural phenomenon when Mahayana practice reaches fruition, not doubt deliberately forced by the conscious mind. Only in this way can investigation be swift and efficient, avoiding wasted time and false or mistaken awakenings. In such a state of samadhi, the realization of the mind (明心) and enlightenment (开悟) are imminent.

However, in the latter part of Shi Ruyuan's text, she mentions seeing the Tathagatagarbha's functional wonders behind all dharmas but cannot articulate what these wonders specifically are. Clearly, this is knowledge learned externally by the conscious mind, not her own genuine wisdom discernment—it is merely parroting, though she deeply believes in this principle. Belief, however, is separate from realization and cannot be regarded as validated wisdom. To attain validated wisdom, one must investigate within the functioning of the five aggregates, investigating as if unaware of the Tathagatagarbha, forgetting all learned theoretical knowledge about it.