The Benefits of Cultivating Meditative Concentration

In the morning, while sitting in meditation, I heard the "ding-dong" sound of QQ. At first there was only knowing of the sound, without any definition or concept of the sound, and without any feeling or sensation—just simple knowing. This process lasted quite a long time; this was the discernment of the ear consciousness, which is rather coarse. Only afterward came the discernment of the mind consciousness. Once the mind consciousness discerned it, it distinguished that it was the QQ sound; there was a definition and a name-label, and there were feelings and sensations. At the same time, I felt lazily disinclined to move, with a slight craving attachment to the comfortable feeling, wanting to continue sitting—this was the craving attachment of the manas. Before the ear consciousness heard the sound, it was the manas that knew. When the manas knows, it is vague and indistinct, unable to discern that it is a sound, unable to discern what content is within it; only when the mind consciousness emerges can it gradually distinguish that it is the "ding-dong" sound of QQ. If one is not sitting in meditation and entering samādhi, this process of discernment is extremely brief and swift. But in meditative concentration, the mind is very subtle; the discernment is very fine. The ear consciousness, mind consciousness, and manas are all more subtle than usual, so the whole process appears somewhat prolonged, the content somewhat refined, the knowing somewhat pure. The mind does not easily give rise to emotions, and afflictions are easily subdued.

All of this is the credit of the manas. If one further subdues the manas, then when the "ding-dong" sound arises, He will not want to discern what it is; then the ear consciousness and mind consciousness will not arise, the five consciousnesses will all fail to arise, and there will be no feeling and no knowing—that would be entering the state of the second dhyāna.

During sitting meditation, the mind becomes very subtle and the perception very vivid and real, yet objective and free of emotion. One can then discover truths that normally cannot be discovered. As long as the mind does not enter into the sense objects, but simply perceives purely and discerns objectively, the eradication of the view of self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi-prahāṇa) and seeing the mind will become relatively easier.

For a person with meditative concentration (dhyāna), the mind is very subtle; his discernment is fine, and he sees people and affairs very accurately, able to grasp the fundamentals. When doing things, his mind is very meticulous and thorough with details; when encountering new things, he can learn them quickly, makes few mistakes, and is intelligent and wise. As for a person with a scattered mind, one can imagine: the mind is coarse and the temperament restless, careless and sloppy. Among the people I have come into contact with, hardly any are pleasing to my eye, so I always avoid people. Since childhood I have preferred solitude, liking to quietly do things alone by myself.