4. Samādhi

Overall Teaching

Candraprabha asks about samādhi. The Buddha explains it as achieving realization, eliminating kleśas, and embracing virtues like correct conduct and renunciation. He then describes its nature and results in verse, including practical descriptions of visualisation of the Buddha.

Summary

• Candraprabha asks the Buddha to explain the nature of the samādhi that was previously discussed.

• The Buddha lists forty aspects of the samādhi:

  • 1. Pacifying the mind.

  • 2. Absence of arising thoughts.

  • 3. Lack of confused knowledge.

  • 4. Casting off burdens.

  • 5. Attaining the wisdom of a Tathāgata.

  • 6. Achieving the power of a Buddha.

  • 7-38. Various virtues, such as controlling desires, eliminating anger, cutting off delusions, delighting in good dharmas, maintaining right faith, and constant mindfulness.

  • 39. Not relying on the triple world.

  • 40. Aligning oneself with omniscience.

• Buddha has opened the path to the deathless, clarified the true nature of dharmas, and revealed the drawbacks of saṃsāra and the benefits of nirvāṇa.

• He emphasises the importance of associating with good friends, maintaining pure precepts, practising dhūta austerities (i.e. dwelling in solitude and living simply), and cultivating kindness.

• Assures that consistent practice leads to the attainment of samādhi and ultimately to the realization of Buddha's wisdom and immeasurable merits.

• As further encouragement to practice, the Buddha:

  • Encourages looking beyond superficial and impure motivations (like food jealousy) and deep contemplation to attain samādhi.

  • Highlights the foundational role of pure precepts in achieving a quiescent state where dharmas are naturally calm.

  • Emphasizes the importance of steady practice in mindfulness of the Buddha, allowing practitioners to stay aligned with the Buddha's wisdom even amidst mundane activities.

• On visualisation as mindfulness of the Buddha:

  • Visualizing the Buddha’s qualities helps stabilize the mind and integrate the practitioner's mind with Dharma. With no doubt that one will attain that state, the practitioner abides visualising the tranquil appearance of the Buddha.

  • Advanced practitioners will see numerous Buddhas and understand the boundless and inconceivable virtues of the Tathāgata.

  • Practitioners who cultivate this samādhi will continuously perceive and be in the presence of Buddhas.

  •  In times of extreme adversity, such as serious illness, the samādhi helps maintain mental composure and adherence to the understanding of the emptiness of all dharmas. Hearing the described benefits should inspire the pursuit of the highest wisdom, avoiding future regrets over missed spiritual opportunities.

•  The Buddha finally emphasizes the importance of applying the teachings to one's life, comparing ignoring the teachings to having medicine but not using it to cure oneself. He concludes with encouragement to always practice precepts, listening, and giving as a means to easily achieve this profound samādhi.

Commentary

Thrangu Rinpoche writes that in this chapter, the essence and true meaning of samadhi are explored. The Buddha, responding to Candraprabha's query about the nature of samadhi, defines it as both the path pursued through dedicated meditation training and the ultimate state of fruition. This chapter emphasizes that the core teaching across various Buddhist sutras, whether addressing practitioners of lesser vehicles or expounding on the philosophies of the Yogacara or the Madhyamaka, is the understanding of emptiness as the fundamental nature of things. Specifically, within the Tibetan Vajrayana framework and the practice of Mahāmudra, samadhi is understood as a direct realization of the mind's true nature. This realization is not achieved through intellectual deduction as typical in Sutra teachings but through direct experiential insight into the mind's nature, described as non-arising, neither continuous nor discontinuous, and fundamentally empty. This insight liberates from the burdens of samsaric existence, revealing that the mind, while empty, possesses a luminous wisdom. This chapter underscores the critical role of genuine meditation practice in achieving enlightenment within a single lifetime, as opposed to merely intellectual understanding.

Similar to the teaching on having medicine but not using it to cure oneself, Thrangu Rinpoche writes that initially, Milarepa sought teachings from Rongtön Lhakar to attain enlightenment quickly, believing he could achieve it without effort due to his previous successes with black magic. However, when he didn't practice the teachings, he saw no progress. Realizing his error, he approached Marpa, the Translator, offering himself fully and expressing a desire to achieve enlightenment in his lifetime. Marpa emphasized that achieving enlightenment depended on Milarepa's own diligence and practice, not just on receiving teachings, highlighting the essential role of personal effort in the spiritual journey.

On face value, it might seem that this sūtra is not teaching meditation explicitly. In regard to this, Rinpoche suggests that this is a kind of conceptualised samādhi that would be a hindrance. The meditative concentration that hinders enlightenment is focused on the self, fixated on the notion of "I'm meditating!" This creates a dualistic meditation state constructed by notions, which, although superior to the ordinary state of mind, obstructs the realisation of the ultimate nature of things. The King of Samādhis Sutra and Mahāmudra aim to point out the real condition of the mind for direct recognition, not to promote a contrived, conceptual type of meditation. This artificial concentration is seen as a hindrance to the true samadhi, which involves a natural rest in the mind's true nature without intellectual constructs. 

Further, regarding the inherent wisdom of the mind, it is not empty in the conventional sense of voidness but is a dynamic emptiness capable of cognition, which is the source of wisdom. 

Regarding the nature of ignorance and the realisation process, understanding and experiencing the mind's nature directly is essential for overcoming mental dullness and ignorance and for advancing towards awakening.

Discussion

• What emotional or psychological effects do you experience when visualizing the Buddha? Do you feel a sense of calm, increased compassion, or perhaps something else?

• Can the practice of visualizing the Buddha extend beyond formal meditation sessions into everyday activities? How can this practice help in dealing with daily stressors or challenges?

• The sutra lists forty specific attributes or qualities related to achieving samādhi. How can a practitioner integrate these qualities into their daily practice? Which qualities do you find most challenging, and why?

• The text emphasizes the importance of pure precepts as a foundation for meditation and achieving samādhi. What is the relationship between ethical conduct and meditative depth in your personal experience?