The Achievement of Meditative Concentration

My children, do you possess the power of meditative concentration? The true value of your practice lies in this very stillness. To have a heart that is settled, unmoved, and free from the ripples of agitation—this is the ultimate goal of your diligent practice. When your mind is truly settled, you are no longer swayed by the external environment; instead, you gain the power to transform that environment itself.

The Foundation of Precepts, Concentration, and Wisdom

The core of your practice is found in the ancient teaching: diligently practise Precepts, Concentration, and Wisdom, and you will naturally extinguish greed, anger, and ignorance. This is the fundamental path. By upholding the Precepts, you ensure that your heart remains at peace and free from remorse. From this foundation of moral clarity, meditative concentration arises, and from that concentration, true wisdom is born.

If your heart follows the movements of the external world, it becomes difficult to achieve the power of meditative concentration. These external distractions manifest in many forms:

• People:
• The words, expressions, language, and actions of others.Emotions:
• The various attachments of familial love, romantic desire, and friendship.Objects:
• Your personal preferences, such as the foods you crave or the things you despise.Personality:
• Your subjective views, lack of flexibility, stubbornness, and the heavy burden of ego and stubborn self.Environment: The physical surroundings, such as the mountains, the flow of water, or the various places you find pleasant or unpleasant.

Mastering the Six Roots

When your Six Roots—the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind—interact with the world, you must be vigilant. If you see, hear, smell, taste, touch, or feel, and these experiences enter your consciousness, they become seeds of karma. To achieve true meditative concentration, you must learn to perceive the world without being captured by it:

• When you see clearly, it should be as if you have not seen; your heart remains unperturbed and does not store the image in your consciousness.When you hear clearly, it should be as if you have not heard; your heart remains unperturbed and does not store the sound in your consciousness.When you smell a fragrance, you know it is a fragrance, yet it is as if you have not smelled it; your heart remains unperturbed.When you taste a flavour, you know it clearly, yet it is as if you have not tasted it; your heart remains unperturbed.When your body touches something soft, it is as if you have not touched it; your heart remains unperturbed.When you receive an idea or a feeling, it is as if you have not felt it; your heart remains unperturbed.

The Path to Ultimate Freedom

When you can achieve this state—where you know everything is an illusion, acting within the play of life while remaining unmoved—then your meditative concentration is truly successful. You must continue to chant Namo Amituofo, keeping the Buddha’s name in your mind continuously, while remaining perfectly clear about everything happening around you. This is the achievement of meditative concentration.

When the time comes for you to depart this life, you will not be disturbed by any external environment. This is true freedom. By maintaining this state, you can avoid being pulled into other realms of existence, and you will have the strength to face any demonic illusions or karmic creditors that may appear. When your heart is in this state of perfect stillness, the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss is right before your eyes. Wherever you are, that place becomes the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss.

Namo Amituofo