Quotes About Samadhi

Now, when we go into samadhi through meditation, our thoughts become pacified. This means that the first five kinds of consciousnesses and the sixth consciousness have stopped their operations. When the operation of the conscious mind stops, that of the seventh consciousness called Mana-vijnana prevails to create makyo. Therefore, makyo may be regarded as something resulting from the power of concentration.

The concentration power of zazen, enabling you to walk through a place as busy as downtown Tokyo as if you were walking alone through an uninhabited desert, springs from a deep principle cultivated only in the practice of samadhi with one's eyes open. It is this point that only a person of attainment would know. You must never make light of opening or shutting your eyes.

There is a very interesting dialogue between master and disciple illustrating this difference between samadhi and attachment in Denshu Roku57 written by the Chinese Neo-Confucian philosopher, O Yomei (Wang Yang-ming). His disciple Riko-cho (Lu Ch'eng) once him about the meaning of the merit of primal oneness. In my opinion, this term generally alludes to samadhi.

To be wholly given up to love affairs or money-making is 'chasing after things,' or attachment, which means having yourself pulled and spun about by something external to you. This can never be called true samadhi. What may be called samadhi must be invested with the Heavenly Principle as the master.

We are apt to instantaneously come out of samadhi as soon as we are on our feet for a few moments. This is because we are lacking in the full power of Zen concentration. By getting to our feet and walking in kinhin while we are one with susoku or koan, we discipline ourselves to realize the oneness of tranquility and movement so that we may not be controlled and upset by our environment in our everyday life.

Running after things is called attachment; following the Heavenly Principle is samadhi.

The distinction between samadhi and attachment (following forms) depends on whether we are completely one with objects, liberated from mind and body, or whether we remain even slightly attached to the duality of subject and object.

Experience shows that if a sufficiently deep level--not necessarily the deepest level but one that corresponds to what the yogis call savikalpa samadhi, which is not as deep as nirvikalpa--if that can be attained and then prolonged sufficiently in time, an artist or a writer can draw from the experience creative power for his work.