Guarding the Six Faculties to Maintain Pure Mindfulness in Reciting the Buddha's Name

Spring-like Contemplation Experience: After reading the section on manas-indriya training, I tried reciting the Buddha's name using the focused recitation method: Sitting cross-legged, I turned the prayer beads while reciting the Buddha's name, my eyes watching the rotating beads, my ears listening to my own recitation, and my consciousness guarding this state without giving rise to other thoughts—maintaining deep concentration. I recited for about 40 minutes, and after finishing, I felt a buzzing sensation in my head. Shortly after, I went to sit in meditation. Not long after sitting down, I heard my own recitation of the Buddha's name, my heartbeat, and my pulse intertwining, resonating clearly, powerfully, and rhythmically deep within my mind. This sound seemed to form a separate space, blocking out all other information, and it lasted for over half an hour. Later, I felt my consciousness begin to intervene, and the sound disappeared.

I would like to ask the Master: Was this the manas-indriya reciting the Buddha's name? Is this method of practice correct? Later, when I tried to continue practicing using this method, I couldn't regain that state and don't know why.

Answer: If it were the manas-indriya reciting the Buddha's name, there would be no sound, no inner voice, and you would not hear yourself reciting. When consciousness recites orally or mentally, consciousness can hear it. Your recitation involved both consciousness and the manas-indriya. If only consciousness recites, the manas-indriya will grasp at objects, giving rise to distracting thoughts. At this stage, your recitation skill is neither deep nor shallow; it belongs to an intermediate transitional phase. Only when, in the end, the faculties of the hand, eye, and ear no longer move, and you recall the Buddha with deep concentration and in complete silence, is it the manas-indriya reciting. Nevertheless, this is still very good. Your recitation skill is not shallow; you entered samadhi, and a preliminary, shallow level of samadhi manifested.

If you wish to recite purely and more deeply, you must restrain all six sense faculties. "Restraining all six sense faculties" means controlling the first five sense faculties and the first six consciousnesses, enabling the manas-indriya to focus single-pointedly and undisturbed on reciting the Buddha's name, silently and without sound. During recitation, the five sense faculties and six consciousnesses should not move. Yet, not only did your hand move (body faculty), your eye faculty also moved, and your ear faculty also moved. This requires immense energy to maintain the manas-indriya's focus; it is extremely difficult. Therefore, the depth of your samadhi is still insufficient. Recitation is about having the Buddha in the mind. The prayer beads are not the Buddha; turning them with the hand is not equivalent to reciting. Looking with the eyes is not equivalent to reciting. The sound is not the Buddha; listening with the ears is not equivalent to reciting. The more auxiliary recitation tools you use, the more your mind scatters.

There are also those who visualize the setting sun while simultaneously doing tiptoe exercises to train their body, dividing their mind into two completely different places—how could there be even a trace of samadhi? Others contemplate several dharma methods in a single day, as if possessing extraordinary abilities, but in reality, their minds are too scattered; they fundamentally do not understand what contemplation practice is. Most sentient beings are accustomed to their six sense faculties grasping at the six dust objects (sense fields); they refuse to let go and unify their focus. It's as if they fear that by concentrating, they will miss other dust objects. They are habituated to grasping at dust objects, clinging greedily. Thus, all six faculties move simultaneously, grasping at all phenomena, unwilling to relinquish anything. To act contrary to the principles of practice is not to practice at all.