How to Practice Contemplation to Attain Enlightenment? (Training the Mental Faculty)

Original text from Volume Five of the Śūraṅgama Sūtra: (Regarding Śuddhipanthaka) The Buddha, taking pity on my stupidity, taught me to dwell peacefully and regulate the out-breath and in-breath. At that time, I contemplated the breath, minute and exhaustively, down to its arising, abiding, changing, and ceasing. All formations are momentary. My mind suddenly became clear and unhindered, leading even to the exhaustion of outflows, and I became an Arhat. Abiding at the Buddha’s seat, I was confirmed as one beyond learning. When the Buddha inquired about perfect penetration, according to my realization, reversing the breath to follow emptiness is supreme.

Explanation: The Buddha taught Śuddhipanthaka to dwell peacefully in one place, regulating the out-breath and in-breath. Regulating them simultaneously meant observing the out-breath and in-breath. When Śuddhipanthaka observed the out-breath and in-breath, he eventually observed that his own breaths were extremely minute, so minute they were almost ceasing. He also observed the subtle process of the breaths' arising, temporary abiding, changing, and ceasing, even becoming aware that the out-breath and in-breath operate moment by moment. That is, the in-breath and out-breath are processes occurring moment by moment; they are not a continuous, unbroken, complete process. They are a segmented, mechanistic process and program, pieced together.

At this point, he suddenly realized that the out-breath and in-breath are empty and illusory, not real. Thereupon, Śuddhipanthaka’s mind suddenly became clear and open. He instantly realized that his own five aggregates are empty and without self, no longer obstructed by these conditioned phenomena of arising and ceasing. Immediately, his afflictions were completely severed, and he attained the fruition of a great Arhat. Śuddhipanthaka’s contemplative experience was to reflect on the source and destination of the out-breath and in-breath until he discovered that the source is empty, the destination is also empty, and the entire process of the breaths' arising, abiding, changing, and ceasing is empty, ultimately unobtainable.

Observing the out-breath and in-breath is the latter part of observing the breathing process. The initial part of observing the breath is observing the air entering and exiting the nostrils; this part is relatively coarse and easy to observe. After the air enters the body, it gradually transforms into the breath connected to the channels; this part becomes more subtle. Sometimes, extremely subtle breath may even become unrelated to the air breathed through the nostrils. It is the body’s own automatic operation of the breath-channels. Even if the external breathing stops—no external air entering the body through the nostrils—this subtle breath-channel operation will still continue slowly and faintly. This is the state of the fourth dhyāna where breathing ceases, yet the person does not die. So, how does this subtle breath arise? The human body has pores; external air enters the body through the pores and transforms into breath, promoting blood circulation to sustain basic life activities.

If not in the fourth dhyāna, such minimal breath energy cannot drive the rapid flow of blood. The nutrients supplied by the blood to the body would be insufficient, causing one to feel suffocated and unbearable. The fourth dhyāna is the concentration of relinquishing perception and attaining purity; without mental activity, it does not consume so much energy and blood. The nutrients provided by pore-breathing are sufficient.

The main base of the breath is in the dantian (elixir field). From the dantian, it circulates throughout the body. Observing the out-breath and in-breath primarily means observing the breath in the dantian region. One rise and fall of the dantian constitutes one breath. When energy is abundant and the mind is finer, one can follow the breath as it circulates throughout the body, observing the breath in the whole body. The breath can be coarse or fine, rapid or slow. When observing, one should merely feel the operation of the breath with detachment, aloofness, and objectivity, without adding any thoughts or ideas. As concentration deepens and the mind becomes extremely refined, one will observe that the operation of the breath is very faint and slow, occurring in segments. The connections between segments are not very tight; it seems pieced together and feels less real.

This is like observing a circle of fire. Ordinarily, one sees a fire circle, unaware that it is formed by a torch being swung rapidly—there is no actual fire circle at all. This is an illusion, a mistaken perception. When the mind becomes finer and one observes carefully, one realizes it is not a fire circle at all but rather a torch moving along a fixed circular path, point by point. Thereupon, one suddenly becomes clear and open, experiencing a great realization: there is no fire circle at all; the torch is also empty. The mind instantly becomes empty and liberated, no longer bound by the fire circle. One no longer needs to spin around the fire circle every day, unable to find peace.

Observing the out-breath and in-breath, as well as observing all dharmas, follows this same principle. Observing to the end, one will discover that there are no actual things, people, or dharmas at all; everything is empty. This is how one sees the truth. Simply by truthfully observing the arising, abiding, changing, and ceasing of dharmas, one can instantly see the truth. Understanding the direction pointed to by contemplation, mastering the correct method of contemplation, and cultivating the skill to the appropriate level make seeing the truth not difficult. The difficulty lies in the mind not being focused on the path, still valuing and clinging to worldly dharmas, unwilling to let go. Thoughts and concepts play a decisive role.

Due to ignorance, sentient beings have coarse minds and lack meditative power. They perceive everything as illusion yet regard all worldly dharmas as real, solid, and unquestionable. Thus, they frantically and ceaselessly grasp at all dharmas, ending up battered, bruised, scarred, even sacrificing their lives, yet they stubbornly persist. They glorify this as striving hard, having great aspirations, being proactive and enterprising, having a career mindset, having ideals, responsibilities, and a sense of duty. Paying any price for those fundamentally empty dharmas devoid of any actual person or event—this is truly foolish beyond words.