[Lamrim·Meditation] SERENITY AND INSIGHT P3

(c) The nature of serenity and insight
As to the nature of serenity, it is as stated in the Sutra Unravelling the Intended Meaning:
　　While you dwell in solitude and properly direct your attention inward, you attend to just those topics upon which you have carefully reflected. Your attention is mentally engaged by continuously attending inwardly. The state of mind wherein you do this, and stay this way often, and in which both physical and mental pliancy arise, is called “serenity.” Thus is a bodhisattva’s thorough pursuit of serenity.

This means that you take as an observed object any topic in the twelve branches of scripture of which you have a sure understanding, such as the five aggregates and so forth. With undistracted mindfulness and vigilance, you focus your attention on this object and fix it to the object continuously, so that your mind stabilizes of its own accord on the object of meditation. When you produce the delight and bliss of physical and mental pliancy, then your state of meditative concentration becomes serenity. This comes about through just sustaining your attention inwardly, without distraction from the object of meditation; it is not contingent upon understanding the reality of phenomena.
　As to the nature of insight, the same sutra says:
　　After you have attained mental pliancy and physical pliancy, you stay therein and eliminate other mental aspects. Then, through the mental image which is the domain of the meditative concentration within, you individually examine those very topics upon which you have reflected, and affirm your conviction in them. With relation to the images that are the domain of such concentration, any differentiation of the understood meanings of these topics, or full differentiation, thorough examination, thorough analysis, forbearance, wish, differentiation of particulars, seeing, or thought is called “insight.” Thus is a bodhisattva skilled in insight.

It is said that the Chinese master Ha-shang (Hva-shang), having seen this sutra’s very clear and undeniable explanation that insight is discerning wisdom, exclaimed, “I don’t know if this is a sutra at all!” and trampled on it. He did this because the sutra’s statement did not agree with his claim that since all conceptualization of any sort involves an apprehension of signs, you should dispense with discerning wisdom and meditate on the profound meaning by not bringing anything to mind. This approach has a great number of adherents.

　The noble Asanga explains that: “differentiation” means distinguishing the diversity of conventional phenomena; “full differentiation” means distinguishing their real [ultimate] nature; “thorough examination” is when conceptual attention possessed of wisdom apprehends a sign; “thorough analysis” means proper examination. “Examination” means rough examination; “analysis” means detailed analysis. The apprehension of a sign does not here refer to a conception of true existence, but rather distinguishing the exact particulars of an object. Accordingly, there is both examination and analysis of both the real nature and the diversity of phenomena.

Lamrim Chenmo Pg15LL07-Pg17L03

* Lamrim text revised by AMRITA Translation Foundation