Shamatha Meditation

Visualization of Shakyamuni Buddha

Today I will explain some important practices in preliminary cultivation:

Practicing Shamatha Meditation with Shakyamuni Buddha as your object.

When we practice Dharma, we practice through three extraordinary virtues:

The excellence of initial conduct (Motivation),

The excellence of righteous conduct (Supreme Deeds),

The excellence of final conduct (Dedication of Merits).

Taking refuge and having great motivation must be practiced well. We follow the same principles as we often talk about, and there is no need to repeat them.

What is the righteous conduct we are talking about today?

According to Mahayana Buddhism, it is Shamatha and Vipassana Meditation. All the practices of the Mahayana Buddhism can be included in these two, which are extremely important cultivations.

But I won’t talk about Vipassana Meditation today. You will hear and contemplate the content of Vipassana Meditation in the future. Everyone should know that the Vipassana Meditation requires the realization of emptiness. So it is a very profound practice and will be your next cultivation. Those who have enough listening and contemplating Dharma experience will be able to practice the Vipassana Meditation.

Today we will talk about how to practice Shamatha Meditation. It can be said to be still or entering Samadhi. Being still or entering Samadhi can be divided into two types:

1) Enter Samadhi by manifesting an object in the mind.

2) Or enter Samadhi by nothing in the mind.

Today we are talking about entering Samadhi by manifesting an object in the mind, which means there is the appearance of an object in the mind when we start meditation, then enter Shamatha Meditation which manifests until reaching Samadhi.

How do we visualize an object in our mind?

There are many kinds of visualization. But this time we emphasize the visualization of our Shakyamuni Buddha.  Visualizing that Shakyamuni Buddha is sitting in the seven-point posture of Vairochana. Why do we enter Samadhi by visualizing Shakyamuni Buddha? Because this is a very important meditation with great blessing from the Buddha.

Here it is written in the [Samadhi King Sutra]:

"Walking, sitting, standing, and lying down,

 Who can think of and visualize Shakyamuni Buddha,

 Shakyamuni Buddha will always appear and stay in front of him,

 Keep practicing and he will obtain great enlightenment.

 The Buddha's body is like pure gold,

 And the Lord of the world is extremely solemn,

 Whoever's mind is focused on this,

 The Bodhisattva will enter Samadhi."

This is mentioned in the fine print on the front of the Dharma practice rituals of Shakyamuni Buddha.

What do the first four sentences mean?

You can either walk, sit down, stand, or lie down on the bed, at any time you think about and visualize Shakyamuni Buddha, Shakyamuni Buddha will immediately abide in front of you, and you will achieve great enlightenment in the future.

If you always remember, recite, and visualize Shakyamuni Buddha, the Buddha will settle down in front of you in an instant. Whoever recites the Buddha's name at all times, the Buddha will immediately appear in front of the person. He is always there, truly there, and bestows the empowerment initiation and blessings to the person. This is the truth!

After receiving the empowerment initiation and blessings, many karmic obstacles can be eliminated immediately. So the blessing from the Buddha is very powerful. This is the truth!

Why can't we see the Buddha?

Because our karma is too deep and heavy now, we cannot see, hear or touch Shakyamuni Buddha for now. However, Shakyamuni Buddha is residing in front of us. Visualization of the Buddha has such great power.

Whether you think about the Buddha once in your mind or offer a flower in front of the Buddha statue, the iron hook of the Buddha's blessing has caught you. Wherever you are, you will be on the path of liberation. You will be able to achieve liberation and become a Buddha in the future.

The blessing of the Buddha is very great! Respectfully remember the words of Shakyamuni Buddha. When Shakyamuni Buddha was practicing Bodhisattva, he made a vow: Whoever visualizes me will be able to be liberated and become a Buddha in the future.

The Buddha made such a wish. Therefore, with the blessing of Shakyamuni Buddha's vows, if we think about Shakyamuni Buddha in our mind now, we will definitely become Buddhas in the future. This is the truth! This is the meaning of the first four sentences.

What do the second four sentences mean?

"Shakyamuni Buddha's body is like bright pure gold." The Dharma body of Shakyamuni Buddha is a very solemn golden color. There are eighty solemn and thirty-two phases that are something we can’t even describe with metaphors. The body of Shakyamuni Buddha is such a majestic golden color.

The Lord of the world is our grand essential master Shakyamuni Buddha. "Extremely solemn" means no matter which angle you look at him, there is nothing ungraceful or faulty about it. He is "Extremely solemn" from any angle and direction. The solemnity of Shakyamuni Buddha is truly incomparable. Whoever looks at Sakyamuni Buddha will want to see him again and again.

The heavenly beings were very arrogant when they first came because heavenly beings are also solemn and have little light on the body. But when they see the majestic appearance of the Buddha while listening to the Dharma, they think: so majestic, the Buddha is so majestic!

All the heavenly beings and gods suddenly became dim and their arrogance naturally disappeared.

Our grand essential master Shakyamuni Buddha is so majestic. This is the merit of Shakyamuni Buddha's great body. There are also various lights emitted from three locations on the body of Shakyamuni Buddha. Not to mention Shakyamuni Buddha himself, the light emitted by Buddha is immeasurable in name and quantity. If we just think of the lights in our minds, it can eliminate many karmic obstacles and increase many blessings. Therefore, the body of Shakyamuni Buddha is "Extremely solemn".

"Shakyamuni Buddha's body is like bright pure gold, and the Lord of the world is extremely solemn." This is a summary of the merits of the Dharma body of Shakyamuni Buddha. The main and very important thing is to visualize the image of the Master Shakyamuni Buddha and remember the incredible merits of the body of Shakyamuni Buddha. The secret merits of the Buddha's body, speech, and mind are indescribable, unimaginable, and inconceivable.

Taking "The body is like bright pure gold, the Lord of the world is extremely solemn" as a representative. Everyone can visualize as much as possible according to their ability.

We ordinary people, Arhats, and Bodhisattvas cannot understand all the incredible merits of the Buddha. Therefore, the merits of the Buddha are endless. Shakyamuni Buddha, who has such great and numerous merits, is the object of our practice this time.

We must conscientiously sit on the Seven Pillars of Vairocana, and then mentally visualize the lotus throne carried by eight lions in front of us, with the sun and moon cushion on it, and sitting on it is our incredible master, Shakyamuni Buddha, with two arms on each side, the right-hand touches the mudra of the ground, the left-hand forms the mudra of concentration with a bowl filled with nectar held. The Buddha sits with his feet in Vajra lotus. You can visualize it like this.

For those who visualize in this way, what will be the effect of their practice? It has the same effect as the Mahasattva entering concentration. As the chant says: "Whoever's mind is focused on the Buddha, the Bodhisattva will enter Samadhi." These two sentences are about practicing "Guru Yoga" to visualize the Buddha. The effect and merit of the visualization are revealed in these two sentences.

Here "Bodhisattva" means the Mahasattva. "Enter samadhi" means fundamental wisdom Samadhi. Visualizing the Buddha and entering Samadhi (fundamental wisdom Samadhi) in this way, is equivalent to the great effect and merit of the Mahasattva entering the fundamental wisdom Samadhi.

It is not too difficult for ordinary people to visualize our master, Shakyamuni Buddha.

Before practice, we can take a good look at a Thangka of the Buddha, drawn by very professional painters. When the Buddha was here, many people painted Thangkas of the Buddha to liberate sentient beings, and his family and disciples should know the Buddha's solemn appearance.

We haven't seen Buddha's solemn appearance with our own eyes. When Shakyamuni Buddha was still here, he arranged for the painting of Thangkas. The Shakyamuni Buddha on the Thangka should be painted in a certain way. So the solemn appearance of the Buddha has been passed down.

So if you don’t know how to visualize the Buddha, please take a good and careful look at the Thangka of Shakyamuni Buddha, and look at the Dharma Body of Shakyamuni Buddha repeatedly, until you can remember it in your mind without looking at the Thangka in the future. Then you can visualize the image of Shakyamuni Buddha, appearing in the void in front of you. The main thing is to visualize the Vajrasana posture mentioned earlier, touching the ground seal. You can also visualize other images of the Buddha standing, walking, and lying down.

Way of visualizing

Now let’s talk about the way of visualization. When visualizing, be sure not to think about afflictions, such as greed, anger, ignorance, pride, and doubt, and do not have thoughts such as "I want to go out, I want to do things. How is my family? How are my relatives? etc."

We must let go of these thoughts and just visualize our master, Shakyamuni Buddha. Our mind must be fixed on the image of Shakyamuni Buddha only. We should think about it and nothing else. Don’t let your mind wander around. It will be difficult at the beginning because our troublesome habits from beginningless time till now are extremely heavy. To visualize and fix on the Buddha's image in the mind can only last a very short time, due to some people having never practiced it before.

When you just start practicing, your ability to practice Shamatha Meditation is very limited, and the cultivation ability may not be that strong. But the power of affliction is very strong. Since we are used to affliction and have "cultivated" them very well. From beginningless time to now, we have been cultivating greed, anger, ignorance, pride, and doubt. This "cultivation" has been too complete, so the ability to have affliction is very strong.

If you start to practice Shamatha Meditation, your ability is very small. But on the one hand, the Buddha's blessing is incredible. On the other hand, our minds are neither iron nor wood. From one perspective, our minds are very soft, softer than water, and very obedient. If we adjust it well, it can be easily cultivated. If the mind were made of iron, it would be very hard and would not be able to change as you need. But our mind is that if you want to go somewhere, the scene of this place will immediately appear in your mind.

So anyone can think about anything and can also change what you think. The power of the mind is very strong, and it can visualize anything. For example, if you put water in a square container, the shape of the water is also square. If you put water in a round container, the shape of the water will also be round. If you put water in a triangular container, the shape of the water will also be triangular. Water is easy to obey and change, but our minds are more changeable and easier to change than water.

For now, it doesn’t matter even if we can’t visualize clearly or can’t enter Samadhi now. As long as we properly and diligently visualize Shakyamuni Buddha. On the one hand, we have the great blessings from Shakyamuni Buddha. On the other hand, we have our confidence and ability. Also, we have truly great confidence in Shakyamuni Buddha which is most meritorious. From these two perspectives, it will be easily cultivated.

The third is that our minds are much softer and more flexible than other things, and can be easily changed and adjusted. From this perspective, using Shakyamuni Buddha as the object to practice Shamatha Meditation can be gradually and easily cultivated.

Entering Samadhi with visualization. What is it?

When we enter Samadhi, there is an image of Shakyamuni Buddha in our mind, then stillness.

This is our practice now, we must cultivate it well. When starting cultivation, you will feel having more worries and things in mind. You may never think about and worry about these things before. Why do they appear in the mind during the practice of Shamatha Meditation? It is normal to feel like this. This is not because your afflictions have increased, it’s because you never paid attention to them before. Due to your mind always paying attention to the outside and never observing your mind. In fact, you have always had many afflictions, they keep popping up like boiling water. Because one never pays attention to the mind, one never realizes that every day has so many afflictions and thoughts.

When you start practicing Shamatha Meditation, you will clearly discover your issues. During the cultivation, if you discover "Am I getting more and more afflictions? Are my afflictions growing?" This is the first feeling of practicing Shamatha Meditation - the feeling of shaking which is like running water from a steep mountain. Many people give up at this time. Many practitioners meditate in caves for seven days. They can no longer practice. They have too many worries. They give up and stop practicing. At this time, the real impediment comes. The more difficult this time is, the more we cannot give up on the practice, and the more we need to persist in practicing it. It's like catching a wild strong horse. At first, the horse runs very fast, you will need to keep taming it. Gradually it will quiet down and is willing to be led and ridden.

If you persist a little longer, your afflictions will become less severe, and gradually the mind will calm down a bit. The feeling is like water flowing in a narrow valley. You had so many afflictions in your mind before, since you never really paid attention to them, so you felt they didn't exist. But now through practicing Shamatha Meditation, you can clearly know when thoughts arise. This is the merit of practicing Shamatha Meditation. If you continue to practice peacefully, your affliction will get lighter and fewer and your mind will be calm like a river on the plain.

If you continue to settle down and stay peaceful, you will have fewer afflictions and a stable feeling like a sea without waves. If you continue to practice Shamatha Meditation, your affliction will completely stop. This perfect feeling of mind will be like an unmoving and still mountain king. You must persist in practicing until you achieve this result. The more you get closer to reaching Samadhi, the more you cannot give up the practice. Therefore, when you are visualizing Shakyamuni Buddha, your mind should not follow the affliction but should put it down immediately.

It is very important to keep your mind fixed on the image of Shakyamuni Buddha and develop stillness until you reach Samadhi. Just like fighting a war, the affliction is the enemy and Shamatha meditation is the treatment. When you start cultivating, your ability to think about affliction is very strong. If you don’t give up Shamatha meditation at this time, the difficulties will gradually pass. The obstruction will be removed. The appearance of affliction in the mind will not be as fast or as big as before and gradually will weaken step by step. This kind of persistence is very important.

There are three things we need to pay attention to when we practice Shamatha meditation.

The first is "not to be distracted". Being distracted means that when we contemplate Shakyamuni Buddha, we cannot stop to think about this and that and the thoughts of affliction keep appearing in the mind. This is inattentive, so be sure not to let the mind go to all places. The second is "not inner tension". If too tense, your mind will easily become drowsy, and you will gradually fall asleep.

Therefore, no distraction on the outside and no retraction on the inside. Scatteredness and tension are the biggest obstacles for us to practice Shamatha meditation. If you are not distracted or addicted, the effect of cultivating Samadhi should be very good. Here Samadhi means that the mind always remains concentrated on the image of the object, Shakyamuni Buddha.

If your mind is not moving during cultivation, your mind will slowly calm down. The effect of the mind reaching Samadhi by doing this practice is very good. Therefore, the whole practice of Shamatha meditation can be simply described: no outward dispersion, no inward retraction, and the mind stays calm.

After cultivating Shamatha Meditation, then cultivating Vipassana Meditation. Dual application and effective operation of Shamatha and Vipassana is the true righteous conduct. This is the true Bodhi path to enlightenment of Mahayana practice.

Dedication of Merits

May I quickly take advantage of these good roots and merits,

Achieving Enlightenment like Shakyamuni Buddha,

So that no sentient being is left behind,

All are settled to attain Buddhahood.

Sugata, Tathagata, your body,

Dependents, lifespan and pure lands,

Extraordinary and wonderful appearance and various merits,

I only wish all to succeed in the same way.

You can recite these verses, including the verses of dedication, and the verses of aspiration, and then recite the auspicious verses. This is the last good conduct. In this way, we use Three Supremes to cultivate a very special Shamatha Meditation. Everyone, please work hard on this. This is an important practice we have arranged. The effect of practicing Shamatha Meditation with Shakyamuni Buddha by using the Three Supremes conduct is beyond our imagination.