74. The Four Levels of Meditation

In the meditation knowledge, there are four levels of understanding from the exploration of the practical truth to the thorough acquisition as follows:

1. The Primary Meditation

“Those of the primary meditation rely on their competence and virtue of dissolution or their reason to realize that the Buddhist Dharma which, always attached to the world enlightenment could understand and see and hear what is not perceived by the secular people in this world. The practitioners of the primary meditation can have a better understanding. As an idle one pulled down by the karma and caught in binding circumstances, we wish we could escape from this vicious circle. But the more we try to get away from it the more it runs closer after us. We are all possessed by the dharma with thousands of ways. We try our best to free ourselves from the birth and to overcome the hindrance controlling the dharma in order to see and understand the Buddhist path. On the contrary, no sooner have our virtue and abilities at the primary meditation advanced further that we could have a fuller perception. It is the body and mind of ourselves that passes all the dharma. We ourselves give birth to the karma and there is no reason to complain of anybody accordingly. We tie ourselves with the birth and at the same time we claim an escape from it. Those who realize it can go up to the secondary meditation without losing their way to the meditation sect.” –T.V.

2. The Secondary Meditation

“Regulation is an important meditation precept leading to the discreet body, the discreet mouth and discreet idea. It is through the discreet body-mouth-idea that the meditation can regulate the motion of all the dharma. Why? It is because the body in meditation is moving and transforming, in one moment it is smaller, in another it is bigger your eyes can see the mountain, river and the scenery; your ears can hear the divine music; but your thoughts should not be overjoyed, your mouth should not speak during the process of the meditation because that will keep you caught in the self-attachment." –T.V.

During the meditation, plenty of beautiful scenery may unfold before your eyes. Now there may be lights and clouds, now your body expands larger and larger; and at a time too your body seems to contract to a point; you can hear the heavenly music. These are unexpected manifestations of meditation that you should not be overjoyed at. Most of the practitioners, lacking the guide of an orthodox master, become attached to it creating one of the six types of meditation above-mentioned and they are getting away from the Tathagata Meditation. On seeing several forms of manifestation of the meditation the practitioner should not let it out, he must keep the discreet body-mouth-idea. Each meditator, according to his root karma, has a particular manifestation. Some begin to box during the meditation, if being attached to it that is the supernatural power martial-art. Others naturally know the secret of the talisman of all ways; they should not be overjoyed at it avoiding the passive meditation.

“Those of the secondary meditation have to recognize: most of them mistake one another, because of their different scenery-inducing sentiments, resulting in disagreement. Each of them conservatively declares oneself to be good and right, which leads to the frequent discord independently of one’s will. The secondary meditation disciple perfectly knows that these result from “acquisition” accidents and that acquisition depends on each individual, and also on his degree and position. Furthermore it is partially influenced by one's career. The acquisition is founded on these two bases: the lovely favorable acquisition and the hateful unfavorable acquisition. The acquisition in every individual and in every class results in disputes and competitions:

Life has countless faces and the earth countless directions.

The King Buddha and the Buddhas all have a unique source of enlightenment.

The manifestation of the acquisition is an eternal truth.

With a Mind free from passions, how can we be attached to the sorrow?

The second sitting meditator acquires a meditation nature; the meditation dharma has appeared correspondingly to the expectation of his mind and opinion. When the mind and opinion expect deities and saints the meditation dharma appears in deities and saints. Sometimes there is a corresponding apparition without expectation. Not knowing that, it is the acquisition the practitioner erroneously realizes about the wishes. As for a second meditation disciple, he considers it to be the corresponding apparition of the meditation nature and that is not wrong. Why? It is because the meditation is a matter in which the cultivation of the practical truth results in a meditation-mind; otherwise all are fictitious self-appellations. There is thus no mistake.

From the old time to the present day, people are losing their way from the dharma because: they are practicing, as they like, without the guide of the basic sealed decision. Why? It is because by following the sealed decision they would fall in the dogma, while following their wishes they will be disoriented, few of them could practice correctly to the time of sitting meditation in order to attain the four faultless and ceaseless meditations. Though attaining the four faultless and ceaseless meditations the disciples still belong to the fairy way meditation, they are not as perfect as the Tathagata Meditation degree.

I am strongly confirming today that the way to the meditation subject is a sacred vein of the practical truth of the meditation mind. While the sitting meditation aspect is a way of creating abilities and virtue, supporting the development of the meditation mind, certainly neither by relying on the form meditation to be enlightened, nor on the sound in the heaven to be awakened, only the meditation mind, the enlightenment mind and the natural mind of the essential mind could thoroughly know every seed-mind and the enlightenment completely.

For the meditation way, all things in the Final Law Period are the zero of basic awareness, all or most of the practitioners of meditation are making use of the insight meditation of form and sound, which correspondingly appear, and considering it to be his goal. They become thus unsuitable to the principal sect and develop the telepathy, the meditation with the leaving-soul therapy meditation, study meditation attaining the saint and deity degree. This is very clear for the second meditation disciples. Why? It is because the meditation nature is moving and acquiring accordingly to the false mind, to the wishes of practice. Few of them attach an importance to the wisdom and the penetration to nature the meditation mind.

The second meditation practitioner, by regulating his body-mouth-idea, has gone from the mean consciousness of census to the generous temper of joy and detachment. With a discreet mouth, he only expresses into words when it is truly necessary. When it is not the time of speaking, he keeps silent to inquire the reality and only speaks at the due time, and due moment. His nature mind is so simple, but he can perfectly attain the meditation nature. It is by such a maturity and discretion that he can accomplish the dharma precept in order to penetrate every dharma sphere, he is thus named the regulator great man and judiciously goes up to the third meditation.” –T.V.

3. The Third Meditation

“The master of both the supreme being and all the creatures. The practitioners of the third meditation are immaculate. Their mental abilities have undergone the ultimate end. They recall neither the past nor the future; they only keep to the present as their target. As a result, they can realize the meditation nature, get insight into all the living creatures, which appear and disappear at a time in a certain circumstance. They live collectively a life, inner and outer, intimate and then hostile. Their body and face keep on changing continuously with either happiness or unhappiness. This change results from the very understanding. Hence, the transformation comes into being.

The change occurs in conformity with his personality, said the practitioner of the third meditation. In the Three Thousand Great Thousand Worlds, each place, each scene from the devas to the dragon, men, the maras monsters, birds and animals, countlessly; all of them have the particular characters of their own. All the ways they use to communicate each other such as gesture, deportment, speaking, roaring... Are quite similar to those used by a community overjoyed at singing, loving, dancing, arguing and fighting etc. When in disagreement they consider it to be wrong; but when being in good accord, they consider such a thing to be right. The hearing-seeing of each world and each scene are contrary to that of the meditation-minded practitioners. It is because the third meditation practitioners who make use of the enlightenment to see the form while all the others use the form to see the enlightened form. Therefore, they meet with difficulties in recognizing the enlightened form.

Those of the third meditation while examining themselves on the basis of the cultivation of the meditation mind illuminating their character erring in the acquisition, said: how wonderful the virtue and the ignorance are! Now i just realized it. In presence of my body all the disciples stand in awe of it and call me a master. But they could not understand me at all and in the meantime, my whole body and mind are transforming into evils or playing the mara or monster who can recognize me in order to realize me?

The third meditation practitioners keep on saying, to tell the truth, I have realized the transformation. When being transformed into the Buddha, I haven’t rejoiced in this name. When being transformed into devil or mara, I am not afraid of it. I usually realize in myself a pure characterization, considering the transformation to be an adequate food; hence, my mind is not caught with fear, my idea with no attachment, my conscience with satisfactory understanding because it is I who transform all of them.

I have never emerged from meditation. But due to the need of being normal, I ought to do so. I do not accept the entrance into meditation, but I illuminate the eternal calm light to become the entrance into meditation. For me, no place is right or wrong because I have many times got into and out of all the worlds. In one place there is fullness, in another, it is emptiness; there is plenty in some places and deficiency in others; therefore there is a subject- matter taken here and a course given there. For that reason, I have never thought of the practice as a wish of mine, I am only afraid of being caught in attachment.

The third meditation practitioner is precisely the one, which has almost attained the prajna mind and come the third meditation to the super frequency of the meditation mind, respectfully relying on the Tathagata to accomplish perfectly their vow; therefore, they are called the master of the supreme being and all the creatures.” –T.V.

4. The Fourth Faultless and Ceaseless Meditation

“When the blessed one was alive, few of the sitting meditators attained the rank of the fourth faultless and ceaseless meditation, besides the blessed one; therefore, some of them have erroneously practiced and have to go to the great misconception, the damage results from the mistake on the emptiness.

This empty place is a place of the all-round brightness of the meditation called the fourth faultless and ceaseless meditation fully enlightened from the primary meditation to the all-round enlightenment.

He has uttered these words; the master’s eyes seem to show respect for all the patriarchs. He nodded getting up with a long breath, and said:

The layman cares for no reputation

He vows from the bottom of his heart

To convert all the human beings

He offers his life to the perfect bright

Whether known or unknown is his only way

The layman realizes the truth

Wouldn’t he entangle himself with this world?

He will be over whelmed with enjoyments

When the dharma school extends boundlessly

LORD SUPREME MAITREYA WITH LONG HOA