..續本文上一頁2 and can”t truly deliver one from suffering.

　　To practice the samadhi that will free one from suffering, attention has to be focused on one”s selected Dhamma principle or theme, with mindfulness guarding and directing until the heart converges. It doesn”t matter too much which class of samadhi this may be — it”s the right or correct samadhi as long as you feel that the heart has calmed down. It has ceased from concocting amongst the various thought processes, and abides, for a time, singular and distinct from all surrounding conditions, before withdrawing from that state.

　　This is not the same as that type of samadhi where, once the heart has converged, one loses track of day and night, not knowing if one is alive — and it”s as if one is dead. It is only after the heart has emerged that one starts to wonder about what had happened: "Was it that the heart converged

　　 Wherever did my mind go

　　". This is ”stump-like samadhi” because it resembles a stump without any consciousness. Try to avoid and quit this type of samadhi, and if you”ve already fallen for it then you must immediately extricate yourself.

　　This stump-like samadhi is certainly found among those of us who practice. The remedy is to hold back and break the habitual way the heart tends to converge. If one indulges it then it will always stick with that propensity, so you will have to compel it to break away and ”take a tour” of the body. Mindfulness needs to be firmly in control, traveling up and around and down and around, over and over again until wisdom, Path and Fruit are realized.

　　The kind of samadhi that is right samadhi is that which has mindfulness attending to the state of calm, when the heart has converged into samadhi. After the heart has emerged again (out of samadhi), the various natural conditions33 found within the body and mind should be investigated with wisdom. Therefore, with the right occasion and appropriate conditions start up the investigation. Samadhi and wisdom are dhammas that should always interrelate and collaborate. Don”t allow your samadhi development to drift without giving it the necessary attention.

　　So, to summarize, one can say that these three dhammas — mindfulness, samadhi and wisdom — are interrelated and inseparable. They can”t move forward alone, for samadhi and wisdom have to take their turns in taking a step, with mindfulness minding and watching over them.

　　I”ve discussed these eight path factors partly according to the principles of Dhamma and partly from practical experience. Please note that right view through to right samadhi are formed from dhammas of many different levels. It”s up to each of you listening here to take them up and apply them in your own practice. How far you can go depends on your Dhamma understanding and ability.

　　Regardless of whether you”re a lay person or have gone forth, with commitment you”ll be able to practice for the full development of these eight path factors. The fruits of Freedom34 and knowledge and insight of Freedom35 will then become your most valuable possession. This is because precepts, samadhi and wisdom are integral to this Path and they function as the key that clearly reveals these two Freedoms to the heart.

　　Moreover, all of you who practice shouldn”t misunderstand and think that Freedom and knowledge of Freedom are separate from each other or that they perform two different functions. Truly, that”s not so. When a man uses an axe to chop up wood, as soon as the wood is cut through he both sees it with his eyes and at the same instant realizes it in his heart. In the same way, Freedom and knowledge of Freedom simultaneously allow the seeing and the knowing that the defilements have been excised from the heart, through using precepts, samadhi and wisdom.

　　Thereafter, there can be no more…

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