..续本文上一页s of concentration, we have to start out with this ordinary level as our basis. Otherwise, the higher levels probably wouldn”t be possible. Still, this level of concentration can”t be used as a basis for discernment, which is why we have to go further in our practice.

　　2. Rupavacara-upacara-samadhi (threshold concentration in the realm of form): This refers to the first jhana, in which the mind comes inward to rest on a single preoccupation within the body, fixing its attention, for example, on the in-and-out breath. When the mind stays with its one object, this is called ekaggata. At the same time, there”s mindfulness keeping the breath in mind: This is called vitakka. The mind then adjusts and expands the various aspects of the breath throughout the entire body, evaluating them mindfully with complete circumspection: This is called self-awareness (sampajañña) or vicara, which is the factor aware of causes and results. Mindfulness, the cause, is what does the work. Thus vitakka and vicara cooperate in focusing on the same topic. We are then aware of the results as they arise — feelings of fullness, pleasure, and ease (piti and sukha) for body and mind. At this point, the mind lets down its burdens to rest for a while, like a person walking along who meets with something pleasing and attractive, and so stops to look: Both feet are standing still, stepping neither forward nor back.

　　If we aren”t skilled enough to go on any further, we will then retreat. If we see results — such as signs and visions — arising in the mind, we may get excited and so cause our original preoccupation to waver or fade. Like a person sitting on a chair: If he sees something appealing in front of him, he may become so interested that he leans forward and reaches out his hand; he may even begin to budge a bit from his seat or stand up completely. In the same way, if we get engrossed in visions, thoughts, or views when we”re engaged in threshold concentration, we can become excited and pleased — we may even think that we”ve reached the transcendent — and this can cause our concentration to degenerate. If we try to do it again and can”t, we may then seize the opportunity to say that we”ve gone beyond the practice of concentration, so that we can now take the way of discernment — thinking, pondering, and letting go in line with nothing more than our own views and ideas. This, though, is not likely to succeed, because our knowledge has no firm basis or core, like a wheel with no axle or hub: How can it get anywhere

　　 The power of threshold concentration, if we don”t watch after it well, is bound to deteriorate, and we”ll be left with nothing but old, left-over concepts.

　　3. Rupavacara-appana-samadhi (fixed penetration in the realm of form): This refers to the practice of all four levels of rupa jhana. The first jhana has five factors: thinking, evaluating, fullness, pleasure, and singleness of object. The second level has three: fullness, pleasure, and singleness of object. The third has two: pleasure and singleness of object; and the fourth has two: equanimity and singleness of object.

　　Discussion

　　Fixed penetration in the realm of form means that the mind focuses on the internal sense of the body, remaining steadily with a single object — such as the in-and-out breath — until it reaches jhana, beginning with the first level, which is composed of thinking, evaluating, fullness, pleasure, and singleness of object. When you see results arising, focus in on those results and they will then turn into the second level, which has three factors: fullness, pleasure and singleness of object. As your focus becomes stronger, it causes the sense of fullness to waver, so you can now let go of that sense of fullness, and your concentration turns into the third j…

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