..续本文上一页exclusively on the thinking process, penetrating right to the heart of the mind”s essential knowing nature. It follows every thought, every inkling of an idea, as it arises and passes, and then focuses on the next one that surfaces. It is a time-consuming and arduous task that demands unpided attention every moment of the day and night. But by this stage, time and place have become irrelevant. This internal investigation may well continue unremittingly for weeks or months while mindfulness and wisdom wrestle with a constant flux of mental phenomena.

　　 The work is mentally very exhausting. Wisdom goes relentlessly through every aspect of mental activity. It works non-stop day and night. At the same time that it investigates the thinking process, it also makes use of thoughts and ideas to question and probe the workings of the mind in order to gain insights into its true nature. This is thinking for the sake of magga—the path of practice. It is a tool that wisdom uses for the purpose of uncovering the truth. It is not indulging in thought merely for its own sake, which is samudaya—the cause of suffering. All the same, due to the intense nature of the investigation, the mind becomes fatigued; and it invariably turns dull and sluggish after long hours of intense effort. When this happens, it must take a break. More than at any other time, the mind needs to rest in samadhi at regular intervals during this stage. But since the results of peace and tranquility, experienced in samadhi, pale in comparison to the truly amazing results gained from the practice of wisdom, the meditator is often very reluctant to opt for samadhi. The mind is in a vibrant, heightened state of awareness; and from that perspective samadhi seems to be a wasteful, stagnant mental state. In truth, however, samadhi constitutes an essential and indispensable complement to the practice of wisdom.

　　 So, the mind must be coerced into samadhi, if necessary. It must be forced to set aside current investigations and to focus exclusively on attaining a calm, peaceful, fully-converged mental state. There, it can rest until it is completely refreshed and restored before resuming the liberating work of wisdom. As soon as the mind withdraws from the inactive state of samadhi, it will leap immediately into action. Like a horse chafing at the bit, the mind is impatient to return to its principal task—the removal and destruction of all mental defilements. But take care to see that the mind does not rush frantically along the path of wisdom without any letup.

　　Investigating to excess is one form of samudaya that can infiltrate the citta, causing it to fall under the spell of sankharas. The very faculties of thinking and analyzing that wisdom uses to investigate the mind have a momentum of their own that knows no moderation. They must occasionally be reined in so that a proper balance is maintained between inner work and inner rest. At this stage of the practice, wisdom will automatically work at full capacity. When it is appropriate to rest, focus on samadhi with that same degree of intensity. This is the middle way of magga, phala, and Nibbana.

　　 The citta and its relationship to the nama khandhas are the central focus of the investigation at this level. The citta is the essential knowing nature at the core of our being. It consists of pure and simple awareness: the citta simply knows.

　　 Awareness of good and bad, and the critical judgments that result, are merely conditions of the citta. At times, their activities may manifest as mindfulness; at other times, as wisdom. But the true citta does not exhibit any activities or manifest any conditions at all. It is simply a state of knowing. The activities that arise in the citta, such as awareness of good and bad, or hap…

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