V CONCENTRATION
Meditative concentration is the king to rule the mind.
When stabilized, it sits like a mountain;
When directed, it can enter all virtuous meditations;
And it leads to every physical and mental joy.
Knowing this, great yogis always rely upon it,
The destroyer of the enemy mental wandering:
I, a yogi, did that myself;
You, O liberation seeker, should do likewise.
Je Tsongkhapa, Song of the Stages in Spiritual Practice [Lamrim Dudon], verse 19
(From Lines of Experience Transcript)
Concentration is like a king of mind. Concentration has power over mind. It makes your mind workable. Meditation is very well known, not only in this country, but among us, we all know what meditation is all about it. So we don’t really need to talk much about it.
Concentration is really like a king who has a lot to do with the mind. It makes the mind right. It sort of trains your mind. Mind can focus. And it can focus very strongly without moving. Mind can be put on any focus. You can leave it there like a mountain. Like a solid, stable mountain. You cannot move.
But if you let it go, it can follow all other virtuous focal points, whatever, wherever you would like to send it. It can trace it without disruption. That is the power of concentration. Concentration makes you totally focused and stable. Totally focused does not necessarily mean that you don’t ‘move’ anywhere. Especially in a subject meditation, you move a lot. You can move a lot. This will come, even in the next verse.
So, meditation can follow any other virtuous focal points and it also brings a joyful state to body and mind. Not simply just “I feel good.” This is a specific joy. We call it, ‘shin jang.’ There is mind joy. There is physical joy. Both of them are within concentrated meditation. Because of the joy, it helps one to focus much more.
In order to destroy the enemy of wandering mind, the yogis always practice concentration. Such a good path should be practiced by giving up five faults, and by using the eight mindfulnesses. Either you call them mindfulnesses, or acknowledgements. Because of those, you can reach to the ninth stage of the level of concentration. So the bodhisattvas should put in total efforts for this. I, the yogi, have practiced in such a way. You, the liberation seekers should follow that. That is exactly what Tsong Khapa has said.
~ Gelek Rimpoche, The Six Perfections Transcript, 2013
