3. Samadhi 2       
     
      The true purpose of meditation practice is to bring about calm in the heart. If one cannot attain calm by lulling the heart with a preparatory method (parikamma), one must use the way of subduing it by intimidation. In other words, by using wisdom to search out and examine those things to which the citta is attached, and depending on how skilful one’s wisdom is, to search for a way to goad the disobedient citta with what wisdom reveals until it surrenders to wisdom and the heart accepts the truth about the things to which it is attached. Then the heart cannot be distracted and restless and must drop into a state of calm; in the same way as a work animal whose “outgoing exuberance” must be trained by constant goading so that it surrenders to the will of its master.
      The following analogy may help to illustrate this method. In a place where there are few trees and each one standing on its own, if a man wanted to cut one down he could do so and make it fall where he wanted. He could then take it and use it as he wished with no difficulty.
      But if he wanted to cut a tree down in a forest where its branches were entangled with other trees and creepers, he may find it difficult to fell the tree and to make it fall just where he wanted. So the woodcutter must use his wisdom and examine carefully to find out what is entangled with the tree, and then by cutting away all the entanglements he could fell it just where he wanted and use it however he wished without difficulty.
      All of us have characters which are comparable with these two trees, for some types of people do not have much in their environment to burden them and act as a drag on their minds. When they use only a preparatory meditation such as “Buddho”, “Dhammo” or “Sangho”, the citta is able to become calm and peaceful and drop into a state of samadhi. This becomes the basis for the development of wisdom (panna) and enables them to go ahead with ease – which is called “SAMADHI DEVELOPS WISDOM”.
      But there are other people who have many things in their environment to burden and oppress their hearts and their natures are such that they like thinking a lot. If they train themselves by using a preparatory meditation as described in the foregoing chapter, they are not able to cause the citta to drop into the calm of samadhi. They must therefore carefully use wisdom to examine the reasons for this, in order to sever the root cause of their distraction by means of wisdom. When wisdom has been nagging at those things to which the citta is firmly attached, what the citta knows about them cannot be superior to that which wisdom reveals, so the citta will then drop into a state of calm and attain samadhi. People of this type must therefore train the citta to attain samadhi by using wisdom, which may be called “WISDOM DEVELOPS SAMADHI” – and is also the title given to this book.
      When samadhi steadily develops due to the use of wisdom, the sa-madhi then becomes the basis for further wisdom at a higher level. This latter stage then conforms with the basic principle that: “SAMADHI DEVELOPS WISDOM”.
    
      A person who wants to train his heart to become skilful, and to know what is behind the deluded tricks of the defilements (kilesas), must not be attached to study and learning in Buddhism to such an extent that it gives rise to the defilements. But also he must not abandon study and learning, for to do this goes ­beyond the teaching of the Lord. Both these ways are contrary to the purpose which the Lord Buddha desired that one should aim at.
      In other words, when one is practising meditation for the purpose of developing samadhi, do not let the citta grasp at what it has learnt by study, for it will be led into thoughts of the past and future. One must instead make the citta keep to the present, which means that just that aspect of Dhamma which one is developing must be one’s only concern.
      When there is some question or point of doubt in connection with one’s citta which one is unable to resolve, one may then check it by study and learning after one has finished one’s meditation practice. But it is wrong to check one’s practice all the time with what one has learnt by study, for this will be mere intellectual knowledge, and not knowledge which comes from development in meditation, and it is not the right way.
      Summarising the above: if the citta attains calm with an object of calm (samatha), that is, with a preparatory repetition that comes from an aspect of Dhamma that one is developing, one should continue with that method. But if it attains calm only by the use of wisdom, using various expedient methods to overcome difficulties, then one should always use wisdom to help in the attainment of calm.
      The results which come from training in both these ways (i.e. samadhi develops wisdom, and wisdom develops samadhi), are the development of CALM and WISDOM, which will have a hidden radiance coming from the calm.