When insight is integrated with meditative concentration, it allows mental consciousness to form an insightful understanding of the external world. The degree to which these two practices are integrated can determine the difference in perception, ranging from inferential to invalid to direct valid.
The introduction of insight into the meditative concentration practice leads to a profound transformation of our cognition.
For example, contemplating the insight "All conditioned phenomena are like a dream, an illusion," can be approached in three ways: inferentially (through reasoning and logic), invalid perception (experience), or through direct valid perception (having a clear and immediate awareness of the truth).
All conditioned phenomena are like a dream, an illusion, a bubble, a shadow” is a Madhyamaka view. Practicing the fourfold negation involves continuously negating external physical phenomena such as the body and surroundings. After negating them, one remains in a state of abiding; after abiding, one negates again. This repeated contemplative process will lead to insight. In this sense, contemplation is the path to insight itself. Slowly, one might start to experience the feeling that “everything around is like a shadow.” When this insight reaches a profound level, where insight and meditative concentration are deeply integrated, you might actually be able to press your hand into a rock, pass through walls, or even fly like the great Milarepa. “All conditioned phenomena are like a dream, an illusion, a bubble, a shadow” will become a directly perceived reality for you.
The contemplation becomes the insight itself. We feel these things as shadows, but actually, it is an invalid perception, a self-deceptive contemplative practice. Clearly, the table is there, but you feel it is like a dream or an illusion.While this perception is invalid, it is not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, it can be quite beneficial. If it convinces you deeply, and your meditative concentration on this view reaches a profound level, you might feel that your hand can pass through the object in front of you. When you go ahead to do so, you end up getting your hand hurt. This happens because you mentally treat the dream-like experience as valid perception, but it is invalid. Nonetheless, it is still a very good experience.
In this way, the experiential perception of external phenomena can generate three types of cognition: invalid cognition falls under the category of views, another one is about feelings, and third one is direct valid cognition, which is a powerful form of cognition. When meditative concentration reaches a profound level and is combined with insight, it leads to the perception of corresponding phenomena.
The Surangama Sutra recounts a story about observing the four great elements as water, perceiving everything as water, even the body and surroundings as water. When this meditation practice reaches a profound level, the practitioner will indeed transform into water.
The story goes like this: Twenty-five Bodhisattvas narrate their ways of practice. Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva speaks of entering Samadhi through a process of hearing and reflecting, Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva shares the chapter on Buddha-recitation Samadhi, and Moonlight Bodhisattva describes the contemplation of water and entering Samadhi, the practice of perceiving everything as water.
One day, Moonlight Bodhisattva's disciple passed by the meditation hall and observed that the entire room was filled with water. Playfully, the disciple tossed a stone into the water and departed. Upon emerging from meditation, the master experienced excruciating pain, likely due to the disruption of his internal karmic conditions. Inquiring about the cause, he discovered that his mischievous disciple had thrown a stone into the water. However, the master refrained from telling the disciple what was going on directly, fearing to frighten him. Knowing that the disciple could do nothing other than prostrations, he then told the disciple, "Come back tonight, retrieve the stone, return to your room, and rest."
That night, the master re-entered meditation, and the obedient disciple tiptoed in and retrieved the stone. The next morning, the master's pain had miraculously vanished.
The master's wisdom is evident in his approach. Had he directly scolded the disciple as a "mischievous beast," the situation could have spiraled out of control. If the disciple had become an animal, the master would have faced immense challenges in seeking appropriate karmic conditions to rectify the situation.
There are many other similar stories. Here is one example: A person was in a deep state of meditation (samadhi) when he saw a large spider. The impulse arose to kill it with a knife. However, his wise teacher intervened, saying, "Don't harm it. Instead, draw a cross on its belly. The next time you see it again in meditation, try striking the cross with your knife."
The next day, the person again saw the spider during his meditation. Following his teacher's instructions, he drew a cross on the spider's belly. To his surprise, upon emerging from meditation, he saw the cross inexplicably marked on his own belly!
These stories may sound fantastical, but they illustrate the power of insight when combined with meditative concentration. While insight can be both correct and erroneous, deep samadhi can amplify its effects. Therefore, the experiences and perceptions arising from insight meditation represent a unique form of human cognition.
Excerpted from: Cognition and Expression Part Two
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