Is Meditative Concentration Not Enough? A Profound Lesson from Master Thích Chân Quang

Have you ever wondered why some people meditate for many years, their heart at peace, even able to know the past and the future, yet never attain realization? Master Thích Chân Quang once made this clear in a teaching: "Meditative concentration is one thing, and attaining realization is another."

It is a message that startles many people.

Good Health First: How Should We Eat and Sleep?

The Master begins with a very practical requirement: to sit long and deep in meditation, a practitioner must have good health. In the early stages of sitting, numb and aching legs drain a great deal of energy. Those who are weak usually cannot endure the pain and cannot sit for long. So how should we eat? The Master recalls the words of Emperor Trần Nhân Tông: "Eat when hungry, sleep when tired." But the difference is that we eat and sleep to have the strength to serve and to practice, not for indulgence. And eating a vegetarian diet must be done scientifically and wisely:

"Eating vegetarian must be scientific and wise. But there are many people who eat vegetarian in an overly ascetic way, eating only a little sesame with salt and pepper, and boiled vegetables like that — then our health will suffer from malnutrition."

The Master also speaks of practicing qigong: movements trained in harmony with the breath. Young people should train with resistance, such as lifting weights or doing pull-ups; both the elderly and the young should practice the "flying bird" posture — a gentle exercise that brings one into a state like empty space. With persistent practice, you will see clear changes in your health and inner strength.

Before Sitting in Meditation: Preparing Our Aspirations and Three Qualities

Before entering sitting meditation, we should bow to the Buddha and offer up our aspirations. Depending on our capacities, each of us may wish to extinguish the self, to overcome greed and hatred, or to receive many opportunities to create merit. But above all, the Master reminds us to nurture three fundamental aspirations:

Boundless reverence for the Buddha — so that our practice does not go astray.

Limitless love for all sentient beings — so that the heart grows vast.

Utmost humility — so that we do not become arrogant when we attain wisdom.

The Master emphasizes: "The more we practice, the brighter our wisdom becomes, and the more clearly we see beyond others. But if feelings of arrogance and pride arise, all our merit will be lost. Humility is the way to extinguish that kind of feeling." Therefore, these three aspirations are like three legs that keep our spirit standing upright, so that it does not fall.

A Short Verse: Provisions for the Path of Practice

The Master reads to us a short verse that every practitioner should recite before meditating:

"May the Buddha guide me, To always remember and understand: This body is not me. This heart is not me. Nothing at all is me. In every in-breath, In every out-breath, Dwells complete reverence for the Buddha."

The Master explains: the first lines are the cause for attaining realization, because they lead us into non-self (anatta). The final line brings the blessings from merit that keep us from losing our way. When we see that "this body is not me, this heart is not me," we are walking the path of breaking through attachment to the self — the path of the Noble Ones.

Meditative Concentration or Attaining the Path? Do Not Let Attachment to the Self Deceive You

This is the most important part: many practitioners who attain meditative concentration possess supernatural powers, yet they remain ordinary beings. The Master tells the story of a practitioner who, merely by looking at someone, could know their past and future, yet was arrogant and lived dissolutely. Why? Because they had meditative concentration but could not break through the self. As for one who sits in meditation with a pure heart, who clearly sees the impermanence (anicca) of all things, who sees that this "me" is meaningless — only such a person is truly entering noble fruition. As the Master teaches:

"Meditative concentration supports the breaking of attachment to the self; it does not mean attachment to the self is ended."

So if your meditation brings experiences of purity, do not be quick to assume you have attained the path. Each day, contemplate "this body is not me, this heart is not me, nothing at all is me" in order to nourish the wisdom of non-self (anatta). That is the ultimate goal of one who practices the Buddha's teachings (Dharma).

This verse is not merely words to recite; it is our provision, keeping us from losing our way amid the wondrous feelings of meditative concentration. May each of us bring it into daily life, so that every breath becomes an act of reverence for the Buddha and a return to our own pure heart.