Chen · by 慧思撰
13,246 · about 44 min
The Samādhi of Following One's Own Thought is a significant Buddhist meditation scripture composed by Master Huisi of Nanyue during the Southern and Northern Dynasties period. This work was completed in the Chen dynasty, a time when Chinese Buddhism equally emphasized doctrinal understanding and practical cultivation. It systematically expounds the method through which practitioners can cultivate samādhi in all activities—walking, standing, sitting, lying down, speaking, silence, movement, and stillness—highlighting the practical principle of contemplating in accordance with the mind's arising and engaging in practice within everyday matters. Its content integrates the emptiness insight of Prajñāpāramitā with the thought of the Lotus Sutra, advocating the direct contemplation of mind-nature and the realization of ultimate reality in all moments of daily life. This scripture serves as one of the essential foundations of the Tiantai system of śamatha and vipaśyanā, exerting a profound influence on the theory and practice of meditation in Chinese Buddhism. It particularly provides authoritative basis for the practice of the Samādhi of Following One's Own Thought within the Tiantai school and is regarded as a key text of Mahāyāna bodhisattva meditation.