The Fourth Dhyana Level | The Six Paramitas

The fourth dhyana is the dhyana of the Mahayana, also known as the dhyana of the bodhisattva. The main difference between the dhyana of the Hinayana and the Mahayana lies in the meaning of liberation. Hinayana practice is for the sake of liberation from the three realms of existence.4 According to the dhyana of the Mahayana, transcendence means neither attaching to, nor fearing the cycle of birth and death, and this distinguishes it from the Hinayana.

Not attached to birth and death, one does not fear birth and death and will have the compassion to return to the world to deliver sentient beings. Could one at this stage be practicing the four dhyanas and eight samadhis? Of course one could, as those are among many methods for attaining transcendence. For example, sitting meditation is one of the practices in the dhyana of Mahayana, but is only one gate of entry. In fact, one can be practicing in any situation-reading and reciting sutras, prostrating, walking meditation, or engaging in any task or work as long as one’s mind is concentrated on the task at hand. One can be doing anything and still be practicing.

In The Great Cessation-Contemplation (shamata-vipassana), Master Zhizhe talked about four kinds of samadhi: the samadhi of always sitting, the samadhi of always walking or standing, the samadhi of half walking and half sitting, and the samadhi of neither walking nor sitting. The first samadhi is always cultivation through sitting meditation, specifically the cultivation of the four dhyanas and eight samadhis. The second samadhi of always walking or standing is rarely practiced, because it requires practitioners to be standing all the time-one cannot lie, sit, or sleep, only can move around or stand. The third samadrii of half walking and half sitting allows sitting, standing, and moving, and that is largely the practice in Chan. In the fourth samadhi of neither walking nor sitting, any posture or situation is appropriate so long as one is applying the principle of Chan.

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