#platform/youtube #channel/Master-YongHua #playlist/dharma-glimpses  Meditation is not simply contemplation because before you can contemplate you need to be able to stop thinking so for example and this is not meant to be criticism to teach that meditation is contemplation alone is misleading because you need to teach people how to stop their M mind first before they can contemplate on the other hand if you only teach people as you know I'm teach you VI Pana and and it's you contemplate actually your instruction is not complete and it causes problems because people like today's question prove that they don't know how to contemplate after all these years all this time meditating so in Principle let me explain to you in meditation we need to do a samata and this is from the Shang Sutra which is a Bible for child meditation in Mahayana but in meditation we we the the Buddha is very detailed he says if you want to meditate you have to go through two phases samata and vipasana you see it's the same word vipasana as well in Mahana as well hinana because it's the same process you need to learn to contemplate however first you need to learn to stop your mind all meditation methods require samata and vasana doesn't matter what you do whether it's you want in Dador whether it's reciting the Buddhist name whether it's qu they all require you to go through first samata and then once you reach a certain level of samata then you'll be able to do vasana then you contemplate and the 4 a and higher are able to do samata is that clear so below 4 a you can't really do samata you can't really stop your mind yet your mind goes as his own agenda it does his things okay It Wants What It Wants and who's going to stop it okay so you can stop your mind then you now you contemplate on what you want to contemplate Whether is a Buddhist name whether is an image whatever you want to know by the way if you want to know should I move should I should I get married should I shave my head should I you know should I shouldn't I and so forth you need to do samata first and then contemplation is next step where you remember samata is that you empty your mind you stop your mind and contemplation now since your mind is empty now you put your mind into one thought only okay that's how you say you you sit and you enter the Samar of four stage or 1 G for Example or 5G G for example doesn't matter where you are you have to be 4 a fourth stage ah heart or higher before you can successfully contemplate more consistently below that you still can but your skills are not mature enough for you to be consistently be able to stop your mind so if you're not s been certified to 4 a yet it doesn't matter you still try you have to understand process you need to let go of your thinking your thoughts in your heads okay that's samama that's why you meditate youve been receiving training all these years all these times in order for you to Learn to do samata that's the First Fundamental skill we're talking about fundamentals here the kids need to have to learn to crawl before she can walk that kind of thing so you need to learn to let go of your thinking until you able to be consistently able to enter the Samari 4 a or even below you can still enter your Samari but let me talk about 4 a first and higher first when you get to 4 a you're able to stop your thinking and now you set your mind and say now you only think of one thought now you bring up one thought in your Mind you see it is two step first of all empty your mind 4 a 1G and above can do that empty the mind and now once it realize the mind is blank is empty then they bring up this thought so that's when you decide okay you contemplate you keep one thought there only that's called contemplation contemplation no more than maintaining one thought in your mind and you you keep on keeping the thought there should I or shouldn't I do I or don't I and you keep that thought only and eventually your wooden nature kicks in and gives you the answer if you are scientist if You're a researcher if you're an artist you all go through the same process for creative thinking so this contemplation is the systematic skill in Buddhism where you able to create beyond your normal domain that's when you Branch out this is very Advanced this is this is what China is about when you've been certified to a very important level 4 a or higher that's when you are able to develop skills to consistently produced original thoughts what I mean by original thoughts is or creative thinking is what you you go outside of your normal worldly thinking h