“Concentration” in Pali is referred to asekaggata or one-pointedness; as samadhi or concentration; and as jhana or absorption. To develop a concentration, we must know what it means. To understand it we begin with the concept of “mindfulness” and “no mindfulness.” No mindfulness means an absence of clear awareness. Mindfulness means a presence of clear awareness.
Mindfulness is not just “knowing,” it is “knowing something properly with a clear mind.” When your mind is not mindful, it is roaming and thinking, and in a confused mental state. When your mind is mindful, it is clear & pure then you will be able to follow your object properly.
Then arise a question as to how mindful you are. It is not difficult to discriminate between strong mindfulness and no mindfulness. But one has to know how to differentiate between subtle mindfulness and no-mindfulness. This situation occurs in more subtle and deeper states of concentration. Once one has learned how to distinguish between the presence and absence of mindfulness, the next step is to differentiate between concentration and mindfulness.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CONCENTRATION & MINDFULNESS
Concentration usually means one-pointedness. A more general sense of the word means the mind holding onto an object. Although both concentration and mindfulness can occur concurrently, yet they may not.
Concentration is the mind holding onto the object. For example, when your mind is trying to follow the “rising” and “falling” of the
abdomen, that is concentration or one-pointedness. Or when you are trying to watch and hold onto the pain, that is concentration on the pain. Mindfulness is how you hold onto it.
RIGHT AND WRONG CONCENTRATION
You can hold onto an object with a calm and stable mind or you can grasp and cling onto it in an obsessed manner. If you are holding it and clinging onto it in an obsessed manner, grasping it very tightly as if not willing to let go, this is a concentration of the wrong type or wrong concentration. It is the concentration that comes with clinging defilement. But when you hold onto it properly, with a clear and peaceful mind, with a hold that could be very firm, it is right concentration, the concentration that comes with mindfulness. This is an important differentiation because you must be sure you are practicing right concentration, not wrong concentration.
It is important that when we start to develop concentration, we are developing right concentration— concentration of clear awareness or pure mind. When a pure mind is concentrated, it becomes stable, strong, and powerful. Just like when clear light is concentrated, it becomes powerful and strong and will enable us to see many things.
IMPORTANT PERSPECTIVE OF CONCENTRATION
1. Tranquillity
A better word to use for tranquillity is peacefulness. The mind is peaceful and tranquil because it is free of defilement. We should take special care that during the process of concentrating, when we say “noting,” we first have to be mindful. It is clear awareness first. Do not be too concerned with having strong concentration. Be concerned with having continuous mindfulness. A continuous mindfulness puts the mind into a more wholesome and pure state. It is malleable, flexible and obedient. Then you can push it further to deeper concentration.
2. Abandonment of the grosser mental factors.
This applies to people who practise higher concentrations. In the process of developing concentration, gross activities, like initial application (vitakka) or sustained application (vicara), will be abandoned. When this happens, then the mind becomes more subtle and peaceful.
3. One-pointedness
After tranquillity from defilement has been fulfilled, one-pointedness follows. That means fixing the mind to a single object and not letting it wander elsewhere. When you can do that, then there is less fluctuation and that is when the mind becomes stable and peaceful.
