This has three parts: the prerequisites for shamatha practice, how to place the mind on an object of focus, and the measure of accomplishment.

1. The Prerequisites for Shamatha Practice

 

The Intermediate Stages of Meditation says:

The prerequisites for shamatha meditation are: remaining in a conducive environment; having few desires and practising contentment; not being involved in too many activities; maintaining pure moral discipline and fully eliminating all conceptual thoughts involving attachment and so on.

 

A conducive environment should be known by these five characteristics:

1. the ready availability of necessities like food and clothing;
2. the absence of hostile beings and enemies;
3. freedom from disease;
4. presence of good companions who maintain moral discipline and hold similar views; and
5. few people during the day and little noise at night.

Having few desires means not being excessively attached to having only the finest quality things, such as monastic robes, or to having many of them. Contentment means always being satisfied with whatever monastic robes and so on one can find.

 

Not being involved in too many activities means to avoid ordinary activities like trade and commerce, not to become too familiar with householders and monks; and to avoid entirely the practices of medicine and astrology.

 

Pure moral discipline means that for both sets of vows, the basis of training has not been violated through either natural or proscribed negative actions. Even if, through carelessness, some violation does occur, one must swiftly make amends by performing the proper practices with regret. Even though it is said of the shravaka vows that a defeat can not be repaired, if you feel regret, are determined not to repeat the action in future, recognize that whatever the state of mind the action was performed with, that mind lacks any real essence, and become familiar with the view that all phenomena lack inherent identity, your moral discipline is said to remain entirely pure.

And:

For desires, by considering how they lead to many problems in this and future lives, related conceptual thoughts can be eliminated.

Having understood the nature of these prerequisites, we must set about acquiring them. For should we lack them, we will fail to accomplish the shamatha practice that delights the learned. As Atisha Dipamkara said:

While lacking the elements of shamatha,

Even by meditating with great effort,

For many thousands of years,

We will not accomplish samadhi.

2. How to place the mind on an object of focus

 

The Intermediate Stages of Meditation says:

When meditating, practitioners should first complete any tasks which need to be done beforehand, such as going to the toilet. Then, in a pleasant location, free of disturbing noise, they must think, ‘I shall lead all sentient beings to the essence of enlightenment,’ and, with this, generate the great compassion of wishing to liberate all sentient beings. Then they should pay homage to all the buddhas and bodhisattvas of the ten directions, by prostrating so that their limbs and forehead touch the ground.

 

Before a painting or other image of the buddhas and bodhisattvas, they should make as many offerings and praises as they can. They should confess their misdeeds and rejoice in others’ merit.

 

Then, they should seat themselves on a comfortable seat, either in the full lotus posture of Vairochana or the half lotus posture. Their eyes should not be open too wide, nor too tightly closed, but focused on the tip of the nose. Their body should not be bent forward or backward, but kept straight, and their attention turned inwards. Their shoulders should rest evenly, and the head should not be tilted back or forward or to either side. The nose should be in line with the navel. The teeth and lips should rest in their natural state, and the tongue should touch the upper palate. Inhalation and exhalation should be just barely discernable, gentle, soft and natural, without undue noise, effort or agitation.

Then, as Lord Atisha said:

Upon an object of mind, whatever it might be,

Settle the mind in virtue.

This means that we practise by settling the mind on any object of focus, whether with or without attributes. This is explained in the Intermediate Stages of Meditation:

One way of doing this is to rest the mind on the form of the buddha, as one has seen it depicted or heard it described. As it says in the Noble King of Samadhi Sutra:

His pure body is like the colour of gold,

Beautiful in every way is the Protector of the World.

Anyone who visualizes him like this,

Practises the meditation of the bodhisattvas.

In this way, one should settle the mind on the object of choice, and then continually bring the mind back to this object, in order to settle it again.

As this makes clear, we should focus the mind on the form of the buddha, which will not only help us to accomplish calm abiding, but will also bring the inconceivable benefits of recollecting the buddha.

 

At that time, the method of eliminating agitation and dullness is as described in the Stages of Meditation:

Having placed the mind in this way, examine it and check whether it is properly focused on the object. Also check to see whether or not the mind has grown dull, or has become distracted by wandering after external objects.

 

If, as a result of lethargy or sleepiness, the mind is already dull, or if you suspect that dullness is approaching, turn your attention to a highly inspiring object, such as an image of the Buddha, or a vision of light, and as dullness is dispelled, the object will be seen very clearly.

And:

Whenever you notice that your mind has been sent racing by thinking about the qualities of outer objects, such as forms, or is thinking of something other than the object, or is agitated by desire for an object experienced in the past, or even if you suspect that distraction is approaching, turn your attention to objects which remind you of the impermanence and suffering and so on of all compounded things. This will calm the distraction, and, with the rope of mindfulness and vigilance, bind the elephant of the mind to the tree of the object of meditation.

 

Whenever you discover neither dullness nor agitation, and the mind is naturally focused on its object, relax your effort and settle in equanimity, remaining for as long you desire.

3. The Measure of Accomplishment

 

The same text says:

You should know that calm abiding is achieved when body and mind become extremely pliable, and you have the power to direct your mind towards a given object just as you wish.

We might wonder why this is called ‘calm abiding’. The same text explains this very clearly, by saying:

Remaining in a joyful and extremely pliable state of mind in which all distraction towards outer objects has been pacified, and which remains focused inwards, constantly and naturally, is called ‘calm abiding’.

We should understand, therefore, that states of mind which lack the faults of meditation, but in which this pliancy has not yet been attained, merely resemble genuine calm abiding.