Date:10/26/2024 10/27/2024
Location: Star Ocean Meditation Center
Teacher: Sara
Sitting Meditation
The Importance of Integrating Concentration and Wisdom
Concentration without wisdom leads to stagnation; wisdom without concentration leads to instability. Only when the two develop together can practice become steady, clear, and transformative.
1. Concentration as the Support
Concentration provides a stable field.
Wisdom unfolds within that stability.
Without concentration, insight cannot last.
2. Wisdom as the Guide
Wisdom prevents attachment to meditative states.
Concentration does not turn into fixation.
Wisdom sets the direction.
3. Mutual Nourishment
Concentration sharpens clarity.
Wisdom deepens stability.
Each strengthens the other.
4. Balance as the Principle
Excess concentration calls for insight.
Excess insight calls for settling.
Balance requires continuous awareness.
5. Integration in Practice
Concentration and wisdom are not sequential stages.
They can function together in every moment.
Separation is only a teaching convenience.
6. Awareness as the Link
Awareness connects concentration and wisdom.
Without awareness, both collapse.
Awareness is the core.
7. Daily Life as the Test
Stability and clarity in daily activities
reveal whether integration is genuine.
The cushion is not the only place of practice.
8. Liberation as the Aim
When concentration and wisdom mature together,
grasping naturally loosens.
Freedom gradually appears.
Summary
Concentration provides stability; wisdom provides clarity. Their integration is not a technique, but a natural expression of mature awareness.
