【修持轨理 The Meditation Session】正行 - 总共修法 Actual Session – How to sustain the meditation in general P7

【修持轨理】正行 - 总共修法

【所言修者。谓其数数于善所缘，令心安住，将护修习所缘行相。】

那么，现在说这个是善的、这个是恶的，我了解了把它改过来，修改过来。可是，因为它的无比的习性，无始以来的习性摆在那里，所以你不断地去保护它，「将护」的意思就是保护它，不断地修、练习，练习这个事情。它以前那个心，一天在散乱当中，或者缘这个，现在呢你要把那个心从恶的拉过来，使得它安住在这个善的上面能够不动，像你所希望的——要它怎么样就怎么样，就是这一件事情。
你现在想念个「阿弥陀佛」，你想观想一个「阿弥陀佛」，以前我们念的是念什么啊？不是贪、就是嗔、就是痴，现在不要这个，要念这个无量的光、无量的寿。然后呢练习这个东西，它不听你招呼，你不断地把它拉回来，安住在这个上面，让它不动，对不对？是不是？喏！就是这个，不管你用哪一个功，你说参禅的，不！参禅的我不是观这个，观另外一个东西，说「念佛的是谁？」「什么是你明上座本来面目？」「一归何处？」「万法归一、一归何处？」然后呢赵州说：「什么是个无？」总之一句话，以前缘这个三毒相应，现在是缘这个。

来源 SOURCE：

日常师父法语 24A 10’45”手抄稿第三册 P260LL1

24A 10’45”Vol 3 of Master Jih-Chang’s Discourse P260LL1
English Lamrim Volume 1, pg 99

【The Meditation Session】Actual session-How to sustain the meditation in general

【That which is known as "meditation" is the act of sustaining an object of meditation and specific subjective aspects163 by repeatedly focusing your mind upon a virtuous object of meditation.
(*163 In this context, the object's subjective aspect is the guru's being a buddha and your mind's subjective aspect is your faith of conviction that the guru is a buddha.) 】

So then, we now say this is virtuous and that is non-virtuous. After understanding this, I will correct it, meditate to correct it. But because you are up against this incredible latent propensity [i.e. habit], this latent propensity from beginningless time is right there, so you want to continuously protect it [i.e. the virtuous object and subjective aspects/mental action]. So to "focus" means to protect it, to continue without any interruptions to meditate, to practice and keep practising it. Before, the mind is distracted throughout the day or that it would focus on certain things. But now, you want to pull it away from non-virtue and sustain your focus on virtue without wavering just as you desire - command the mind and make it comply. This is exactly what we are doing.
Now you want to recite "Amitabha Buddha" and you want to imagine the Amitahba Buddha. What were you thinking of before? It was none other than attachment, hostility or ignorance. Now we do not want that. We want to think of the immeasurable light and life. This is what we want to practice. When it does not want to listen to you, you continue to bring it back, to sustain and abide on this, and not waver from this. Isn't it right? Isn't it so?
There! This is it. So it does not matter which teaching method you choose, say you are in Zen. But no! I do not imagine this in the Zen practice. I would imagine something else which is "who is the one mindful of the Buddha?" "Who is the real you?" "Where does the one reduce to? All phenomena are reduced to one, where does the one reduce to?" Then Zhào Zhōu would say, "What is nothing?" In brief, we used to focus on things which accord with the three mental poisons, and now we focus on this.