There is one ground for meditation practice. It is tranquility, peaceful abiding. Because it is the only foundation and the qualities of peace and clarity, mind alert and open while not ferreting, time not registering, senses less demanding, ego quietened – because of these and more, the state of vibrant neutrality of mind can be experienced. This is supreme. It is also shamatha. May we always honor tranquil abiding and never think that it’s time to move on from it. That urge of the ego decries that the practitioner is not abiding peacefully.
The initial experiences of the sublime states and subtle planes of Awareness are the qualities experienced as and through shamatha. This is also why shamatha (tranquil abiding) is supreme. Indeed, the reason why there is a likeness between the state of peaceful acute awareness and buddhi/bodhi, or one-pointed non-deviating presence and triad, or emanations of compassion-purity and Christ consciousness, etc. and the rich layers of experience within a true and established shamatha state is because they are one.
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