Date: 08/02/2025 08/03/2025
Location: Star River Meditation Center
Teacher: Yunquan Huang
Sitting Meditation
The Ten Stages of Deep Meditation
Deep meditation does not arise instantly but unfolds through a gradual refinement of mind and body.The following ten stages represent a common progression—from scattered mind to profound stillness, clarity, and non-self.They are not rigid steps but helpful markers for understanding the meditative journey.
1.Stage One: Settling the Scattered Mind
1.Characteristics
Many thoughts, restless attention
Difficulty staying with the object
Body discomfort and agitation
2.Meaning
This is the essential beginning—learning simply to sit.
2.Stage Two: Attention Begins to Stabilize
1.Characteristics
Breath and body become clearer
Thoughts still appear but attention returns more easily
Body gradually relaxes
2.Meaning
The seed of concentration begins to sprout.
3.Stage Three: Initial Calmness Emerges
1.Characteristics
Fewer distracting thoughts
Greater stability in posture
Mind remains in the present more easily
2.Meaning
Samatha begins to take form.
4.Stage Four: The Arising of Lightness (Pāmojja / Prīti)
1.Characteristics
Physical lightness and comfort
Breath becomes soft and refined
The mind feels gentle and quiet
2.Meaning
Lightness opens the door to deeper concentration.
5.Stage Five: The Blooming of Joy (Meditative Happiness)
1.Characteristics
Warmth, flow, gentle pleasure
Delight in the act of meditation
A sense of inner nourishment
2.Meaning
Joy strengthens concentration and removes resistance.
6.Stage Six: Deep Stability (Strong Samatha)
1.Characteristics
Very few thoughts
Mind clear like still water
Body and mind feel unified
2.Meaning
A stable platform for deep meditation is established.
7.Stage Seven: Bright and Clear Awareness
1.Characteristics
Awareness becomes vivid and luminous
Effortless mindfulness
Boundaries of body and mind soften
2.Meaning
Insight begins to blend naturally with calm.
8.Stage Eight: Expansion of Inner Space
1.Characteristics
Mind feels spacious like open sky
Reduced sense of self-centeredness
Sounds and sensations appear without disturbance
2.Meaning
The structure of the ego loosens.
9.Stage Nine: The Emergence of Non-Self Experience
1.Characteristics
Thoughts and sensations are not “me”
Observer and observed merge
Mind lives in non-grasping and freedom
2.Meaning
Non-self becomes experiential rather than conceptual.
10.Stage Ten: Natural Completion of Deep Meditation
1.Characteristics
Unity of samatha and vipassana
Mind stable, clear, gentle, and spacious
Phenomena arise and pass without shaking the mind
2.Meaning
This is not enlightenment but a solid platform for wisdom and liberation.
Conclusion
The ten stages of deep meditation trace the mind’s journey from scattered distraction to profound stillness and clarity.With steady practice—not grasping, not forcing—the stages unfold naturally, preparing the mind for genuine insight.
