妙法蓮華經玄義 4.9

4.9

As for cultivating counting: the practitioner initially harmonizes the breath so that it is neither astringent nor slippery, calmly and slowly counting from one to ten, collecting the mind upon the count and not letting it disperse—this is called cultivating counting. Corresponding with counting: the mind perceives that spontaneously, from one to ten, without adding effort, the mind itself abides in the count, the breath being subtle and the mind refined—this is called realizing counting. If one is troubled by counting being coarse, one should release counting and cultivate following; up to purity, each is likewise so. However, contemplation has three meanings: first, wisdom-contemplation contemplating the real; second, contemplation of resolving understanding, which is contemplation of provisional imagination; third, actual contemplation. Here, actual contemplation is used first, and wisdom-contemplation is used later.