Today is the sixth day of Higan week, the three days before the equinox and the three days after. As explained in a Nichiren Shu brochure:

For Buddhists, this period is not just one characterized by days with almost equal portions of light and dark. Rather, it is a period in which we strive to consciously reflect upon ourselves and our deeds.

The today we consider the Perfection of Dhyāna. For this Fall Higan week I’m using Hsuan Hua‘s commentary on the Lotus Sutra in which he discusses the 10 advantages of each pāramitā.

There are also ten advantages of investigating dhyāna.

1. One will settle oneself in the ritual. You investigate dhyāna through meditation moment by moment, hour by hour, day by day, month by month, and year by year. In the Chan hall, the meditation periods are regulated. This common practice becomes a routine. In the Chan hall, you sit for a while, then you walk, then you run. When it’s time to run, someone calls out, “Run!” Then you run until you’re sweating and so engrossed in the moment that you can’t even see the sky above, the earth below, or the people in between. Everyone seems to have disappeared. Where did they go? They’re gone – but they’re not lost! Why does this happen? You’ve lost track of your self. There’s no more “me.” You’ve run to the point that you’ve lost the notion of self and others. At this point you can contemplate with ease. Since there isn’t any self, you don’t have any false thinking about self; since there aren’t any people, you don’t have any false thinking about them. This state, called contemplating at ease, is described in the following line of verse:
    
   When neither emptiness nor form exists,
   One sees the Tathagata.
    
   The Buddha dwells neither in emptiness nor in existence. If you can perceive the Buddha’s Dharma body as being neither nonexistent nor existent, you’ll see the Tathagata’s Dharma body.
2. One will practice the attitude of compassion. Being compassionate doesn’t mean being nice to people. It means that you gather people in and transform them with compassion. But if you encounter stubborn people, you may use your compassion to scold or beat them to get them to become awakened. People may be hit in the Chan hall, but it’s not what you usually think of as getting hit. People are hit so that they’ll quit false thinking and become awakened. This isn’t unusual; it’s done so that people will be good and follow the rules. This is practicing the attitude of compassion.
3. One will have no regrets or afflictions. Afflictions arise when there’s regret.
4. One will guard the six sense faculties. Why do you guard your six sense faculties? If you don’t guard them, they’ll run off. Where to? The eyes will run after forms, the ears after sounds, the nose after scents, the tongue after flavors, the body after tangible objects, and the mind after mental objects. When the six sense faculties are well guarded, a light will emanate from the gates of these faculties, causing the earth to quake. Why do you emit light? Because you stop having false thoughts; therefore, your wisdom light comes forth and shines upon everything in the trichiliocosm.
5. One will attain bliss even in the absence of food. People who investigate dhyāna take dhyāna bliss as nourishment and are filled with Dharma joy. They can go without food and still be full of joy. When one’s meditation progresses to the point where one doesn’t need to eat and doesn’t feel hungry at all, one has attained this advantage. Such a person can go without food and still be happy; he’s nourished by investigating dhyāna.
6. One will leave love and desire behind. When the mind is apart from desire and love, it’s pure. Love and desire are defilement; defilement leads to birth and death. Why do we human beings undergo birth and death? Because we haven’t cut off love and desire. Why do most people keep revolving in the six paths of rebirth and fail to end birth and death? Again, because they haven’t managed to cut off their love and desire. Until you cut off love and desire, you won’t be able to end birth and death and will continue to revolve in the six paths of rebirth. If you can free yourself from love and desire, you’ll close the gates to the hells.
7. One’s cultivation of dhyāna will not be in vain. If your cultivation of dhyāna will not be in vain, does it mean something will come into being? The only fear is that you won’t cultivate dhyāna. If you cultivate dhyāna, your effort will not be in vain. If one sits in meditation for one hour, one’s wisdom life will increase by one hour. If one sits in meditation for two hours, one’s wisdom life will increase by two hours. If one continues to investigate dhyāna at every moment, day by day, month by month, year by year, one will certainly develop great wisdom.
8. One will be released from demonic influences. One can be liberated from demonic obstruction. Demons will have no way to obstruct you.
9. One will peacefully abide in the states of a Buddha. One can attain this advantage by constantly investigating dhyāna.
10. One will attain perfect liberation. Everyone wishes for this advantage. When you reach this maturation of liberation,