Lama Atisha
Dipamkara
(982–1054)
“However, should the factors for a stilled settled mind be weak,
Then even if you have meditated with great effort
And even if for thousands of years,
You will not attain single-minded concentration.
Therefore, maintain well the factors mentioned
In the chapter on A Network for Single-Minded Concentration.
Then place your mind on something constructive:
Namely one of the appropriate objects of focus.”
From Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment by Jowo Je Atisha As translated in: Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment by Dipamkara Shrijnana Atisha. Translated by Alex Berzin. PDF available from The Berzin Archives.