Page 171 - The Buddha‘s Noble Eightfold Path

and I hope that in this present exposition I have been able to

show that there is much more to this Noble Eightfold Path than
some of its modern exponents generally suspect.

Perfect Samadhi, then, the culminating phase of the Eightfold
Path, is very much more than just good concentration.

Essentially, Perfect Samadhi represents the culmination — the
fruition, if you like — of the whole Path of Transformation. It

represents the state of being fully and perfectly transformed,
that is, transformed on all levels and in every aspect of one's
being. In other words, it represents the culmination of the

process of transformation from an unenlightened to an
Enlightened state and the complete and perfect permeation of

all aspects of one's being by that Perfect Vision with which one
started. Perfect Samadhi means that Perfect Vision has in the
end triumphed and now reigns supreme at every level of one's

being and consciousness. If Perfect Samadhi is understood in this
way, then real sense is made of the Noble Eightfold Path and of

one's pilgrimage along that path.

Samatha, Samapatti and Samadhi

Now although samadhi in the sense of concentration and
samadhi in the sense of Enlightenment are quite distinct, and

not to be confused, it is important to understand that they are
not really mutually exclusive. Perhaps one would not be going far
wrong if one described them as the lower and higher degrees of

the same experience, or at least of the same type of experience.
One could also say that between samadhi as concentration and

samadhi as Enlightenment there is an intermediate stage or
degree which is known in the Mahayana texts as samapatti.

172