The classical formulation of the nine cittasthiti (mental abiding) stages: sthāpayati (places), saṁsthāpayati (places continuously), avasthāpayati (places again), upasthāpayati (places closely), damayati (tames), śamayati (pacifies), vyupaśamayati (fully pacifies), ekotīkaroti (makes single-pointed), samādhatte (concentrates). Together with the six powers (ṣaḍ-vidha-bala) that traverse them, the four modes of mental engagement (catur-vidha manaskāra), and the bridge to vipaśyanā, this is the canonical śamatha map adopted across the Buddhist meditation tradition (cited by Asaṅga's brother Vasubandhu, by the Tibetan stages-of-the-path literature, and through modern lineages).
One-pointedness [citta-ekāgratā] has both the side of śamatha (calm-abiding) and the side of vipaśyanā (insight). The one-pointedness of the nine-fold mental abiding [navākārā citta-sthiti] belongs to the śamatha side; the one-pointedness of the four-fold support of wisdom belongs to the vipaśyanā side.
What is the nine-fold mental abiding?
Here a monk places [sthāpayati] the mind inwardly, places it continuously [saṃsthāpayati], places it again [avasthāpayati], places it closely [upasthāpayati], tames it [damayati], pacifies it [śamayati], fully pacifies it [vyupaśamayati], makes it single-pointed [ekotī-karoti], and concentrates it [samādhatte].
How does he place [the mind]?
Withdrawing it from all external objects, he ties it inwardly toward non-distraction. That first binding [of the mind] against distraction — this is placement.
How does he place it continuously?
That mind first bound is strong, gross, unsettled, and not fully settled. On that very same object, through the practice of strengthening and the practice of clarification, with deliberate restraint — making it subtle and gathering it together — he places it continuously.
How does he place it again?
If, while he is placing the mind, [Damaged/Conjectural]: it becomes distracted outwardly through loss of mindfulness, he draws it back and places it again.
How does he tame [the mind]?
By those signs which distract his mind — namely the signs of wandering objects of contact, and the signs of passion, hatred, delusion, and of women and men — having previously grasped the perception of their danger, and taking that as governing, he does not allow the mind to spread out toward those signs. Thus he tames it.
How does he pacify [the mind]?
By those thoughts — sensual thoughts and the like — and by those secondary defilements — the hindrance of sensual desire and the like — there is agitation of the mind. Having previously grasped the perception of their danger, and taking that as governing, toward those thoughts and defilements he does not allow [the mind] to spread out — thus he pacifies it.
How does he fully pacify?
When through loss of mindfulness both [thoughts and defilements] occur and arise, he does not tolerate them as they arise; he abandons them. Thus he fully pacifies.
How does he make [the mind] single-pointed?
With deliberate effort, he establishes a continuous, unbroken, uninterrupted flow of samādhi — thus he makes it single-pointed.
How does he concentrate?
Through familiarization, cultivation, and frequent practice, [he attains] effortless flow, self-sustaining flow; he attains the path by which, without deliberate effort, without exertion, the flow of his mind's samādhi proceeds in non-distraction. Thus he concentrates it.
The nine-fold mental abiding is accomplished through the six kinds of power [ṣaḍ-vidha-bala] — namely the power of hearing [śruta-bala] and the power of thinking [cintā-bala], the power of mindfulness [smṛti-bala] [and the power of clear comprehension (samprajanya-bala)], the power of diligence [vīrya-bala], and the power of familiarity [paricaya-bala].
Through the powers of hearing and thinking, then: taking what he has heard and what he has reflected on as governing, from the very beginning he places the mind on the object; and on that very object, by sustained engagement, he places it continuously. When the bound mind drifts, through the power of mindfulness he draws it back, placing it again and placing it closely. Then through the power of clear comprehension [samprajanya-bala], not allowing the mind to spread toward distracting signs, thoughts, and defilements, he tames and pacifies. Through the power of diligence, not tolerating their occurrence at all, he fully pacifies and makes [the mind] single-pointed. Through the power of familiarity, he concentrates.
In the nine-fold mental abiding, four modes of mental engagement should be known: forceful engagement, interrupted engagement, uninterrupted engagement, and effortless engagement.
In one who is placing and placing continuously, the mode of engagement is forceful (bala-vāhana). In one who is placing again, placing closely, taming, pacifying, or fully pacifying, the mode of engagement is interrupted (sacchidra-vāhana). In one who is making single-pointed, the mode of engagement is uninterrupted (niścchidra-vāhana). In one who is concentrating, the mode of engagement is effortless (anābhoga-vāhana).
Thus these [four modes] in mental abiding belong to the śamatha side. But for one who, having attained inward calm-abiding, then applies himself to vipaśyanā — for him these very same four modes belong to the vipaśyanā side.