Attachment To Prcoess

[Shi Da Dao]

The Ch'an method is self-sufficient and is intended for self-implementation. The fact that others might assist in this process from time to time (and in different ways) is irrelevant and immaterial. A major barrier is attachment to process. This is the trap of method being misinterpreted as objective. This is a game the genuine Caodong lineage does not engage in. The Chinese Ch'an Texts are full of allusions to this idea. Practitioners sometimes forget that a permanent transformation in perception is NOT an object of value that can be held in the hands. And yet many are prepared to uphold this fallacy - and defend such a misunderstanding - as if it were true! No. The Ch'an Master will sit in quiet compassion and await for this klesa to dissipate and pass. What a deluded practitioner requires is NOT what a wise practitioner needs - if progress is to be made! Appropriate silence and words - actions and stillness. These are the tools we possess. There is nothing as simple or profound.