|
Post by Shi Da Dao on Jul 20, 2016 11:38:29 GMT 1
Uprooting Fatigue in the Mind and Body Sometimes, at certain points during prolong sessions of seated meditation, fatigue sweeps through the body like a wave of unwanted and uncontrolled relaxation, that sees the spinal column slump, the shoulders drop, and the head fall forward. In the mind, the ‘klesic’ or ‘negative’ corresponding state, is that of a ‘muddled-haze’, similar to sleep, but distinguished from it, by the fact that the body is not lying down, and that there is an ‘awareness’ of the process that cuts in and out of cognition, like a flickering light. In the Chinese Ch’an meditation hall, at exactly the moment the body sways, the Master of the Hall will strike the shoulder area with the sword-shaped stick known as the ‘Xiang Ban’ or ‘Fragrant Board’. The suddenness of this precise strike on the qi energy points shocks the practitioner out of this delirium and re-establishes clarity of thought and good qi energy flow throughout the mind and body. The sword and its strike, represent a symbolic ‘death’, in this instance, the death of fatigue in pursuit of the broader goal of the death of the dualistic mind. Within China, being punished by the Authorities is a matter of great shame, and to have a relative ‘executed’ by the State is to have one’s ancestral qi energy cut-off. In the old days in China, the body of a child was considered the property of the parents. This reality instilled the idea that one’s body did not belong to the individual that possessed it, but was the property of one’s name clan travelling back thousands of years in history. Should the body die unnaturally, that clan’s name would come to an end, if the individual concerned had not issued male off-spring. The Ch’an Hall uses this social reality, and turns it into a non-lethal method of realising enlightenment. When the Xiang Ban strikes, delusion dies so that the individual might live in an enlightened state. Within Chinese culture (even today), it is considered shocking to be admonished by the Authorities. The Master of the Hall, acting entirely out of compassion and loving kindness, helps the practitioner ‘kill’ or ‘transcend’ their sense of ‘fatigue’ until such a time that the fatigue can be automatically ‘cut-off’ at its root. A false state of relaxation is like an opaque cloud in the mind that triggers an unwanted relaxation state in the body. When this happens, the mind’s clarity of thought must be suddenly brought sharply back into focus, through whatever meditation method is being used. If performed correctly, the qi energy blockage is immediately released and a sense of fresh invigoration spreads instantly throughout the mind and body.
|
|
|
Post by Shi Da Dao on Sept 16, 2016 12:20:50 GMT 1
Non-Abiding Mind Although breathing should be deep and full, the mind should not reside in any single place during Ch’an meditation. Just as the lower, middle and upper areas of the lungs are fully inflated and deflated during the breathing cycle, the lower, middle and upper dantian areas are fully activated. Unlike in Daoist meditation, or certain schools of Japanese Zen Buddhism, the mind does not ‘stop’ or ‘fixate’ on the lower dantian (two inches beneath the navel), but permeates and embraces all three dantian. All three dantian (energy refinement centres) are opened and integrated through cultivated ‘awareness’ that does not stop anywhere. The mind is simultaneously aware of the entirety of the inner body, and through the extrapolation of the six senses, the environment surrounding the outer body. There is an all-embracing awareness that is developed as the Ch’an practitioner advances. Initially, the concentration is focused through the upper dantian (situated in the centre of the forehead (above and behind the eyes). This is the area in which the hua tou is held, as all thoughts are returned to their empty essence (i.e. the empty mind ground), but the awareness of mind not should be artificially ‘held’ in this area. The upper dantian is simply the logical doorway to the perception of the mind’s functionality – or surface movement. It is through this area that the ‘sense’ of mind is returned to its empty essence. When the sense of mind is returned to its empty essence, automatically the other five senses are returned to exactly the same empty mind ground. When this happens, there appears to be a permanent expansion of awareness, as the false (dualistic) barrier separating the senses, falls away as insight matures. This process leads to the upper dantian opening the second dantian (situated in the centre of the chest), which triggers the activation of the lower dantian. An advanced Daoist practitioner, however, opens the dantian from the lower to the middle and then the upper – but the resulting expansive (and all-embracing) awareness is exactly the same (and is described as ‘shen’, or ‘empty spirit’). Daoist meditation focuses upon the lower dantian for developmental medical reasons, but as the Ch’an path pays no attention to worldly concerns, it does not follow the Daoist path. However, the distinctions between different paths should not be used to advocate a ‘superior’ or ‘inferior’ position, but rather to ‘clarify’ the specifics of various paths. Daoists can attain to Ch’an enlightenment, just as Ch’an practitioners can attain Daoist immortality – in essence there is no difference, other than the preferred path taken to arrive at the same destination. Conscious awareness should be calm, peaceful and all-embracing. Just as awareness fills every part of the body, the breath should also fill every part of the body. Once the dantians are activated, there is no longer any distinction between them. The empty mind ground underlies all three dantian equally, and there is no distinction in essence, but only an apparent distinction in functionality. Wisdom comes through the upper dantian, compassion through the second dantian, and sustainability of life (and existence) through the lower dantian. A single breath cuts-through all three dantian. Awareness permeates all three dantian. The mind must be used in an exact and precise manner, but at no time must it become ‘attached’ to any one position or place. This is why a Ch’an practitioner retains no discriminatory knowledge about the dantian (or their functionality) throughout the entire training.
|
|
|
Post by Shi Da Dao on Oct 11, 2016 22:21:46 GMT 1
Master Xu Yun‘s 57th Anniversary of His Parinirvana Master Xu Yun passed away on October the 13rh, 1959, whilst lying on his rightside (like that other great Chinese Buddhist master named Hong Yi). Whereas the (Vinaya) Master Hong Yi was photographed in tranquil repose immediately following his death – it seems at the present time no photographs were taken of Master Xu Yun during his last days, and certainly none of his lifeless body, or subsequent cremation. Prior to his last hours, however, Master Xu Yun did spend much time in the crossed-leg meditation posture, but followed the example of the Buddha and chose to transition from one state of being to another (whatever that may be) lying on his rightside. His body was cremated and according to his instruction, his ashes were mixed with dough-balls and used to feed the local fish. These events are very important and profound, and as significant of any of Xu Yun’s Dharma Words. Those who are still alive generally have no direct knowledge of the dying process, and tend to view such stories of the deaths of others in a detached and not altogether truly appreciative mind-set – as death is always something that happens to someone else. Like the biological process of birth, death is also a biological process, but one of energy dissipation and permanent cellular breakdown. The body ‘dies’ through a process of radical energy transformation, and in the case of Ch’an Buddhism, for instance, the advanced practitioner is expected to keep a conscious awareness of the entire process until the very second the brain ceases to function. Although there are rumours in modern China that Master Xu Yun has been reborn in the remote hills – awaiting the appropriate time to make his presence known (very much in the mould of the King Arthur legend in the UK) – Master Xu Yun appeared to suggest that his pre-1959 existence was his last, and that there would be no more taking of existences within the cycle of transmigratory suffering (samsara). What happens after the brain ceases to function? Modern logic would suggest ‘nothing’, and this might well correlate with the Buddha’s notion of ‘emptiness’ (sunyata). After-all, the Buddha suggests that volitional karma and the agency of rebirth only appear to exist in the deluded state of mind (fuelled as it is by greed, hatred, and delusion), but do not exist within the pristine state of the fully enlightened mind. Of course, the Buddha’s notion of rebirth refers only to non-descript (or ‘impersonal’) bundles of habit energy that seem to take existence in various guises from one existence to the next, but does not (and cannot) refer to any type of ‘reincarnation’. As far as the Buddha was concerned, humanity is incapable of ‘reincarnating’ as exactly the same person, from one life to the next. As enlightened beings are not subject to the delusion of rebirth, and given that there is no reincarnation within Buddhism, it is highly unlikely that Master Xu Yun lives quietly within the Chinese hills, occupying a younger body that looks exactly like the body he ‘gave-up’ in 1959.
|
|
|
Post by Shi Da Dao on Dec 22, 2016 8:55:00 GMT 1
Dialectical Ch’an ‘The illusion of form which includes the body and mind made of the five aggregates and the visible world is tackled first by returning each of its aspects to where it arises to prove its unreality. Then the illusion of perception is wiped out by revealing its essence, or alaya, which like a second moon is also an illusionary creation.’ (Charles Luk: Preface – Surangama Sutra – Munshiram, (2001), Page xvii) The Ch’an masters of ancient China are often judged as speaking nonsense, or even being ‘crazy’ in some Western-quarters, when the ‘enlightened’ dialogues with their disciples are analysed – supposedly in the cold light of day. The problem with this type of analysis is that it is premised upon a major category error of interpretation that ignores or avoids the psychological and physical process the Ch’an masters are employing. This means that the ‘essence’ or ‘underlying’ aspect of the enlightened Ch’an dialogue is ‘missing’ from this limited interpretation. It is like the presence of a wooden table being explained, without including the reality that it was once a living and growing ‘tree’ in the world, and that this tree was cut-down, and its trunk chopped into smaller pieces, which were then ‘processed’ into the applicable parts that are used to construct a standard table. Everything in the world follows a logically discernible set of causes and effects, with a specific ‘cause’ eliciting a specific ‘effect’, and so on. Far from being ‘illogical’, the Ch’an method is in fact highly logical, and a product of a sophisticated interpretation of depth psychology and behaviour. The basis of the Ch’an dialogue is that of the interaction of ‘form’ and ‘void’ in the perception of the unenlightened disciple, as he or she is led to profound understanding by an already enlightened Ch’an master. The Ch’an master either emphasises the ‘void’, or emphasises the ‘form’, depending upon the particular psychology (and understanding) of the disciple at hand. This often rapid interchange of dialectical reality creates a ‘tension’ in the enquiring mind that assists in ‘loosening’ the bonds of ingrained attachment, and klesic obscuration. This is the ancient Ch’an method at its root, which has nothing to do with being ‘crazy’, or ‘missing’ parts of one’s anatomy. Dialectics, of course, can be traced not only back to the Buddha, but probably much earlier in ancient India, and of course in ancient and classical Greece, but the Buddha is unique in the ancient world in his use of ‘form’ and ‘void’ as a definite means to interpret and define reality. It can be further stated that the early Confucian texts of ancient China utilised the dialectical method by juxtaposing ‘good’ and ‘bad’ behaviour, as did the various early Daoist or proto-Daoist texts (which defined reality as ‘correct’ or incorrect’ paths of endeavour). If the Ch’an method is understood properly, then the casual observer is not ‘limited’ to the surface level of interpretation, (as this mistakes the ‘surface’ for the ‘essence’), but instead understands that profound system of stimulus – response is unfolding in real-time. As the disciple mistakenly presents a surface obscuration in the mind (accompanied by a corresponding physical behaviour), the Ch’an master automatically ‘dismisses’ this ‘limited’ interpretation of reality, and immediately returns to its ‘empty’ essence – whether the disciple is instantly enlightened or not, depends entirely upon that disciple’s historical conditioning – and the Ch’an master’s direct perception of that history as it existentially manifests. If the disciple mistakes a state of one-sided ‘nothingness’ as ‘emptiness’, the Ch’an master might well suddenly present ‘form’ as an antidote (as true emptiness contains all form, and vice versa). In reality, the Ch’an method does not go beyond the Buddha’s realisation of ‘perception’ and ‘non-perception – the so-called ‘Tathagata Ch’an’ – but differs in that the realisation of the empty essence of ‘perception’ and ‘non-perception’ is directly emphasised from the moment Ch’an training commences – the so-called Patriarch’s Ch’an’.
|
|
|
Post by Shi Da Dao on Mar 25, 2017 11:53:39 GMT 1
Master Xu Yun: Ch’an and DaoRHACS Special Note: There have been examples Ch’an and Daoist masters in China, that have pursued policies of mutual disregard and even disrespect for one another’ teachings - but Master Xu Yun (1840-1959) – although being well-aware of this antagonism – was amongst them. He understood the difference between the Ch’an and Daoist methods, and despite personally preferring the Ch’an approach, he nevertheless tried to work Daoist ideas and concepts into his Ch’an teaching. In this regard, it is obvious that he favoured Ch’an, but of equal importance is the fact that he thought that the two very different paths in practice, were unified in essence. Indeed, much can be said for Lu Dong-bin’s insightful line ‘When mindless of surroundings, there’s no need for Chan’, but according to this text, it took an encounter with an enlightened Ch’an master for the mind of Lu Dong-bin to be finally ‘turned’ permanently and thoroughly at its deepest point, and realise full enlightenment. Despite Lu Dong-bin being nolonger ‘attached’ to the paraphernalia of Daoist practice, Master Xu Yun informs us that he later revived the Daoist Sect – becoming the 5th Patriarch of the South. This idea that the ‘empty mind ground’ of Ch’an is synonymous with the ‘shen’ (spirit) concept of Daoist thought, is one of the principles underlying the Qianfeng School of Daoism – founded by Zhao Bichen (1860-1942). ACW 25.3.2017 Lu Dong-bin, alias Shun-yang, a native of Jing-chuan, was one of the famous group of eight immortals. Towards the end of the Tang Dynasty, he stood thrice for the scholar’s examination but failed each time. Being disheartened, he did not return home, and one day he met by chance in a wine-shop at Chang-an an immortal named Zhong-Li-chuan who taught him the method of lengthening his span of life indefinitely. Lu Dong-bin practiced the method with great success and could even become invisible and fly in the air at will over the country. One day he paid a flying visit to the Hai Hui Monastery on Lu Shan Mountain. In its bell tower he wrote on the wall: ‘After a day of leisure when the body is at ease, The six organs now in harmony, announce that all is well. With a gem in the pubic region there’s no need to search for truth, When mindless of surroundings, there’s no need for Chan.’ Sometime later, as he was crossing the Huang-long Mountain, he beheld in the sky purple clouds shaped like an umbrella. Guessing that there must be some extraordinary person (in the monastery there), he entered. It happened at the same time that in the monastery, after beating the drum, Chan Master Huang-long was ascending to his seat (to expound the Dharma). Lu Dong-bin followed the monks and entered the hall to listen to the teaching.Huang-long said to the assembly: ‘Today there is here a plagiarist of my Dharma; the monk (i.e., I) will not expound it.’ Thereupon, Lu Dong-bin came forward and paid obeisance to the Master, saying, ‘I wish to ask the Venerable Master the meaning of these lines: ‘A grain of corn contains the Universe: The hills and rivers fill a small cooking-pot.’ Huang-long scolded him and said: ‘What a corpse-guarding devil you are.’ Lu Dong-bin retorted: ‘But my gourd holds the immortality-giving medicine.’ Huang-long said: ‘Even if you succeed in living 80,000 eons, you will not escape from falling into the dead void.’ Forgetting all about the fortitude advocated in his own line: ‘When mindless of surroundings there’s no need for Chan.’ Lu Dong-bin burned with anger and threw his sword at Huanglong. Huang-long pointed his finger at the sword which fell to the ground and which the thrower could not get back. With deep remorse, Lu Dong-bin knelt upon his knees and inquired about the Buddhadharma. Huang-long asked: “Let aside the line: ‘The hills and rivers fill a small cooking-pot’ - about which I do not ask you anything. Now what is the meaning of ‘A grain of corn contains the Universe’” Upon hearing this question, Lu Dong-bin instantaneously realized the profound (Chan) meaning. Then, he chanted the following repentance-poem: ‘I throw away my gourd and smash my lute. In future, I’ll not cherish gold in mercury. Now that I have met (the master Huang-long), I have realized my wrong use of the mind.’
This is the story of an immortal’s return to and reliance on the Triple Gem and his entry into the monastery (Sangharama) as a guardian of the Dharma. Lu Don-bin was also responsible for reviving the Daoist Sect at the time and was its Fifth (Dao) Patriarch in the North. The Daoist Zi-yang also realized the mind after reading the (Buddhist) collection ‘Zu-Ying-ji’ and became the Fifth (Dao) Patriarch in the South. Thus the Dao faith was revived thanks to the Chan Sect. (Source: Extracted from ‘Empty Cloud’, Translated by Charles Luk & Edited by Richard Hunn [1988], Element Books, Pages 185-186)
|
|
|
Post by Shi Da Dao on Apr 11, 2017 6:57:13 GMT 1
Direct PerceptionThe Ch’an method temporarily ‘lays down’ the discursive intellect, so that the practitioner can clearly ‘perceive’ what lies beyond it. Of course, this is not an objective science in the modern sense, as it exists within the realm of subjective awareness, but where this process can take on a ‘scientific’ edge, is through the ordered arrangement of perception, and perception alteration. As the Ch’an method demands a logical approach to de-activating the discursive intellect, this approach (like the Buddhism it is premised upon), may be termed a ‘perceptual science’. This remains true regardless of how ‘illogical’, or ‘counter-logical’ the sayings of certain Chinese Ch’an masters may appear to be. Again, the internal ‘logic’ of the Ch’an dialogue is often obscured through the use of the very discursive intellect the Ch’an method is designed to temporarily ‘suspend’. If the discursive intellect is not ‘suspended’ when confronted with the Ch’an dialogue, (i.e. the ‘language of the uncreate’, or the ‘non-born language’), regardless of the ‘content’ of that dialogue, then the Ch’an dialogue will be filtered through the very ‘disunifying’ process it is designed to annul. The reason the discursive mind must be temporarily suspended, is so that the inner terrain of the mind process may be ‘directly’ perceived through an awareness unsullied by intermediary thought. The constant flow of thoughts across the surface of the mind take the attention of the mind, and so to get perceptually ‘beyond’ this point of awareness, the hitherto constant stream of thoughts must be brought to an end. Although such an achievement may seem ‘final’, and even be taught in this manner, the fact that direct perception of the sense organs and sense objects (viewed from a unified awareness base), leads to a stronger and more clearer ‘thinking’ (i.e. ‘prajna’) mind, suggests that the thought process is not only resurrected, but is so in an entirely ‘new’ manner once all old dualistic habits of perception are thoroughly uprooted. In the old days, Ch’an masters all knew this reality, but said nothing about it to students still trying to achieve the ‘stillness’ of mind state. In the modern world, of course, people should learn everything there is to know about the Ch’an method before embarking upon its path. The mind ‘stills’ before ‘re-activating’ in an entirely ‘new’ way. Modern people must be mature enough to process a full disclosure of the Ch’an method, and self-disciplined enough not to be attached to the thoughts and ideas generated by such a progressive education.
|
|
|
Post by Shi Da Dao on Jun 24, 2017 6:35:48 GMT 1
Asking for Ch’an and Qianfeng Daoist Instruction
Respect to Master Xu Yun (1840-1959) and Master Zhao Bichen (1860-1942)! Anyone can ask for instruction – why not? Whether that instruction will be what you though it would be, is another matter. I will ask you to do two things: a) Still your mind. b) Expand your awareness. I will also deflect, reflect, absorb and repulse any and all attempts to egotistically interact, simply because this is delusion masquerading as enlightenment. Although there must be a correct ‘respect’ (or alignment of inner and outer energy) for such an exchange to be fruitful, I will not ask for anything other than your own direct effort, and will reject all offers of material payment in exchange for instruction. Paying for things is easy and the way of the ordinary world to acquire things – but monetary payment will not ‘still’ the mind, and avarice will not expand the awareness. Realising Buddhist or Daoist enlightenment is not an economic activity, but a matter of profound self-organisation achieved through the practice of radical mind and body discipline. Mind to mind communication does not involve any intermediary agents, and avoids the trap of being attached to Ch’an or Daoist practice. There are no belief systems, religions or traditions, but only the direct realisation of the empty mind ground and the transcendence of the subject-object dichotomy. Stilling the mind and expanding awareness are definite experiential states of mind that are achieved by generating the correct conditions of practice (cause), which lead to the realisation of psychological and physical transformation (effect). This is the continuation of the Buddha’s ‘science of perception’, and Huangdi and Laozi’s profound understanding of the unfolding of reality, and the harmonious interaction of its constituent parts.
|
|
|
Post by Shi Da Dao on Jul 13, 2017 6:36:52 GMT 1
On Having No RankMany people in the West approach Chinese Ch’an training from a stable economic base, and enquiring mind, and a general lack of knowledge about exactly what the practice entails. Of course, not everybody has this stable economic base, and not everyone who trains is in good psychological or physical health. Some people are respectful, others are disrespectful, whilst others attempt to ‘hide’ their true intentions. Quite often the ‘ego’ approaches the Chinese Ch’an training to ‘validate’ itself through a method designed to expose and eradicate it. This seems to be the ultimate ‘high’ for the spiritual ‘junkie’ that uses transformative paths as a means to ‘reinforce’ the very ignorance such methods purport to destroy. Spiritual teachers are incorrectly viewed as ‘obstacles’ on the path toward ego fulfilment, rather than indifferent ‘doorways’ to higher knowledge. This situation is not helped by those spiritual frauds who ‘pretend’ to be an indifferent doorway, whilst simultaneously exploiting the psychological, emotional and physical well-being of his or her disciples. This is why Master Xu Yun (1840-1959) was so adamant about ‘moral’ purity, which within Chinese culture is viewed as being the highest form of ‘virtue’. This attitude must not be confused with Western ideals of ‘Puritanism’, but is rather a distinctly ‘Chinese’ attitude toward a poor set of behaviours that waste valuable internal energy, and spread base ignorance throughout the mind and body of those who encounter the effects, and thereby spreads throughout society. Bad – or ‘unvirtuous’ – behaviour is defined as ‘leaking’ essential nature (jing), and vital force (qi), a deficiency of which prevents a Chinese Ch’an practitioner from realising a calm and expansive mind (shen). At one time In is life, Master Xu Yun was riding on a boat full of other people, when a young women (for reasons unknown), took her clothes off and ‘offered’ herself to the Master. Master Xu Yun assumed the seated meditation position and entered a deep state of tranquil emptiness where the empty mind ground did not move, and the mind-essence was not stirred with delusive desire. I first read this story in Charles Luk’ Empty Cloud’ translation of Xu Yun’s biography – but many years later checked the original Chinese language version and found it to be true. I subsequently questioned a number of my Chinese colleagues about this (some of whom were Ch’an monks), and no one understood exactly ‘why’ the young woman on the boat behaved like she did – as such behaviour is very unusual for Chinese women. Two theories were suggested. The first postulated that the young woman was psychologically disturbed, whilst the other theory states that perhaps a prostitute had been paid to ‘seduce’ Master Xu Yun in public, and thereby sully his good name. The point is that Master Xu Yu’s response retained his good reputation and confirmed his high virtue. He did not waste his valuable internal energy, did not shorten his life or lose his good reputation. In reality, a master and student are two-sides to the same developmental coin. It is only when the ego is functioning that a master is placed above a student, or a student placed below a master. A true Ch’an master is easy to discern, as he or she possesses ‘no rank’.
|
|
|
Post by Shi Da Dao on Aug 26, 2017 7:13:57 GMT 1
Undoing the Damage of Intellectualised ZenChinese Ch’an as taught by Master Xu Yun (1840-1959) is not the Zen as taught by DT Suzuki and his ilk, which might explain why people such as Alan Watts, Douglas Harding, Christmas Humphreys and even Richard Alpert (amongst many other so called ‘Zennists’) make no mention of old Master Xu Yun – although to his credit, John Blofeld did indeed bother to travel to China and eventually seek-out the Venerable Master whilst also researching Daoism and other aspects of Chinese culture. The problems associated with the Japanese Zen (that became uncritically accepted in the West both before and after WWII) are political and historical in nature, and fully explained in Brian Victoria’s excellent book entitled ‘Zen at War’. Even in Japan today, it is acknowledged that the Zen exported to the West in the those dark days, IS NOT the Zen generally practised by ordinary Japanese people today, and represents a certain (and corrupted) epoch within Japanese history. Even when this highly ‘militarised’ Zen was at its peak, there were individual Japanese Zen masters who ignored it, and continued to practice their more ‘Chinese-like’ Zen traditions – often hidden away in remote areas, or places where Japanese officialdom did not penetrate (many years later, Richard Hunn [1949-2006] interviewed some of these people in their old age). This is despite the fact that the Rinzai and Soto Schools did conform to governmental requirements of assuming an ‘amoral’ attitude toward killing combined with a rampant nationalism (the ingredients that led to Japan’s murderous expansionism into China and Asia, and the disastrous Pacific War with the US). What is this type of distorted ‘Zen’? For a start, many lineages in the West today (referred to in Japan as example of ‘International Zen’, as opposed to ‘conventional’ Zen), still exist and have emerged from this teaching that misrepresents Buddhism as being an amoral method of physically dominating the world, whilst falsely assuming that an arrogant ‘intellectualism’ is in fact a form of enlightenment. Ch’an enlightenment is not a ‘still’ mind free of any moral constraints, coupled with a counter-logical view of the world. This type of distorted ‘Zen’ is merely the inflated ego of the ordinary and deluded mind, and Master Xu Yun would have had none of it! A ‘still’ mind has an origination, and is not an end in itself. From the Chinese Ch’an perspective, a ‘still’ mind and a ‘moving’ mind both emerge from the empty mind ground – which once penetrated through correct Ch’an training – permanently reconciles all dualities. Intellectualising enlightenment (false Zen) is just the ‘moving’ mind that thinks itself enlightened. Personally experiencing the function and essence of perception and non-perception is not an ‘intellection’ – although after such a profound experience, it can be expressed through an enhanced intellect that is beyond egotistical knowing – this is the prajna expression from which Master Xu Yun always taught and manifested.
|
|
|
Post by Shi Da Dao on Oct 6, 2017 6:53:00 GMT 1
Richard Hunn (Upasaka Wen Shu) passed away on October 1st, 2006, in Kyoto, Japan. Master Xu Yun passed away on October 13th, 1959. The person that linked these two beings together was Charles Luk – who passed away in December 1978. Onething that can be taken from all this, is that biological life is passing, subject to change, and insubstantial. This is common-sense and part of physical existence – it is not a truth exclusive to Buddhism – but the Buddha expressed this reality in a very sophisticated manner, very similar to modes of philosophical expression developed in ancient and classical Greece. Even if a human-being lives for over a hundred years, the biological processes will eventually transition into a new condition. The Buddha’s message is that ‘reality’ is perceivable in the exact position between ‘perception’ and ‘non-perception’. This is exactly the Ch’an position – or non-position. Linguistic sophistry, of course, is not the answer, even though language is the vehicle through which Ch’an is passed-on from one generation to the next. Whilst professional historians debate the historicity of Buddhism and Ch’an (making good and bad points in equal measure), a Ch’an practitioner must master Buddhist philosophy (remaining ‘non-attached’ to words and phrases), whilst developing a profound inner vision that explains the outer world. This all has to be done whilst not falling into the trap of ‘religion’, or becoming attached to false notions of Ch’an (which exists everywhere). The ‘inner’ and the ‘outer’ are reconciled in essence and reality is understood in a non-mystical manner that is quite ordinary, and relevant to the human condition and the limitations of human knowing. Everything is conditioned, and everything must be directly ‘seen through’. There is a direct personal experience that can be had, that directly perceives the ‘empty’ mind-ground. This is an emptiness that is not ‘empty’, but which contains all things. This is why the Buddha distinguished between’ ‘emptiness’ and ‘nothingness’ – and stated that the former must not be mistaken for the latter. As a matter of progressing Chinese Ch’an Buddhism, it is a good idea to develop an interface between Ch’an and modern science. This development should be understood as the ongoing mission of eradicating delusion and misunderstanding from the human mind, body and environment.
|
|
|
Post by Shi Da Dao on Dec 19, 2017 18:53:59 GMT 1
Ch’an Master Dai An on Turning WordsOneday, two monks approached Ch’an Master Dai An (1347-1403) for instruction.
To one monk Dai An asked the question: ‘The whole world is the basis of self. This being so, where are the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and functioning mind to be placed?’ The monk was speechless.
Master Dai An then asked the second monk: ‘Mount Sumeru is crushing your head and smashing your skull to pieces – why do you remain unaware of this reality?’ This monk also remained speechless.
Having performed his enlightening function, Master Dai An turned to his assistant and asked for these two examples of ‘turning words’ to be recorded and handed-down for the benefit of future generations.
Why are you not instantly ‘benefitted’?
|
|
|
Post by Shi Da Dao on Mar 3, 2018 17:20:27 GMT 1
The All-Embracing MindNo matter what you think you see, understand, sense or experience in anyway during intensive Ch’an training, it must be ‘put down’. This includes abandoning the idea of putting things down. The mind must become a psycho-physical space within which all things are happening, but within which there is simultaneously emptiness of substantiality. This might be termed the ‘meta-view’. On the personal level, all sensory imprints of an individual existence must be dis-associated from the mind (and body) that experiences these sensations. This might be termed ‘non-identification’ with thought as it is the mind that is aware of all experience. The Ch’an method demands a direct ‘cutting through’ to the empty essence that lies at the heart of all sensory experience. A still body in a quiet hall is conducive in the early days of meditation, but there comes a point of development where the inner mind becomes calm like the outer environment, but is unable to retain this quiet state as soon as the external world become hectic or chaotic. A calm mind in a quiet environment is often described as a ‘Hinayana’ enlightenment, whereas an extensive mind that embraces the entire environment and remains ‘empty’ of all dualism or notions of permanency, is referred as being in the state of ‘Mahayana’ enlightenment. Although some people are propelled instantaneously into full enlightenment by a competent master, most must resolutely ‘sit’ in concentrated meditation awaiting a profound breakthrough, and pass through the limited empty mind stage (which is also referred to as relative enlightenment). As an empty mind is seductive, many Ch’an practitioners become ‘trapped’ in it. However, as the mind is not yet all-embracing, the journey is not yet over. A calm and empty mind is a substantial achievement in a non-substantive world, but it is not the enlightenment as taught by the Ch’an masters. The barrier of ignorance that prevents the awareness of the mind embracing all phenomenon must drop away and the pristine shining mind rediscovered. Master Xu Yun taught nothing but this.
|
|
|
Post by Shi Da Dao on May 10, 2018 20:30:06 GMT 1
Learning to Sit - Learning to MoveI felt the need to intensely ‘look into’ my mind in my late teens and early twenties, following a number of years of further and higher educational activity. On the college campus I would seek-out isolated or quiet parts of buildings that very few visited or used, to sit and meditate between lectures. This often involved reading books about Buddhism in the 5-minute rest periods that punctuated 25-minute sessions of intense ‘inner viewing’. If by chance anyone would happen to come along, I would immediately stand-up and walk away whilst retaining the concentrated mind-set. This only happened occasionally, and was very useful due to its unpredictable nature. Adrenalin would suddenly pump through my body (as if I was in danger from being ‘caught’), but through an act of will, my mind activity was kept on an even level. This is how I started to accommodate a calm mind in the midst of evolutionary programming, although by this time I had been training in martial arts for a number of years. Martial training was different, as it was out in the open and everyone new score. Yes, training was hard and fighting was potentially dangerous and fear inspiring, but it was not a hidden activity that required a body that was still, relaxed, and aligned in the seated meditation position, tucked away in an alcove of a disused stairwell (with a statue of the Greek Goddess Diana near its lowest step)! Looking back the feeling I had was that I was participating in an illicit activity that flew in the face of academic accumulation and material acquisition, but in reality I suspect no one would have cared if they had known.
|
|
|
Post by Shi Da Dao on May 26, 2018 9:12:03 GMT 1
Master Xu Yun (1840-1959) said that there is no difference between Buddha-Nature and the (empty) essence of the mind and its functionality. A problem arises when the undeveloped mind is attached to its own surface movement, and mistakes this chaos (premised upon greed, hatred and delusion), for the ‘reality’ of the mind. Within Ch’an Buddhism, this situation is described as an attachment to surface movement that obscures the perception of the mind’s empty essence. The Tathagata Ch’an defines the highest realisation as ‘stilling’ the surface mind and directly perceiving the mind’s empty essence. This may be defined as a perceptual science, or the greatest extent to which human perception can function without the aid of technology. This being the case, it seems by training the mind, (that is using the agencies of will-power and self-discipline to develop the mind function of the brain), the mind’s functionality is refined and strengthened, so that its thought capacity is optimised and can be used to assist society and perhaps even contribute to science, within the Buddhist attributes of compassion and wisdom. This suggests that after the functionality of the mind has ‘turned the right way around’ within its deepest recesses (as directed by the Lankavatara Sutra), the quality of ‘stillness’ and the three-dimensional nature of post-enlightenment thought (i.e. ‘prajna’) allows for the human mind to manifest in a sublime manner that is useful and beneficial to humanity. This is an unlimited usefulness that manifests inaccordance with the conditions of society, regardless of the nature of those conditions. This is why Master Xu Yun commented that the empty essence of the mind is identical with its functionality in every situation in the post-enlightenment state. Prior to this realisation, the mind is attached to every mind state, and every corresponding physical circumstance. This is the endless dualism of delusion. By ‘stilling’ the mind and ‘stilling’ the activities of the body, a profound and all-embracing emptiness is realised that transcends dualism (and ‘oneness’), and which cannot fall back into old habits. In this state, the Ch’an Masters said that fetching water and chopping wood is enlightenment – even if these habits had been previously ‘given up’ to realise the emptiness of the mind.
|
|
|
Post by Shi Da Dao on Aug 1, 2018 6:18:22 GMT 1
The Purpose of the Vinaya DisciplineEveryone is subject to the Vinaya Discipline if they consider themselves a Buddhist. Whether a layperson or a monastic, the manner in which the Vinaya Discipline is followed is one of degree. The basic morality followed by the Buddhist laity is exactly the same as the extensive morality upheld by a Buddhist monk or nun and differs only in severity and extent. The Vinaya Discipline defines the five, eight or ten vows of the layperson, just as it clearly states the hundreds of rules the monks and nuns must follow without question. What function does the Vinaya Discipline perform? It limits the actions of the body to only those which are good and wholesome (for both the individual and society) and is designed to ‘still’ the surface activity of the mind, and immediately ‘cut-off’ at its root, all psychological (and emotional) patterns motivated by greed, hatred and delusion. With the activities of the body defined only through compassion and wisdom, the mind eventually becomes clear, reflective and all-embracing. However, regardless of the number of precepts followed, within the Ch’an School of China, the most important vow is the ‘mind precept’. This is the mind that is non-dual, and which has returned all phenomena to the non-conceptual essence of the empty mind ground, realised as a practical experience, from which the adherent does not stray. There is no use following the Vinaya Discipline if the empty mind ground has not been realised within everyday activity. Once the empty ground mind has been penetrated, then the Vinaya Discipline is nolonger upheld as a separate (dualistic) entity, but becomes a natural expression of the Great Dao, manifest without effort or undue strain. This does not mean that the Vinaya Discipline can be abandoned, on the contrary, it is only the demanding edifice of the Buddha’s morality that gives his teaching the moral force that it possesses. If the Vinaya Discipline is abandoned, then the Dharma (and Sangha) will possess no moral or ethical direction, on the other hand, if there is ‘attachment’ to the Vinaya Discipline, then a new ignorance masks an old ignorance (placing a head upon a head, as the old Ch’an masters say). If the presence of the Vinaya Discipline bothers your mind – good – because it means that your disruptive ego is strong and needs to be penetrated with an incisive awareness that instantly ‘smashes’ all duality. If you hide behind the Vinaya Discipline – then you are attached to egotistical notions of reality, just as you are to old habits of the dualistic mind. The Vinaya Discipline achieves its physical and psychological objectives when all sensations are successfully returned to the empty mind ground, and no more ignorance and delusion manifests in the mind, body and environment. In such a situation, the Vinaya Discipline exists but is empty from beginning to end. When the Vinaya Discipline is ‘empty’ from beginning to end, then the all-embracing mind transcends all notions of ‘oneness’ and ‘non-duality’.
|
|