The No-Zen Ch'an

[Shi Da Dao]

It is obvious that the perceptual functionality of the human mind can be realised in much the same manner throughout the various cultures of the world. This demands a period of enforced introspection for this to happen, and throughout history this has been the realm of religion, although it is true that in its purest form, Buddhist thought represents a secular philosophy. There is nothing mysterious or other worldly about a human perception used to understand its own manifestation, no matter how unusual this exercise may seem to onlookers. As the period of effective training requires the attention to be ‘fixed’ upon the apparent machinations of the mind, a certain ‘detachment’ from the meanderings of the external world is often required. This is because a beginner cannot yet distinguish movement in the physical environment from movement of thought in the mind and often becomes confused about the two seemingly different states. Meditation is the act of discerning what the interior of the mind and body looks like to the average seeker, whilst keeping the external world at a distance. Once the incessant flow of thought ceases in the mind, then a head empty of thought is realised, but this is not what the Ch’an masters were aiming for. A mind with no thought has not realised anything but the non-presence of thought. How can this be considered enlightenment when the mind does nothing but remain vaguely aware of its own presence (to the exclusion of all external phenomena)? Therefore, the false barrier between the ‘interior’ and the ‘exterior’ should fall away and a new and all-embracing perception take its place. Instead of thoughts appearing in a separate space to movements in the physical world, it is now the case that all of material existence manifests within conscious awareness, and that conscious awareness does not exist independent of material reality. Of course, looking within is only part of the Chinese Ch’an training, with some Ch’an masters insisting upon an ‘instantaneous’ enlightenment for their own disciples free of any (contrived) stages of realisation. A word, sentence or action can suddenly propel the disciple into an entirely new conscious understanding of reality, but such an achievement nowadays is rare. This is why the hua tou is often relied upon more often and not, with Ch’an masters utilising various expedient methods for assisting awakening (such as a wise word, kick or a slap). From a Chinese perspective there is nothing ‘Zen-like’ about Chinese Ch’an. There are no grades or hierarchies but only hard work and a complete indifference to the process of unfolding understanding. A Chinese Ch’an disciple does not sit facing the wall, or sit with the back to the wall, how could they? There is no forced limiting of the mind to a sentence comprised of other people’s words, and there is no letting the mind roll on aimlessly through the world with no real perception of its own empty essence. Sitting still is no good when the river flows on without end, whilst moving through the world without seeing the empty mind ground is pointless when the mountain sits strong and still. False teachers and fake lineages attract false disciples and fake realisations. This understanding should be obvious to all who traverse this path.