Proper and Principled Chan Practice Before Enlightenment

The Chan Meditation Experience of Shi Ruyuan: I am profoundly grateful for the blessings bestowed upon me, this disciple, by the Master over these past days, allowing me to receive and benefit from immense merit! The spiritual resonance I experienced was tremendous!

On the first night after returning, during seated meditation, incredible resonance and sensations arose within samadhi. Now, whether walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, I remain in samadhi. That day, as soon as I sat down to meditate, my head suddenly felt a powerful "bang," as if a large mass of qi was expelled. My mind felt utterly empty, as if something had struck my head forcefully, causing me to be shaken out of samadhi. On the second and third days, my body remained immobile within samadhi, unable to emerge. On the third night, I was so excited I couldn't sleep, and I began to worry: if this continued for several more days, what would become of me? During these days, the roots of my thighs also became sore and swollen, my eyes couldn't open, and though I wanted to get up and walk, I couldn't move. When I managed to stand, I felt unsteady and feared falling, as if my cerebellum had lost its function of balance.

On the fourth day, I improved slightly and could move. My legs were no longer sore or swollen. Around eleven o'clock at night, while in samadhi, a powerful stream of qi surged out from my nostrils, shaking me out of samadhi. At that moment, I sat quietly to collect myself. Remembering the Master's teaching—not to just sit, but to move appropriately, practice walking meditation, and contemplate the Tathagatagarbha within the encountered states—I arose to practice walking meditation. Simultaneously, while contemplating that all dharmas born from the Tathagatagarbha are illusory, I suddenly felt the Dharma meanings revolving incessantly in my mind. I wanted to emerge from samadhi, but my body and mind were beyond my control. I couldn't perceive the external six dust realms; only the sound of the Buddha's name spun and played ceaselessly in my mind. Such profound resonance and realizations truly cannot be expressed in words; they can only be experienced or understood within deep samadhi. Those with shallow samadhi cannot perceive them.

The above describes the resonance and realizations experienced over several days. I have now recovered, feeling physically and mentally relaxed and at ease, able to contemplate the Dharma meanings normally. Now, the doubts or answers arising in my mind are becoming increasingly clear and distinct. Even when going to the restroom, doubts arise uninterruptedly: Who is the force dragging this wooden-like five-aggregate body to the restroom? How does this force function wondrously upon the material shell of sentient beings? While eating or drinking, I involuntarily question: Who is the one sustaining these five-aggregate activities—raising hands and feet, dressing, eating, drinking, holding bowls and chopsticks?

Commentary: Shi Ruyuan's diligence in Chan meditation is in no way inferior to that of the many Chan masters of the Tang and Song dynasties, nor to the Mahayana Bodhisattvas who practiced Chan meditation during the Buddha's time. This is because the diligence required in Chan practice before realization is the same across all eras—unchanged, unaltered, and never diminished in standard or level. The only difference is that Shi Ruyuan, practicing under my guidance, has learned too much about the Tathagatagarbha Dharma, and it has been presented too explicitly. She doesn’t need to expend much effort to organize and systematize it, relying more on external guidance, making her self-effort seem insufficient. In contrast, the ancient Chan masters received comparatively rough teachings on Prajna principles, far less detailed and abundant. Consequently, they had to investigate more diligently, relying more on self-effort, thus developing profound wisdom. Presenting the teachings too explicitly is detrimental to a disciple's Chan practice, as it easily leads to intellectual understanding (解悟), hindering the disciple's path and the arising of wisdom.

Yet why hasn't Shi Ruyuan fallen into mere intellectual understanding? Observe the doubts she raises—they are like a thin layer of paper over a window, easily pierced, directly pointing to the central point, the target of realization, that never-fading moon. The reason is that Shi Ruyuan's samadhi is deep and continuous, unbroken even by demons or any external interference; nothing can disrupt it. Therefore, she does not use the conscious mind (意识) to resolve her doubts; she does not employ the conscious mind to reason, speculate, conjecture, or analyze. If her samadhi were even slightly shallower, and she used the conscious mind, she might effortlessly arrive at an answer, resolving the conscious mind's doubt but failing to penetrate the doubt at the level of the manas (意根).

Precisely because Shi Ruyuan does not use the conscious mind to resolve her doubts, avoiding shortcuts and relying solely on the manas to investigate honestly, the doubts that seem as thin as window paper to one who is awakened remain impenetrable to her. This is solely because she is too earnest, cutting no corners. Within such deep and continuous diligence, one cannot cut corners. When the manas itself is heavily burdened with doubt, it simply doesn’t allow the conscious mind an opportunity to resolve it.

Therefore, as long as the diligence is deep and the manas is laden with doubt, even if the Dharma meanings are explained extremely explicitly, one can avoid mere intellectual understanding. Even if the esoteric meaning is explicitly stated, because doubt exists, the manas will still investigate, prove, and verify through practice, not permitting the conscious mind to merely accept it intellectually. In this way, as long as the diligence is sufficient and the manas harbors doubt, previous intellectual understanding can transform into realization (证悟). The clear and evident Buddhadharma becomes a proof question: knowing the answer yet requiring the process of solving it. Within this genuine process of investigation, the Bodhisattva nature matures, giving rise to the merit and wisdom of the Path of Seeing (见道).

Hasn't Shi Ruyuan clearly articulated the method and process of applying effort in Chan meditation? Hasn't she plainly pointed to the target of Chan practice, almost stating it outright? Isn't the finger pointing to the moon (指月的指头) glaringly obvious? Yet, even so, it remains useless to many, leaving them clueless. Why is that? They lack the diligence; even conscious speculation is difficult for them. Even if they manage to speculate, it's inaccurate and has no effect on their body or mind. Afflictions persist as before.

Most crucially, they lack the renunciation mind (出离心) of the Hinayana and cannot arouse the Bodhicitta (菩提心) of the Mahayana. For them, the practice and realization of the Buddhadharma is merely one part of life; many worldly affairs still occupy a crucial position. The manas cannot prioritize spiritual practice. How, then, can diligence be cultivated? Each person practices and receives their own results; they cannot substitute for one another. Therefore, explicitly stating the ultimate outcome of Chan meditation is of no help to others. It’s not that someone else stating it explicitly allows you to achieve intellectual understanding, let alone realization.