chan

Meditation helps improve our work efficiency and emotions. Meditation requires relaxation in the body and mind, and guidance from an experienced teacher. One mustn't expect instant results in practicing meditation. (Source：GDD-3)

  Perhaps some of you have heard the saying Chan (Zen) is not established on words and language and Chan is a transmission outside conventional teachings. But if Chan does not rely on words, why would anyone want to read a Chan book? Is not that a contradiction? Although Chan is not established on words, it has, among the many sects of Buddhism in China, left behind the most writing. The primary goal of these writings, however, is to show you or teach you that Chan is not established on words and language and that Chan is a transmission outside the conventional teachings. So there is a reason for you to read such a book. The word Chan can mean enlightenment, and enlightenment can be understood to mean realizing the first meaning, or the ultimate truth. In Chan, there is also what is called secondary meaning, or conventional truth. Conventional truth can be expressed in words and concepts, but the primary, or ultimate, truth of Chan can not be expressed in words. In the Chan tradition, sometimes the ultimate truth is compared to the moon, and the conventional truth compared to a finger pointing at the moon. No one would mistake the finger for the moon. Words, language, ideas, and concepts are like the finger and can express just the conventional truth. These words and concepts only point to the ultimate truth. The ultimate truth can be called mind, original nature, or Buddha-nature. It is something everyone must experience for himself or herself. It can never be fully described. The Origin of Chan What is the source of Chan? According to the Chan lore, the monk Bodhidharma brought Chan from India to China in about 500 C.E., more than a thousand years after Shakyamuni Buddha's death. But India history contains few records of the interim period, so we know relatively little about the origins of Chan practice. We do know stories and legends that describe the origins of Chan. Most famous is the account of the transmission of the Dharma (Buddhi

  The principle of Chan is taking body and mind from a state of confusion and disparity through a condition of one-mind to the experience of no-mind (or no-thought). This is the result of letting go of one's clinging attachment to the sense of "I," and to the illusion of the permanence of the self and phenomena. The sixth Chinese Chan patriarch, Huineng (638-713), once said, "From ancient times up to the present, all teaching have established no-thought (or no-mind) as the main doctrine, no-form as the substance, and non-abiding as the basis." No-form is to be separated from form even when associated with form. No-thought is not to think even when involved in thought. No-abiding is the original nature of humankind." These "no's" are more commonly known as the idea of "no self," or as the substancelessness of the self. When practicing, the "ordinary mind" is the Path, advocated Chan master Mazu. Whether you are walking, standing still, sitting, or lying down, everything is Chan practice. He taught that the bodhisattva path is neither the path of the ordinary people or of the sages. You should not intentionally practice for gain, or get involved in what is right or wrong, grasping and rejecting. This is what he called the "ordinary mind."

  Chan exists universally and eternally. There is no need for any teacher to transmit it; what is transmitted is just the method by which one can personally experience Chan. In China, the Chan school developed from Indian Dhyana Buddhism, which taught methods of meditative concentration aimed at the attainment of an absorbed, concentrated state of mind. This school later spread to other countries from China, and is called Zen in Japan, Son in Korea, and Thien in Vietnam.    Chan starts with gaining thorough knowledge of one's own self. Through letting go of all attachments and giving rise to wisdom, our mind can regain its luminosity. We call this knowledge of the notion of self "enlightenment" or "seeing one's self-nature." This is the beginning of helping yourself to thoroughly solve real problems. In the end, you will discover that you as an individual, together with the whole of existence, are but one indivisible totality. Chan encompasses four key elements: faith, understanding, practice, and realization. Faith belongs to the realm of religion, understanding is philosophical, practice is belief put into action, and realization is enlightenment. Without faith, we cannot understand; without understanding, we cannot practice; and without practice, we cannot realize enlightenment. Together, these four concepts create the doorway we enter to attain wisdom.          

Modern communication being so rapid causes people much anxiety and nightmares; they cannot feel relaxed as long as there is social disorder throughout the world. This is true whether one experiences this directly or indirectly, whether it concerns the self, family, society, country, political/economic life, or religious belief. As long as the situation affects one’s personal safety or peril, gain or loss, success or failure, people cannot sit back and relax For Emotional Problems, Ethics is the Best Way I frequently encounter people who seem to be trapped in a fire, and who come for help. Generally, I listen to their  problems, know what their anxieties are, but I don't let their problems become my own nightmares. The advice I give them is: for emotional problems, ethics is the best solution. Even if something major happens, you should take time to resolve and mitigate it. If it is a truly unavoidable misfortune, then you can only face it and accept it; by facing and accepting it, you are dealing with it. Since it is already dealt with, then there is no reason to worry about it, so let go of it. Don't constantly think, “ What should I do?” Just sleep as before, eat as before, and live as you ought to live.   If one deals with sentimental problems emotionally, and tries to use rationality with family problems, that would be like putting out a fire with gasoline, or using arguments to solve an argument. It can only make the situation worse. One should have compassion and be thoughtful of the other party when dealing with relationships; otherwise, not only does one offend the other party, one would have out for oneself. When dealing with matters, apply wisdom and handle the problems from an objective view. Once the problems are made objective, one can see clearly the best way to deal with them. If one has to choose one of two options, then first clarify their relative importance and urgency, then decide which one can