..續本文上一頁 one”s inner awakening - no dogma is needed to apply any pressure. To a Chan practitioner, ethics and morals are unnecessary.

　　Besides, religious doctrine, ethical standards, and moral judgements all lose their applicability due to changes in time, environment, and person. This is why so many new religions and sects within established religions have emerged in recent decades, almost like bamboo shoots popping up after a spring shower. Buddhism is also no exception to this trend.

　　Although Chan stems from Buddhism, as it does not rely on external conditions or on words and letters, it is a method of cultivation that will always fit the needs of the time. The practice of Chan meditation is a process of baring one”s "self", just like peeling the stem of a banana tree. After layer after layer of deluded thoughts are stripped off, not only is there no affected self to be seen, but there”s not even a naked self there. First you try to expose your self, but ultimately you find there is nothing to expose at all.

　　Therefore, Chan practitioners do not need to hide anything from others, or feel any external pressure for trying to reform themselves, much less struggle intensely as if enduring severe pain when cutting out a tumor.

　　Chan meditation is simply to follow the method of practice to gradually reduce your wandering thoughts.

　　Once you reach the state of "no-thought", you will naturally realize that your existence in the past was just a series of accumulated afflictions and deluded thoughts, which are not your true self.

　　Your true self is inseparable from all objective phenomena: the existence of each objective phenomenon constitutes a part of your subjective existence. So, you do not have to strive for anything or despise anything. Your responsibility is to make your entire being more orderly and more perfect.

　　Chan practitioners, having reached this stage, will deeply love humanity and all other sentient beings. Their character will be as clear and bright as the spring sunshine. Even though for the sake of conversion and enlightenment they may assume emotional facial expressions, their mind will nevertheless constantly remain as tranquil and clear as a crystalline autumn pond. We call such people enlightened, sages, or noble ones.

　　Shakyamuni Buddha once said: "All sentient beings possess the wisdom and merit of the Buddha". So, if you long for the benefits that a Chan practitioner can receive, your wish will certainly come true. Irrespective of gender, age, intelligence, physical strength, profession, social status, or religious belief, the door of Chan is open to all.

　　Now, there is just one thing extremely important that I must mention: what you have just read is an article on Chan, and this article is absolutely not the same as Chan itself. To know what Chan really is, you have to determine to personally and perseveringly learn under a Chan teacher whom you trust.

　　Otherwise, these pages will have just provided you with some more information that may tangle you up, and will not in any way assist you in your worthy wish to learn Chan.

《The Effects of Chan Meditation》全文閱讀結束。