Chan Practice and Faith

　　People interested in Chan practice often find it difficult to have religious faith. As faith is intrinsically emotional, and Chan practitioners emphasize personal cultivation to gain physical and mental benefits or the experience of Chan, they find it hard to accept religious faith. This is actually a great mistake.

　　Many people think that Chan practice depends solely on their own efforts, requiring self-reliance, while those who practice by reciting the Buddha”s name depend solely on external help. Both of these views are incorrect. In reality, Chan practice also requires external help, and the practice of reciting the Buddha”s name also requires one”s own effort. One can hardly become an accomplished Chan practitioner through one”s own efforts. In India, China and Tibet, all mediators need the support and the assistance of teachers, Dharma-protecting deities, and the Buddhas and bodhisattvas. That is why Chan monasteries in China erect and worship the status of Dharma-protecting deities such as the eight pisions of pinities and the four deva kings.

　　In the past, eminent masters often encouraged Chan practitioners to “entrust their bodies to the monastery and their lives to the Dharma-protecting deities” during Chan meditation. You do not need to be concerned about your body since it will be taken care of by the masters on duty. You simply follow the monastery”s routines. However, to achieve good results in your practice, you need the support of Dharma-protecting deities. Without such assistance, one may turn into demonic hindrances. Practicing Chan depending solely on one”s own efforts without believing in the power of the Buddhas, bodhisattvas, and Dharma-protecting deities can not be considered practicing Buddhism at all.

　　Chan practitioners should believe in that in addition to meditating diligently and working on Chan, they need to accumulate merit and cultivate virtue. The idea that one can attain enlightenment or liberation by meditating on one”s own is itself an obstacle that precludes real liberation. How can a self-seeking person become enlightened

　　 Therefore, the Chan school also emphasizes practices such as giving and repentance. If one does not show concern for the benefit of all sentient beings, sincerely give of oneself for others, and devotedly practice giving and make offering, it will be quite difficult to succeed in spiritual practice.

　　In the past, many as-yet-unenlightened Chan masters at large monasteries engaged in “work cultivation”, performing all linds of manual labor for their masters and monasteries. Such work included carrying water, chopping wood, cooking and other kitchen chores, growing vegetables, as well as cleaning up and maintaining the monastery and grounds.

　　At traditional Buddhist monasteries, forty-eight types of work were performed by monastic practitioners. Even today, they are relieved of complex tasks only during seven-day Chan retreats to avoid distractions. Otherwise, every monastic is assigned long-term tasks. Therefore, during our seven-day Chan retreats, we make it a rule to ask every participant to do some simple chores.

　　Chan monasteries encourage monastics to give their spare cloths, money or other possessions to the needy, keeping only the most basic necessities. In the past, a typical monastic Chan practitioner”s belongings weighed just a little over one kilo, because they gave away whatever came into their possession.

　　From these examples, we can see that a Chan practitioner must be ready to make offerings and practice giving, as well as give away unnecessary personal belongings to those who need them. Unfortunately, many Chan practitioners today are presumptuous, arrogant, selfish and petty, and lack faith. This is pity and dangerous. How did…

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