..续本文上一页o the body, the ego, and possessions, it is not easy to return to the origin and to renounce the deviant for the proper; it”s difficult to put everything down. Only with good roots can we relinquish all attachments to self and to dharmas. If we can see the body as empty, we destroy the attachment to self. If the mind attains samadhi, the attachment to dharmas will be gone. With no attachments to self or dharmas, we can transcend the material plane and be liberated from the limitations of our inherent disposition and from our materialistic desires. Liberation is simply the absence of attachments. Nevertheless, this is not easy to accomplish. If we can really have no attachments to self or others, our Dharma body will pervasively fill space and the Dharma Realm. What a pity none of us can manage to do that. Who knows how many great eons it will be before we attain that kind of state
In the course of cultivation, we must "give" our bodies to the Chan hall; we must uphold the precepts by refraining from evil and practicing goodness; we must patiently endure the pain. We must hold on to that single thought of practice and let it continue uninterrupted. When the time comes, after a period of disciplined practice, your wisdom will naturally manifest and Prajna light will illuminate the universe. But that requires a period of smelting.
Without enduring the bitter cold of winter,
How could the plum blossoms smell so sweet
To achieve success in any endeavor takes time. Those who retreat as soon as the going gets rough won”t achieve anything.
Within This One Finds the True Appearance of Prajna.
The practice of Chan meditation is "nondoing, yet nothing is left undone." What do I mean
As you sit there investigating Chan, you are not doing much of anything. Yet when you, a single person, investigate Chan, you help the proper energy of the Dharma Realm. If everyone could investigate Chan, there would be no wars in the world. "Do you have to sit to investigate Chan
" you ask. Well, it”s said that you must sit to attain Chan (Dhyana), that Chan comes with long sitting. After sitting for a long time, you will experience an inconceivable state. However, true Chan cultivators investigate not only when sitting, but when walking, running, and sleeping. In walking, standing, sitting, and lying down, there is not a moment when they do not investigate. Cultivators are not busybodies; they constantly pay attention to their own topic, "Who is mindful of the Buddha
" to the point that they have no time to eat, drink tea, or sleep. Whether walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, they continue investigating their topic until they "reach the end of the mountains and rivers"--the ultimate point.
Chan investigation requires single-minded concentration. When single-minded concentration reaches its ultimate point, then you will be able to deal with things. It”s said, "When things reach their extreme, a change must take place." It doesn”t matter what the situation, by pursuing it to it”s end, you can deal with it. Now as you sit in meditation, don”t cry as soon as your legs start to hurt. After the pain reaches an extreme, it will stop and you will experience an inconceivable and ineffably wonderful state. There is no way I can express that state to you; you have to experiment for yourself. Once you experience pain to the extreme point, you won”t have any more pain. You will have broken through the pain barrier. But breaking through one barrier is not enough. After a while there will be another barrier, and then later on another barrier. The first pain barrier was after one hour. But when you have sat for one and a half hours, the pain comes up again. Why does that happen
Your blood and qi (energy) reach a certain place, and they want to ge…
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