Wise people always hide their knowledge. Even though their understanding may be deep, they remain as “humble as the valley.” On the other hand, those who know little are always afraid that others will look down on them. Because of their fear, they’re always displaying their talent. No matter how articulate and eloquent they are, however, others recognize their superficiality.
–an excerpt from “The Life and Heart of Ch’an Practice” by Master Sheng-yen
As for drowsiness, as soon as you feel sleepiness coming on, straighten your back. Do some deep breathing. If deep breathing alone does not work, you can couple it with hunching your shoulders and then relaxing them. You can also stare in front of you with wide-open eyes, until they well with tears. All these techniques help to clear a drowsy mind. If your mind feels lazy, contemplate the transience of life and the rare opportunity to encounter Buddhadharma.
–an excerpt from “The Life and Heart of Ch’an Practice” by Master Sheng-yen
Two great obstructions to cultivating samadhi are scattered mind and drowsiness. In the early stages of practice, you will ealize that your mind is either agitated and scattered or unclear and drowsy. The cultivation of vipassana cures drowsiness, while the cultivation of samatha cures scattered mind.
–an excerpt from “The Life and Heart of Ch’an Practice” by Master Sheng-yen
Those who are anxious cannot reach samadhi nor attain enlightenment; their worry and impatience drives them to continually compare themselves with others, which in turn generates a mind of gain and loss. You should not compare yourself with others nor with great practitioners of the past. Do not measure your past gains and losses against your present situation. Practice simply for the sake of practice and accept circumstances as they arise. Realize your mistakes and go forward; make up your mind to apply your method to your daily life. Be vigorous and hard working, but let go of your anxiety.
–an excerpt from “The Life and Heart of Ch’an Practice” by Master Sheng-yen
The mind that makes no distinctions is unmoving; there are no ups and downs. If you tried to eliminate the ups and downs it would be like trying to calm the ripples on water in a pan. You want the surface to be completely still; you blow on the water to flatten it out, and end up making more ripples. Then you press the water with your hands to stop it from moving, which creates even more agitation. If you were to leave the water alone, the ripples would eventually subside and the surface would be still.
–an excerpt from “The Life and Heart of Ch’an Practice” by Master Sheng-yen
About a year ago, I started to meditate in order to bring better concentration to my mind. At the time, while running multiple projects, my mind felt scattered. I thought then that meditation would help me become a more effective leader and business person. Relieving suffering and vexations were not my goals at the time; in fact, the book I read from did not mention these as goals for meditation. It mentioned a healthier state of mind; and calmness, but not directly talk about helping people deal with every day stresses (a form of “suffering” in the Buddhist sense).
When the 2008-9 recession went into full bloom, my projects suffered, and tough challenges became a daily occurrence. These are not the minor daily operational challenges that I had learned to overcome, but large, intractable problems that were wholly out of my control–such as loss of business, customers not paying bills, banks retracting loans and LOC due to the credit crunch. I was introduced to Ch’an mediation by my mother, who volunteered at DDMBA-LA. During my first sessions there I still believed that the purpose of mediation was to achieve a healthier state of mind. Then I started to read “Subtle Wisdom” by Master Sheng-Yen. It was not the Buddhist doctrines that grabbed me initially–those seemed too deep for me to understand–instead, it was the simple idea that the purpose of meditation was to relieve the mind (and therefore the person) from suffering, which then allowed that person to discover his or her true self. It was not a religious principle, or some mystic dogma, it was a plain and simple idea that I could put into practice every day.
The results were immediate. Withing a month of adopting a new meditation method, and generally practicing diligently (for me it was about three times per week, and about 15 minutes each sitting–with pre-meditation stretches, it added to about thirty minutes), I began to better control my mind during high stress events. Additionally, very bad news did not send my emotions into whirlwind, or if it did, the duration were not long. It was an amazing conversion, and all I did was to practice a few times a week. Since then, I have began to practice five times per week, and while the improvements are less noticeable, it is there. As 2009 progressed, the business challenges have become even greater. Without the meditation, it would have been hard to live through this rough period. The very positive experience, coupled with DDMBA’s philosophy of open education and volunteerism, has convinced me that learning and practicing meditation should be an integral part of everyone’s life.
The basic prerequisite for Chan practice is to live fully in the present moment. Every word and action is a part of practice. Put your mind wholly on every moment in your life. Don’t be like the headless fly that bumps into everything in its sightless flight.
–an excerpt from “The Life and Heart of Ch’an Practice” by Master Sheng-yen
Remember, many people only practice diligently when they are in a diligent mood. When they do not feel diligent, their practice slackens. They only see the usefulness of practice when they are progressing. When they feel they are regressing, they find it hard to recognize the need to continue diligently in their practice.
–an excerpt from “The Life and Heart of Ch’an Practice” by Master Sheng-yen
Trying to unify the mind is completely different from seeking to unify the external world. Most of the time, the external world lies outside your control. You need to alleviate the conflicts and problems of the inner world before thinking about resolving your conflicts with others.
–an excerpt from “The Life and Heart of Ch’an Practice” by Master Sheng-yen
I encourage people to penetrate their methods thoroughly. Switching methods of practice gets you nowhere. However, you can use a main method of practice and other supporting methods, or you can use preparatory methods before practicing an advanced method. Fundamentally, all methods are the same. Even though you may have great faith in the method you are currently using, you should not reject or criticize other method of practice.
–an excerpt from “The Life and Heart of Ch’an Practice” by Master Sheng-yen
