Chan Meditation: Do It Silently, And With Sustained Effort

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A friend visited Taiwan recently, the land where Buddha dharma has flowered.
He got us a set of books on Chan meditation and its power to redefine life and death. Also, how, through Chan meditation, one can control life and create wonders in areas where even medical science has failed. The underlying current of the books was that Chan meditation is an easy option to uncover one's hidden intellectual and physical powers. It allows even the most ordinary person to turn into a great soul. It has the power to transform a person without talent to one of great talent and a frail person into a robust one.

Chan was developed by Chan master Sheng-Yen. Sheng had to flee China during the Communist takeover in 1949 and take refuge in Taiwan. The whole idea has its basis in the fact that the mind has to concentrate on one point, whether abstract or concrete. And the attempt is to bring out the individual's greatest intellectual and physical ability, hidden deep within.

The Chan way of meditation is often referred to as the ''gateless gate''. It is so because the so-called gate is both the method of practice and the path to nirvana. Similarly, it is gateless because the Chan method does not believe in any particular method to help a practitioner achieve liberation.

In Chan, remember just one thing: A practitioner cannot be self-centred. Then, the Chan gateway opens up on its own. For that, one has to give up the notion of 'i' at all stages of life while dealing with people and all other living beings. The complete elimination of 'i' enables one to acquire wisdom to deal with others as if one is dealing with oneself. Attachment is eliminated in order to develop compassion and awareness about others' hardships and problems.

Chan stresses on two major forms of practice, both roughly corresponding to the Bodhi Dharma's two entries: one through principle (silent illumination) and the other through practice. But both the methods require the same foundation: a stable and unified mind. Both lead to the same end: the realisation of the nature of the mind, which is emptiness. It is all about acquiring Buddha-like nature, wisdom and enlightenment.

In the silent illumination method, it is important that the mind is aware and clear about things around even though there are no thoughts. Both silence and illumination must be there. Silence is total concentration and illumination is the flowering of the mind as if it shines in the mind like the sun in the sky. In other words, there is complete clarity minus the worldly baggage of attachments.

In the practice method, it is as simple as helping the needy and the helpless as if you are helping yourself. It involves devotion to others, and the practice of making offerings. Exercise is necessary to keep body and mind healthy. This is the foundation for overall spiritual development.

The effects of Chan meditation take place at two levels: psychological and physical. The psychological effects are increased patience, curing of various allergies, strengthening of will power, enhancement of the power of thought, refinement of the personality, rapid calming of the mind, mood stabilisation, raised interest and efficiency in activity and the final attainment of enlightenment. On the physical level, Chan is effective in curing diseases.

In the end, it is faith that drives Chan meditation. Other factors that help promote Chan meditation are: humility, gratitude and repentance. These traits help one become humble and humane without which no one can hope to achieve the ultimate goal - nirvana.

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You've got it right and others are on a 'wrong' path

I am ready for my quiet sitting time in the morning. This is the time when ideas, impressions, new possibilities, even pieces of dreams from unknown sources come visiting. Today though, they seem to fit together, creating a cohesive story that unrolls itself before me. 

We are about a hundred or so in number, sitting together and ready for the satsang of this clean-shaven white-clad teacher.

He began: Try to say 'complimentary religion' rather than comparative religion. Compare is often followed by the word contrast; there is nothing to compare or contrast. Do not study other traditions to find holes in their belief systems. Honour the strengths of your own tradition. And if you notice similarities with others, be gracious enough to acknowledge and appreciate the gifts of other traditions. Cure yourself of thinking that you've got it right and others are on a 'wrong' path.

Familiarise yourself with the mystics of all spiritual paths; Kabir, Rumi, Tukaram, Julian of Nowrich, Hassids, Sufis. Be conversant with the Bible and see how Jesus tries to spread love, and cut across discriminative barriers; reflect on the Bhagavad Gita and the call to a life of sattva and selfless action; explore the intricate web of the Quran and recognise invitations to mercy and justice; appreciate the stress on self-work and enlightenment in the Dhammapada.

Consider all these as intimations of a larger implicit order; parts of an unseen wholeness. At all times look for 'invitations' ^ what are the divine messengers inviting us humans to think, to be, to do?

No traditions, if you've studied them with sensitivity and understanding, incite their followers to violence. Abstain from defiling any tradition by placing its name before such words as terrorism or bomb.

We were a deeply silent crowd a mix of young and old, ordinarily dressed, as well as saffron-clad, robed, bearded, turbaned; of priests, nuns, intellectuals of various shades. Yet the teacher addressed us as if individually, with integrity, intensity, and uncommon humility. As we let it all sink in, we smiled at each other in confirmed fellowship.

Enigmatically, he lifted a pair of scissors and a paper punch in each hand: Strive not to cut asunder nor punch holes. Placing them down, he picked a paper clip and stapler and added: Try rather to be a connector, a uniter. 

Steer clear of a worldview of distancing, division and dominance. Do not subscribe to any ideology of hate. If you set up TV channels, do so not to malign others with voices that sound fierce and uncompromising or worse reasonable-sounding yet slyly malicious. Use the power of the media to spread the message of peace and real community.

All spiritual traditions care as much for the soul as for the soil and the social, because both agriculture and culture have their common root in the Latin cultus meaning worship.

If your benefactors or flock are ready to raise funds, use the money, time or attention not simply for proselytising but for building schools, hospitals, homes for the aged, and hospices.

In your prayers, while wishing happiness, health and prosperity for your family, friends and colleagues, raise the bar higher to include the rest of the six billion of the earth who breathe the same air, and whose blood runs the same colour as yours.

He ended: Think at all times how to remain centered, sane and intelligent. One's efforts should be directed towards acquiring enlightenment, refining desire and will by purging them of selfishness, by learning to endure pain, getting rid of hate, cultivating love.

Turn to the side where the light is. 

Source: here

Love Lessons!

To feel love and compassion for all, observe nature with totality of mind without letting it get affected by any previously constructed image,

Love lessons from nature (Getty Images)

opinion or past knowledge.

Look around to observe things as if you are seeing them for the very first time. Become one with the object of observation.

The sun provides light and warmth irrespective of who benefits from it. It shines on all. The clouds, rivers, mountains and jungles follow the same example of universal love. Trees provide shade, fruits and flowers for healthy environment and food for hungry with the same unattached benevolence for all. They do not demand any favour in return. The earth matures the seeds into healthy plants irrespective of who planted the seeds or who will benefit from them. This truly is like mother's love which is equal and forgiving for all children even when some are the cause of hurt to her.

If one learns from nature, the world will be a much better place as the destructive tendencies like jealousy, envy, hatred and selfishness will be eliminated. A new era of mutual love and trust will dawn on earth. All differences of caste, colour, race, gender and age will melt away. Most of the modern age problems have arisen because we have stopped learning from nature and caring for it.

Imagine the blissful feeling one gets when listening to the chirping of birds at dawn, observing the river flowing its course, looking at the snow-clad peaks of mountains, taking a stroll in a forest with majestically standing tall trees and looking at the moon on a full-moon night or a star-studded sky on amavasya night. The divine feelings generated by such experiences compel one to ponder over the meaning of life, our place in the universe, and create an urge to become one with the Divine to experience eternal bliss. Live with nature, love nature, protect nature, learn from nature and you will soon rise above all parochial tendencies and become a votary of universal love.

Since long, we have been drawing spiritual inspiration from nature. According to Buddhist guru Daisaku Ikeda, who is also a keen photographer, response to nature's beauty is not merely aesthetic but reflects an ability to discern a deeper meaning and interconnectedness in things. With its universal language, the photographer of nature's beauty serves as a bridge connecting the hearts of people everywhere.

Osho in his discourse on 'Intuition' quotes the haiku of Basho the Zen mystic and master:

"When I look carefully I see nazunia blooming by the hedge!"

Osho says that the deep meaning of it cannot be understood intellectually but only intuitively. The idea Osho wants to convey is that one can draw deep spiritual inspiration even from simple things like looking at an ordinary flower and pondering over its beauty, its divine message, the mystery of creation.

The main cause of discontent of mind, heart and spirit is to spend too much time indoors and being away from the nurturing restorative powers of nature. So, try to get back to nature in some way. Give yourself some time in the woods, mountains, open meadows or walking barefoot on the beach. Drink in the beauty of nature as much as you can. Even if you live in the city, go and walk on the grass in a park. You will feel more complete, rejuvenated and blissful.

courtsey: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Lifestyle/Spirituality/Learn-love-lessons-from-nature/articleshow/4118781.cms

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