On two occasions during our tour, we met extraordinary ninety-year-old masters who were clearly delighted to be talking with us. These two men were rarities indeed. Their monastic careers cover a vast length of time including the period of repression of Buddhism under the communists. In Yun Men Si some years ago, my friend Yiu Yan-nang and I had talked with the Guestmaster who had said that the lack of such masters meant that many monks in China nowadays could learn only from books. Here we had found two genuine, living roots of Chan enlightenment.
Master Meng Can
The first of these remarkable men lived in the nunnery of Pu-shou Si, well off bounds to tourists on Mount Wu Tai. Eva Tang, who had been our interpreter during a previous visit to China, knew of him and had kindly arranged for us to meet him. It may seem unusual for a monk to live in a nunnery but as a refuge for elderly monks and their attendants this seems to be not so uncommon. The nunnery itself was an exemplary institution. We attended the Evening Service and noted the almost military precision of the assembly, row by row neatly drawn up facing the Buddha and the delicacy, discipline and decorum with which the nuns behaved. The chanting was some of the best we encountered in China. As most of us were males, we were fortunate even to be admitted.
We were taken to a large upper room and made comfortable. When Master Meng Can (Dream Investigate) came in aided by an attendant we all prostrated and sat. As the leader of our party, I sat facing him below his raised rostrum directly under his gaze. That gaze alone was extraordinary for a ninety-year-old man. It was direct, demanding attention, vigorous and keenly involved in getting his message across to us. He seemed to enjoy the novelty of meeting a group of Western lay Buddhists. It was a gaze that could have been wilting had I not raised my game to hear him. My record of what he told us is shaky so I am relying on notes from Rebecca who interpreted. Here is a summary.
"You must know that the purpose of Chan practice is to illuminate and understand the mind and to see the true nature of experience. Indeed, for us, the meaning of the word "Buddha" is "Awaken and Understand". Naturally, this requires one to reflect upon one's past, including past lives, so that one can get a clear idea of one's personal karma. One should see this life as resembling a dream. It is illusory and when we wake up, as if from a dream, the illusion disappears. As the Heart Sutra says, Form is Emptiness and Emptiness is Form. They are two sides of the same coin. The experience of Form implies the experience of Space. To understand form one needs to understand space."
"The practice is one of letting go of body, family and career. These are all not 'I'. They don't belong to your essential nature yet they are your illusory 'me'. In my case, I just live in this monastery. It does not "belong" to me, not 'mine' in any way. I simply make use of its facilities and of my body for what they can be used for. This is letting go of self.
"Regardless of differing schools of thought, the essence of Buddhadharma is 'Nature empty - Conditioned co-arising". Nature is emptiness; the conditioned arising of our thinking experience appears as not-emptiness, a seeming solidity. This means that all forms of family and human relationships are the result of karmic connections. They have no other reality. Every person is equal in Buddhism. One has to pay back the karma one has collected in the past and this applies to the wealthy, the poor and to people of all nationalities."
"Before you practice, make sure it cannot cause anyone harm. Then, in each moment, let go of everything. When you do that, you are Buddha. When attachments return, that is Samsara. If one can let go of attachment moment to moment, one has accomplished one's cultivation."
"We are meeting today because of distant association in the past. This is good. I wish you well."
The vigour of the Master's mind was truly amazing for someone of more than ninety years of age.
Master De Lin
Gao Min Monastery in Yangzhou has the reputation of being the best in China for the propriety and discipline of its pure Chan regime and of its monks. This has been so, whatever the national situation, for well beyond a hundred years. It is one of the few with an active Chan hall recently re-constructed. The old master we met at Gao Min Monastery is Master De Lin (Virtue Forest). He is a Dharma heir of Master Lai Guo, one of the most important masters of the 20th century, an associate of the famous reformer Master Xu-yun. Again we were ushered into a comfortable room and treated with every respect. The ancient Master was led in by very attentive assistants and was seated comfortably. Again, the vigour of his gaze and the forcefulness of his presentation were remarkable. Master De Lin emphasized the importance of serious study of the Dharma (sutras and sastras) to build the foundation of one's practice and spoke clearly of Silent Illumination. What follows is an edited version of David Brown's recording of our interaction. I soon realized that his questioning was rhetorical - to enable him to provide the answer whatever I might say!
Master de Lin (MDL): "How is Sheng Yen instructing you?"
John Crook (JC): "He says the most important thing is to 'See the Nature' with a compassionate heart. Can you help us with how we should do this?"
MDL: "That is pretty good. It is better to practice Chan as a lay person because Chan is daily life. It is difficult to explain Chan. So first, I would like to understand your view of Chan. I understand there are a number of PhD's here so you should have grasped something! (NB several of the group had doctorates of one type or another, mostly medical or in psychological science).
JC: "Actually, none of us has a PhD in Buddhist studies."
MDL: "Is Buddhahood attained by practicing?"
JC: "Practice is preparation."
DL: "The word Practice in Chinese has two characters, meaning 'repair or rectify' and 'practice'. So to practice is to rectify our behaviour. Buddhist practice can be summarized in one sentence: 'Buddha - mind is pure whereas ordinary people have impure minds.' The mind of purity equals 'wisdom'; the impure mind equals 'vexation'. Where does vexation come from?"
Jake Lyne answered "From attachment", but MDL went on:
MDL: "Vexation comes from absence of wisdom, just as wisdom is the absence of vexation. The key to practice is to know that you have vexations and thus to find a way towards wisdom and be like Buddha. There are many paths and practices. You need to find one that suits you. You must engage in Chan practice outside retreat, in daily life. If you can do that then that shows progress. Even when one cannot go on retreat one can practice Chan in daily life."
With emphasis MDL went on "The most important thing is to maintain Unified Mind outside retreat not just during retreat days. It is very important to investigate what Chan is during our practice. For example: Is it the Buddha of your inner nature that you are investigating when reciting the Buddha's name or are you looking outside yourself for some Buddha in the Western Paradise? You have to think about the relationship of Chan and your heart. What is it you are doing"
MDL then asked if we had learned any non-Chan methods. JC replied that some in the group had done Theravadin and Tibetan practice.
MDL responded: "Theravadin practice is different from Chan practice. What does 'Buddha' mean? The word Buddha literally means 'Awakened one'. Sentient beings are 'confused ones'. But what are we confused about? How do we practice to attain Buddhahood and lose our confusion? We must understand the direction of the path clearly. I want to share with you the many decades of my practice in one sentence - even though Buddhahood is only attained over many lifetimes. The one sentence is this: 'Do not engage in any unwholesome deeds whatsoever'. This applies not only to actions. I do not engage with any thought that arises in my mind whatsoever. Not engaging in unwholesome deeds means that you are not a bad person. But what do you do to become a good person? Engage in wholesome deeds! Do both to perfection as well as you can."
"There are several important principles to follow.
1. No unwholesome deeds whatsoever, using a very strict definition of unwholesome to include not giving rise to thoughts of attachment. Even a single thought of attachment means you can not see your Buddha Nature. A single thought of attachment is like a small thin reed in front of your eyes that can hide a whole mountain from your sight. You must do repentance for any unwholesome deeds.
2. Engage in wholesome deeds. Use the 10 great vows of Samantabadhra as a guide to wholesome deeds. Do this to perfection for the benefit of oneself and others.
3. Purify one's mind. Because we haven't done this, we fail to see Buddha-mind. A pure mind is not a dull empty mind. Everything is there in a pure mind but it is not then illusory."
MDL then asked how we practice Silent Illumination as taught by Master Sheng Yen. Without waiting for an answer, he went on, "Use a method to gather and quieten the thoughts. There are many ways to do this. It is important to understand the difference between merely a quiet mind and a quiet but also illuminated mind that reflects everything. The path of practice involves adjusting our attitude and mindset. For ordinary sentient beings, the mind is 'out there' in the sensory world. But the mind of the Buddha is not anywhere, it is not abiding inany place or realm.'
MDL then mentioned the Diamond Sutra which says much the same, and the story of Hui Neng's enlightenment on hearing chanting of this sutra, and in particular the famous phrase 'Without abiding anywhere the mind arises'. He said: "This is very difficult to understand. You should read the sutras to get a sense of this. Other wise your practice will be more difficult. Silent Illumination means that 'in Silence there is always Illumination', and 'in Illumination there is always Silence'. And Silence and Illumination are Not Two, they are One. Consider the Heart Sutra that says that 'Form is Emptiness and Emptiness is Form' You must have this understanding to practice Silent Illumination correctly".
MDL then went on to say that the last chapter of the Vimalakirti Sutra deals with non-duality. "If we have Silence without Illumination or vice versa we are in duality, not non -duality, not oneness. The path is to find a way to practice to attain silence and illumination together (nondual). As Manjushri says in the scripture 'To my mind, all dharmas (the elementary, momentary events of existence) are without names, explanations, purposes, thought. They are outside all questions and answers.' This means that if you search you will not find. If you 'find' it is not correct Chan' 'Chan is the present moment. You have to acquire a method to collect and silence your mind. Silence is an attitude, like 'agreeing silently' or 'accepting'.
Concerning effort in practise, MDL said that one's sharpness of roots makes a huge difference. He again used the example of Hui Neng who 'saw the nature' without practice because he had very, very sharp roots from practice in previous lives. "If you are unable to attain silence in Silent Illumination practice it is because you have a course mind. There are three layers of thoughts to be aware of. There are course thoughts, fine thoughts, and very subtle wandering thoughts. These must all be recognized in the practice. Wandering thoughts are habitual. Deal with the habit by developing another habit to replace the wandering thoughts, for example, by reciting Buddha's name. This leads to focusing of the scattered thoughts. It's simple if you understand it. Otherwise it is an impenetrable wall."
"Attachment to wandering thoughts is why we appear different to Buddha even though we have the same mind. All phenomena are the products of our mind. This is just as waves have the same nature as the ocean. When there are no waves (no disturbance in the mind) you can see to a depth of 10,000 feet."
Later several of us had a conversation with the monk who is head of the Chan Hall. Unlike Master De Lin who had such a clear understanding of Silent Illumination this monk was surprisingly sceptical. He suggested that Silent Illumination no longer existed anymore in the world. The belief in Linji lineage, he said, is that Silent Illumination method died out completely many centuries ago and that no one alive now truly knows how it was practiced by Hongzhi and other ancient masters of the method. Was this some sort of political statement? Was it the attitude of younger partisan monks in the monastery? We are not sure. MDL was perhaps especially interested in Master Sheng yens teachings on this topic and wished to pursue it with us. We are not too clear about what methods are used today in the Gao Min Si Chan hall - probably "Who is repeating Buddha's name "as elsewhere in China. Certainly, in speaking of Silent Illumination, MDL seemed to be concerned with the possibility of 'quietism' which is one of the traps in Silent illumination that the Chinese call 'The Cave of Demons'. Again, he clearly used Pure Land approaches as a Koan for inner development not for finding some refuge in a 'Pure Land' of imagination.
To meet such Masters was a privilege and a revelation. The idea that before the Communists ame Chan was already dead in China, as some Japanese teachers used to argue, was clearly revealed as manifestly false. Again, today, in at least some of the most disciplined monasteries in China, a very clear Chan (Zen) from both a Rinzai and a Caodong approach is present in the hands of elderly Masters and differentiated from the more simplistic of Pure Land approaches. In some places at least the parallels with the teachings of Shifu at Dharma Drum are striking. We wished that more of the monasteries we visited in China had proper Chan Halls and the application of method we had seen only in these few. The significance of Dharma Drum in the revival of Chinese Zen was clearly apparent.
