"Buddha" means "one who has woken up from the dream of self-image." We can't really understand what waking up is until we wake up. We can talk about it but we can't really describe it as such. Someone who is sleeping might dream about being awake, going to work, meeting friends and so on, but it is a dream. So, usual mind cannot encompass Awakened mind within itself. We can't put a big box into a small box. Only Buddha can realize Buddha. ....from Anzan Hoshin on Shojo Zen in http://www.wwzc.org/book/begin-here-five-styles-zen
"If you have already discovered that your deluded thoughts are not really you then whatever method you have been using---breath awareness, reciting the Buddha's name, or even a mantra---as long as you are able to calm the mind, you will gradually reach a point where a quiet, subdued realization of impermanence arises, that is what we call "lightness-and-ease," or "mental pliancy." This mind is quite tranquil; it has experienced at some level its own insubstantial nature. This gradual approach is likened to a clay vessel containing muddy water in which the mud settles little by little until eventually the water is clear and transparent.
Using this kind of gradual approach is fine, but the huatou approach is not only a matter of gradually letting the mind settle down; rather, you use your full life force, like blowing at the water in the clay pot with great determination until there is no more water, nor any mud to settle. Better yet, using the power of huatou, you can shatter the clay vessel into a thousand pieces. All that will be left is your illuminated mind."....Master Sheng Yen in Shattering the Great Doubt, pg. 82.
Also check out these Chan sites of interest: 2. How to chan meditate:
3. Master Sheng Yen in Facebook
4. The Western Chan Fellowship at http://www.westernchanfellowship.org/
Call Adrian at 250 898 8201,
email adrian2@shaw.ca
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