The Direction of Chan Practice

The direction of Chan investigation should be within all the activities of the five aggregates—walking, standing, sitting, and lying down—examining, as each dharma arises, what its true substance actually is. It is said that the five aggregates are illusory; since they are illusory, why can they still appear? The aggregate of volitional formations in walking, standing, sitting, and lying down are all illusory transformations—how exactly are they transformed, and who transforms these marks? When sitting in meditation, is there a person who is meditating? Who is meditating? The eighth consciousness, the tathāgatagarbha, does not meditate; the seventh consciousness, the manas, does not meditate; the mind consciousness does not meditate; the first five consciousnesses do not meditate; and the body, without consciousnesses, would not meditate either. So let us consider: is there a person who is meditating? Who is meditating? How does the dharma of meditation come into being? This is Chan investigation; when the investigation is penetrated, there is enlightenment.

When we speak, we should consider: who is speaking? Is there a person who speaks? How does the dharma of speaking come into being? The eighth consciousness, the tathāgatagarbha, does not speak; the seventh consciousness, the manas, does not speak; the mind consciousness does not speak; the first five consciousnesses do not speak; and the tongue, without consciousnesses, would not speak either—otherwise dead people could also speak. Who, in the end, is speaking? And how does one speak—how is language formed? This is Chan investigation; when the investigation is penetrated, there is enlightenment. In recollection of the Buddha (buddhānusmṛti), who, in the end, is doing the reciting? In reading the sūtras, who, in the end, is reading? One should give rise to a questioning doubt regarding all matters; when the conditions ripen, the questioning doubt can be resolved, breaking through delusion and attaining enlightenment.