How to Set Up Questioning Doubt When Practicing Chan

The practice of "reciting without reciting" in cultivation means that there are no thoughts on the surface of the mind consciousness—not recollecting the dharma—yet deep within the manas there is still recollection, with a thought suspended in the mind without interruption. This is investigation (canjue). The practice of working with the manas is not easy to apply, because meditative concentration is insufficient. When one truly reaches the point of working with the manas, it is also not easy for the mind consciousness to observe it, for the function of the manas is too hidden and not easily uncovered.

In Chan investigation, the closer the doubt and questioning doubt are to the target, the better; the smaller the scope, the better. It is like looking for someone: if you set the scope to the whole nation, it is as if you had set no scope at all; if you set it to a certain region, you can find the person very quickly. It is just that the smaller the scope you set, the more evidence you need and the more information you must understand, and the deeper and finer your wisdom must be. The most direct huatou in the Chan school is "Who is the one dragging this corpse around?" Realizing the tathāgatagarbha through the aggregate of formations is the fastest, though the realization (zhengliang) is somewhat smaller. If one awakens through the Consciousness-Only teaching, the realization is deeper and loftier; while awakening through the functions of the manas is more direct, ultimate, and thorough.