The Difference Between Cultivating Meditative Concentration and Practicing Chan

If you wish to attain enlightenment and awaken to the true mind and see one's true nature, you must use the methods of investigating Chan, investigating the huatou, and investigating gong'an in order to realize the tathāgatagarbha and awaken to the true suchness mind, the eighth consciousness. The so-called investigation means using the mind consciousness to investigate the principle of true suchness and to search for the whereabouts of the eighth consciousness. Since it is investigation, the mind consciousness should of course be clear-headed, wise, and understanding of principle—not muddled or drowsy—and certainly must not disappear into samādhi. Only a rational mind consciousness can investigate and search for the eighth consciousness; without the mind consciousness, or when the mind consciousness is drowsy, one cannot investigate and search, and the result will be knowing nothing at all, making it impossible to achieve the goal of awakening to the true mind and realizing the Way.

It is like when we want to find a person: we must have a mind that searches, and we must know where to look and how to look. If we do not know where to look or the method of searching, and we do not know what that person looks like, nor do we have a photo of that person, then no matter what, we will not be able to find that person. It is the same with investigating Chan and searching for the eighth consciousness, true suchness: we must first know the nature of the eighth consciousness, which is equivalent to having a photo of the eighth consciousness. But merely having a photo of the eighth consciousness is not enough; you must also know how to search—where does He generally appear? If you do not know any of this, it will be like fishing a needle out of the sea, laboring in vain with nothing to show for it.

In that case, using the method of counting the breath cannot lead to enlightenment, because there is no thought of investigation; using the method of attending to thoughts also cannot lead to enlightenment, because there is no thought of searching for the eighth consciousness; using the method of sitting in meditation and entering samādhi also cannot lead to enlightenment, because the consciousness in samādhi knows nothing at all and thus cannot accord with the eighth consciousness. All of these are methods of cultivating meditative concentration, not methods of investigating Chan. Because when counting the breath, the attention is on the numbers, not on investigating and searching for the eighth consciousness, one certainly will not find the eighth consciousness; moreover, when counting the breath for a long time, one easily becomes drowsy or enters samādhi, making it even more impossible to find the eighth consciousness. When attending to thoughts, the mind consciousness is on the thoughts and does not investigate and search for true suchness, so one also cannot awaken. When sitting in meditation and entering samādhi, there is no awareness or cognition, no mind of investigation and searching, and no truth can be discovered, nor can one find true suchness, the eighth consciousness.

None of the above methods of cultivating meditative concentration can be used to investigate Chan and attain realization; the direction is unclear and the method is wrong. With the mind applied mistakenly, the result is predictable—nothing will be gained. If this continues, after cultivating for a period of time one will easily lose faith and inevitably regress from the Path. In the process of cultivation, understanding principle is most important; having wisdom and correct views is most important; one must not practice blindly. A Buddhist learner should constantly examine whether his own method and route of cultivation are correct and whether they can reach the goal. If not, he should adjust his direction of cultivation at any time and carefully choose a method suitable for himself. Cultivating meditative concentration requires the method of cultivating concentration, and attaining enlightenment requires the method of investigating Chan—understanding what Chan is, how to investigate it, when to begin investigating, and so on. All of these series of questions must be clarified, and one must also observe whether one's conditions for investigating Chan are complete; only after striving to perfect all the necessary conditions can one begin to investigate Chan.