Mastering Chan Is More Important Than Mastering the Teachings (2025-09-08)

Ven. Shi Ruyuan: Recently I have noticed that this samādhi has not been interrupted whether walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, and moreover the samādhi that arises at night is deeper than during the day. Whether day or night, the purer the mind, the clearer and more distinct the dharma meanings within samādhi feel, and the more I can perceive and experience on the Mahāyāna prajñā that markless yet truly existent wondrous functioning of His capacity to generate the myriad and millions of dharmas. As long as one abides in deep samādhi, one can experience that His essential nature is real and not false.

I have discovered that it is not only deep meditative concentration that enables direct perception (pratyakṣa); the more one abides in uninterrupted samādhi, the more one can experience the existence of that markless yet truly existent power. Without abiding in the concentration of samādhi, one cannot directly perceive the operation of His markless yet truly existent quality of equality. If sentient beings do not cultivate meditative concentration, they cannot give rise to the wisdom-eye of prajñā, and cannot directly perceive that the self-natured mind is as profound as the waters of a great ocean—they can only recognize a bit of foam born of the ocean. Abiding in samādhi, one can directly perceive and distinguish that sentient beings and all dharmas are like specks of foam in the great ocean: they cannot depart from the ocean's power and operation, and without it, there would be no such thing as foam. Therefore, without cultivating meditative concentration there is no wisdom-eye of prajñā; one can only use the mundane eye to recognize specks of foam, not knowing the infinitely profound great ocean, not knowing the markless yet truly existent, equal, functional wondrous dharma of the tathāgatagarbha. In the ten dharma realms, no dharma-appearance whatsoever departs from what the tathāgatagarbha generates and operates; in summary, apart from the tathāgatagarbha's operation, everything is nothing and does not exist.

The deeper the meditative concentration, the purer the mind, and the clearer and more distinct the prajñā dharma meanings that manifest. Body and mind can feel the intensity of the stirring, and my heart is filled with gratitude and excitement. I am grateful to you, Master, for teaching us so carefully to cultivate meditative concentration, so that I could develop such an incomparably supreme power of wisdom-samādhi. I constantly wish to share the dharma meanings realized through my contemplative investigation. In my mind I understand clearly, but when the insight and experience reach my lips I cannot express them; it feels that the moment I open my mouth I err and the flavor changes—like a mute dreaming, unable to express in words the realm within the dream. It is like drinking water, where one alone knows whether it is warm or cold: the experience and feeling cannot be expressed. Several times when I wanted to pick up my phone to record it, I did not know where to begin, and gave up again and again.

Recently, whether sitting in meditation or sleeping, many inconceivable states have appeared. Twice I dreamed that you, Master, returned to teach us a few words, but upon waking I forgot them. Once, while contemplating dharma meanings, my mind and brain felt weary, so I listened to the sound of the Buddha's name intending to sit quietly for a while, and inadvertently entered a samādhi of emptiness. At the time I did not check the time and did not know how long I had been in samādhi, when suddenly from my mouth burst out one resounding recitation of the holy name "Amitābha" after another, and I was shaken out of samādhi. Upon emerging from samādhi, my mouth kept trembling uncontrollably, and at that moment my body felt as if in a dream, unable to react. Now, whether day or night, I constantly abide in samādhi, with the Buddha's recitation and contemplation of dharma meanings uninterrupted, and I can clearly see many adorned Buddhas and Bodhisattvas with kind brows and gentle eyes, as well as you, Master, all stepping on different lotus seats—you, Master, standing at the Buddha's left side.

Assessment: The gate of the mind (zong) is precisely the gate of prajñā. Ruyuan has already entered it and can observe it directly and continuously; her wisdom keeps deepening—the gate of the mind is penetrated. But as for the doctrinal gate, Ruyuan is not there yet; although her verbal and written expression has improved somewhat, there is still great room for progress. She needs to deliberately strengthen her expressive power in language and writing, and needs much practice in order to grow. Each person's experiences over kalpas of cultivation differ, so their emphases differ. Many people have strong verbal and written expression but have not penetrated the gate of the mind; penetrating the mind is more important than penetrating the doctrine, and also more difficult. For the doctrinal gate, as long as the functions of the conscious mind are strengthened and one communicates more with sentient beings in the mundane world, expressive power is easily improved, and since language is used in many settings, verbal communication is not difficult. The mind-gate is the root; the doctrine is the support. When they cooperate perfectly, that is the perfectly integrated wisdom of the bhūmi bodhisattvas' penetration of the mind and penetration of teaching. Of course, before the first bhūmi, some bodhisattvas also possess a certain degree of relatively well-integrated penetration of the mind and penetration of teaching.

Ven. Shi Ruyuan is a person of blessings. Before and after attaining realization and seeing her true mind, she has remained in profound meditative concentration, undisturbed and untroubled; her samādhi state has never been lost, continuing unbroken, and her contemplative practice has also been uninterrupted. I, her Master, am truly envious. Back when I attained realization, all manner of disturbances appeared at once, more than I could handle; all kinds of tests arose, determined to drag me down. My meditative concentration wavered and was intermittent; my cultivation fell short of my wishes. I could not manage a retreat, could not avoid people or affairs no matter how I tried—all because my heart was too soft and I could not get past the barrier of family affection.

It has been three or four months since Ruyuan saw her true mind, hasn't it? Her samādhi state is still very firm, and she still has supreme dreams; the blessing power of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas has not diminished in the slightest. This shows her mind is extremely pure, and her resolve for the Path is firm and indestructible.

In first dhyāna concentration, one should go among various groups of people and interact with them more, and in various events introspect whether one's greed still remains. First dhyāna's severing of greed mainly refers to severing sexual craving; having left home, this aspect cannot be tested, so it must be examined in the course of encountering conditions and objects. If that is truly impossible, then observe one's own thoughts within others' realms of craving: is there still empathy such as envy, sympathy, or agreement, feeling as they feel? Or is one indifferent, unresponsive, and weary of such matters, with views opposite to those of worldly people? If after a long period of examination one finds that one's views are opposite to one's former views and opposite to worldly people's views, one can conclude that one has severed the mind of craving, and greed in other respects is severed as well.

Then examine one's own mind of anger and resentment. In working with others, if one is bullied, ignored, looked down upon, or mocked, observe whether one's mind's reaction is calm and unconcerned, as if nothing had happened. Only among strangers—among people who do not know one has attained realization and seen the true mind—can one observe truthfully. After observing for a period of time, if one finds that one truly has no mind of anger when facing any person or matter, one can be certain one has severed the mind of anger. Once craving and anger are eliminated, one can be certain that in the Small Vehicle one has reached the third fruit (anāgāmin). But these tests require sufficient data and examples to fully prove one has severed greed and anger, and the time span should be extended. In the Small Vehicle, reaching the third fruit is enough; the requirement is the best quality of third fruit—close to the fourth fruit but not yet the fourth. One should not continue cultivating the Small Vehicle beyond this; to continue would be dangerous and would obstruct the cultivation of the Great Vehicle.

In the year and a half after I attained realization, I remained in a state of awakened clarity; no matter what people or matters I encountered, or what treatment I received, not a trace of affliction arose. Let the winds blow from east, south, west, and north—my mind did not move. Even when enormous troubles stirred at home, with tears on my face my heart was numb, as if separated by a wall, yet I still had to deal with the affairs.

To check whether craving has been severed, it is not enough to examine one's views and attitudes; the most important is to examine one's physiological reactions. If in close contact between man and woman there is not the slightest physiological reaction, like a block of wood, that is severed craving. Checking when facing people one dislikes is not accurate enough; checking when facing people one likes or does not dislike is accurate. After leaving home or in old age, checking is not easy; the younger one is, the more accurate the check. Some people are born without interest in sexual desire, and for them severing craving is especially quick.

After the Second Patriarch awakened, what did he go to the brothel for? Whatever he did, he did not violate the precepts. With meditative concentration and wisdom combined, facing many courtesans, it was impossible for him to break the precepts. Others cannot go experience it this way—the moment they experience it, they break the precepts; without that meditative attainment, the mind's activities cannot be controlled. Some people are curious: what is a monastic doing going to such a place? They make all kinds of speculations and slanders, seeing only the surface appearance of someone frequenting houses of ill repute, unable to see the purity and innocence of that person's heart.