How to Investigate the Huatou

Let the mind consciousness package and condense a question, then hand it over to the manas. This method works as follows: the mind consciousness transforms the entire meaning of the question into a single thought and suspends it within the manas—that is, in the depths of the mind. No matter what you are doing, you must carry this questioning thought in your mind, carrying it deeply, without letting go of it or abandoning it. If that thought is no longer in your mind—if the doubt is gone and there is no more deliberation—the mind consciousness should then throw that question to the manas again and remind Him of it. At the same time, the mind consciousness itself should not engage in excessive or complicated mental activity, lest it distract the manas's attention. This is exactly how Chan meditation investigates the huatou in the Chan school; the method is the same, and this is how the deepest and most subtle deliberation is done. Many people in worldly affairs have used this method; they simply have not been able to summarize and systematize it for use in the Buddhadharma.