Chan Meditation Is to Make the Manas Constantly Mindful of It

Question: Sometimes when something hasn't been used for a long time, one forgets where it was put. When deliberately searching for it, one can never find it. Having no choice, one gives up the search for the time being, but the mind remains concerned about it because the item is very important. A few days later, one suddenly remembers where it was placed and the item is found. Is this also the manas helping out?

Answer: Yes, Master. The mind consciousness is unable to keep dwelling on one matter continuously, whereas matters that the manas pays attention to will be dwelt upon from time to time. Moreover, usually the mind consciousness does not know that the manas is dwelling on them. Searching for things, solving problems, dreaming of events from school many years ago, old friends from many years past—all of these are actually like this. The manas's dwelling on matters is not limited by time.

Question: The manas keeping the matter constantly in mind—this is the principle of Chan investigation (canchan), the method of applying effort. This is a ladder to heaven, not a heavenly secret; it is the fishing, not the fish.

Answer: Yes, Master. How to make the manas keep the matter constantly in mind is a big problem. This disciple has discovered that, compared with matters of cultivation, the manas seems to dwell much more on worldly matters. Many people like to talk about the eighth consciousness, this and that, but in fact most of it is the imagination and inference of the mind consciousness; the manas has not even carefully pondered or dwelt on it. This can easily be observed from dreams: the manas dwells on things from all over—matters from past lives, events from a few days ago, things one worries about, family matters, things long past—but there is no, or very little, pondering of matters concerning the eighth consciousness. So it is indeed a ladder to heaven; the distance between the ideal and reality is still very far.

Question: The fear is taking the ideal as reality, deceiving oneself by saying: "I have attained it." Which "I" has attained it?

Answer: The manas has been dwelling on worldly matters for a very, very long time; turning it around all at once is impossible—unless I were someone who has returned again [to this world having attained realization before]. If I confirm that I am not, then I should not think it too beautiful or too simple; it will not be that easy.

During the New Year period, because I wanted to keep the precepts well, I engaged in contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā) based on the contents of the precepts, repeatedly practicing contemplation with specific focus every day. This disciple discovered that if one spends most of the day, or the whole day, on a single question, at first it proceeds intermittently, because confronting circumstances with counteractive practice requires very good meditative concentration (samādhi); the mind repeatedly enters and exits amid the circumstances. Gradually, because of continuous effort, the number of times and the duration of being stuck by circumstances became fewer and shorter, and one becomes able to be aware of oneself. Later on, it became habitual that the mind would hold the targeted question, and while doing other things, or at some moment, one would suddenly understand some related principles. Every period of contemplative practice would be like this, until one day, even when encountering related circumstances in a dream, one would know to keep the precepts, and upon waking, the mind felt especially light and at ease. Looking back, when encountering related problems again, the mind naturally became calm and composed.