How to Establish Questioning Doubt in Chan Meditation

In the practice of cultivation, "no-thought, yet cognizing" means that there are no thoughts on the surface of the mind consciousness—not recollecting dharmas—yet deep within the manas there is still thought, with a thought suspended in the mind without interruption; this is meditative investigation. 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 functioning of the manas is too hidden and not easily uncovered.

In Chan investigation, the closer the questioning doubt is to the target, the better; the smaller its scope, the better. This is like searching for a person: if you set the scope to the entire nation, it is the same as not setting one at all; if you set it to a certain region, you can find the person quickly. It is only that the smaller the scope you set, the more evidence you need and the more information you must gather, and the deeper and finer your wisdom must be. The most direct huatou of the Chan school is "Who is dragging this corpse around?"—realizing the tathāgatagarbha through the aggregate of volitional formations is the fastest, though the realization is somewhat smaller in scope. If one awakens through the Yogācāra teachings, the realization is higher and deeper; awakening through the functions of the manas is more direct, ultimate, and thorough.