What Is "Gewu Zhizhi"?

Ba Shi'er Kou's contemplative practice log: I practiced meditative concentration in stillness according to the method my master taught, starting with observing the breath. After the mind settled down, I placed a thought of "the physical body is not self" in my mind and watched it, while entering a blank, language-free state. Gradually I felt as if the body were moving away from the knowing mind, becoming somewhat unable to hold its ground. After rising from the seat, my body felt light and at ease, as if awakening from a great dream—not as fatigued as before. However, my head felt somewhat tight and numb, and this persisted for over ten minutes. I am grateful for my master's teaching. Studying Buddhism means first making the resolve to change the habitual tendencies of one's manas. Once I had a goal, my mind felt much more at ease. 

Assessment: There is a saying, "investigating things to attain knowledge" (gewu zhizhi), which means that as long as the mind separates from sense objects and does not adhere to or attach to them, it will not be influenced and limited by them, and it will be able to step outside the sense objects and look back at them objectively, thereby arriving at objective conclusions and views. But when the mind is fused together with sense objects, it is often obscured by them—seeing only the marks of the objects, but not the truth and the facts. 

Contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā) within meditative concentration is precisely this "investigating things to attain knowledge": drawing the mind away from dharmas, so as to re-examine and observe dharmas objectively without language and words, without subjectivity. Gradually there will be objective discoveries different from before; having recognized objective truth, wisdom that gives rise to the state of liberation can be born. Subjective initiative belongs to the mind consciousness, while objective perception and examination belong to the manas. "Investigating things" means letting the mind consciousness remain still while the manas personally perceives; only in this way can there be fair, objective, and reasonable discoveries—that things were never actually like that, that everything was wrong all along. 

Without cultivating meditative concentration and contemplative practice, one will never "investigate things to attain knowledge," will never change the manas's view of self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi) and self-grasping, and will forever remain in ignorance and delusion—liberation will then have no end in sight. This critical juncture of meditative concentration and contemplative practice must be passed no matter how difficult, and one must make the resolve to break through it; only then is one worthy of one's lifetime and many lifetimes of studying Buddhism. If you want realization and liberation, there is no other route—only this one path, which cannot be bypassed; sooner or later you must walk it. Walking it early is far better than walking it late, sparing oneself much suffering.