What Does "Zen Buddhism Is Not Established Upon Words" Mean?

Zen Buddhism is also known as the School of Chan, where the essence of the Dharma is the true mind, the tathāgatagarbha. Chan is the method of investigating meditation to realize the true mind, the tathāgatagarbha. Although the tathāgatagarbha transcends language, words, and sound, the entire process of investigating meditation also dispenses with language, words, and sound. Anything conveyed through language and words is not the true mind. Therefore, during meditation, the language, words, and sounds of both the teacher and the student become useless; all books and theories are rendered useless. The meditator need not murmur, chatter, or hum incessantly within the mind, stripped of all external objects for comparison.

This leaves no room for boundless imagination, emotional interpretations, or the unrestrained play of inference (anumāna) and false perception (viparyaya). Conceptual consciousness (manovijñāna) finds no space to operate; instead, one must rely solely on the immediate, direct perception (pratyakṣa) and investigation of the mental faculty (manas). Though arduous, causing sleepless nights, the rewards are profound, enabling one to unearth the latent potential and wisdom within the manas. Once this personal treasure is excavated, one will thenceforth live a life of freedom and abundance, no longer forced to wander homeless begging to endure bitter days.

At this stage, external words and internal mental words become useless and powerless. Only by relying on one's own wisdom can the great innate wisdom be developed. All forms of reasoning, analysis, organization, induction, deconstruction, integration, conjecture, imagination, comparison, doctrinal measurements, theories, knowledge, and learning become utterly inapplicable. Conceptual consciousness rests; it ceases its busyness. At this point, a responsible Chan master will instruct you to put aside the sutras, forbidding reading and studying; violators may face the discipline stick. When the investigation reaches a critical juncture, being struck is absolutely beneficial. Although language and words are no longer useful, one can still be struck. When struck, there are still no words or thoughts, yet it can trigger an inspiration within the manas.

When the master strikes with the stick, if conceptual consciousness is very active, it might immediately analyze and think, "This might be it!" But the result is: Wrong! Conceptual consciousness then analyzes and reasons: "The union of truth and illusion — this can't be wrong!" Yet the result remains: Wrong! You then proceed with elimination, inferring and speculating: "This is not visual consciousness, not auditory, olfactory, or bodily consciousness, nor is it conceptual consciousness or manas; it must be the eighth consciousness (ālaya-vijñāna)!" But the final result is still: Wrong! Dare to engage conceptual consciousness, and no matter what, the answer is one word: Wrong! After three wrongs, if you still do not awaken, the master will expel you from the meditation hall, or even from the monastery, abandoning you — because you are not yet a vessel for the Way, unqualified to investigate Chan. Of course, a qualified master does not strike indiscriminately but carefully observes the mental state of the meditator, delivering the blow at the most opportune moment. This is called "a timely strike," casting off all worldly objects and sentiments to directly perceive that which is beyond objects and sentiments.

Past patriarchs and great masters always said: "If the thieving mind does not die, one cannot realize the Way; if the larcenous mind does not die, one cannot realize the Way." What do the "thieving mind" and "larcenous mind" refer to? What is stolen that prevents realization? Who is stealing? What is stolen? How to eliminate the thieving mind during Chan investigation? The thieving mind in Chan investigation can be described as a mind seeking opportunistic shortcuts, a mind that directly appropriates knowledge and theories from elsewhere as if they were personal realization. Because it is not personally realized by the manas, the conceptual consciousness opportunistically "steals" it. In the past, a common phrase described the teachings of truly realized patriarchs: "These teachings are dug out from the depths of their own hearts," meaning the patriarchs' teachings stem from their own realization, their own crystallized wisdom — not ready-made theoretical knowledge appropriated by consciousness from elsewhere, nor theories learned, organized, processed, and repackaged as one's own. Such acts do not constitute realization and will hinder it.

What is called "self-mind direct perception" (svacitta-pratyakṣa)? Only what is drawn from the depths of one's own being is called self-mind direct perception — "the depths of the heart" refers to the profound source, the master manas. The opposite is what is effortlessly "solved" by conceptual consciousness, without cultivating precepts, meditation, wisdom, or the Thirty-Seven Aids to Enlightenment. It is what is deduced by comparing, referencing, and speculating based on learned theories and others' views — this is essentially appropriation. Such actions of consciousness are almost theft. If the thieving mind does not die, the manas cannot investigate and deliberate, and thus realization is impossible. The vast amount of Dharma learned by consciousness essentially constitutes theft, for it does not come from the depths of one's being, is not one's own, but belongs elsewhere — it is Dharma heard and regurgitated, learned and peddled, not one's own treasure.

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