What is Chan?

By Category: Meditation & PracticeTags:

Chan is meditation throughout our lives.

When we live with Chan, the taste of food and feel of clothes will change. We will not feel difficulty when dealing with our affairs. Any matter can be laughed away. The human world has its ups and down, but when we have a Chan mind it is like the world is ours and nothing is lacking. All human beings rely on the necessities of food, clothing, and shelter. When there is no fear of material scarcity, when a certain level of comfort is gained, then humans come to look for mental fulfillment through music, painting, and the arts. But even after human life becomes beautiful in this way, there comes a sense that true meaning is still lacking and gradually, humans come to hope that liberation and freedom can be found within their minds. Many then turn to religion to find what is sublime, true, wholesome, and beautiful. It is a life of Chan mediation.

Chan has a sense of humor and wit to it.

In the world of Chan, there is nothing worth becoming sad or bothered about. Without shape or form, Chan permeates everything. Chan is our intrinsic nature. But if we try to write, speak, or think of Chan, we cannot grasp it. Chan is the subject of study for awakening. It must be experienced and understood personally.

Chan is a treasure of the human realm.

Chan has no fixed format, but accommodates each person’s efforts and capacity. Chan is a treasure of the human realm. It helps us recognize ourselves. Chan is absolute transcendence. It is the spirit of self-respect, embodied by the words “Even against an army of thousands, ever forth I shall go.” Chan is what brings us to the Buddhist path. It is a prerequisite to the authentic realization of awakening. It is the means by which all practitioners can verify their accomplishment for themselves.

Chan is like a dish.

It is salted and spiced just the way you like it. Chan is like a living room that feels completely changed by hanging a painting or placing a flower vase. Chan is like a tissue that can be crumpled up into nothing. Chan is like an empty fist that is unclenched and becomes a fist no longer.

Chan cannot be captured with words.

It just is. Once spoken, it is no longer Chan. Chan is not about delusion or enlightenment, but about seeing your own intrinsic nature. Chan cannot be attained simply by sitting properly, but especially for beginners sitting meditation is still an important gate of entry into Chan.

If you come to know intrinsic nature, that is Chan.

From Ten Paths to Happiness, written by Venerable Master Hsing Yun.

Image from Pixabay.

More Featured Articles

Inspire and Be Inspired
Do you feel inspired when you see people help each other? Not everyone is. Some people may look at a generous donation and say, “Donating such a small amount of money is nothing extraordinary for such a rich person.” When other people suffer from disasters and pain like the many people killed in the South Asian tsunami and earthquakes, don’t you feel for them? Doesn’t Read more
The Mind is the Source of Unwholesomeness
The Buddha often explained emptiness and impermanence by getting people to think about how phenomena arise, change, and decline. Read more
The Web of Human Relationships
Human beings are social animals; we cannot live apart from community. As Buddhists, we are told to seek the Dharma among the people, for the Dharma does not exist in some other world or far away place; the Dharma is here among us, embodied in each and every being. When we understand that human society is nothing other than a web of human relationships, we Read more
Transcend the Ordinary and the Sacred
What, exactly, is the meaning contained within this gong’an? For instance, some have asked, what are people like? This is a very difficult question to answer because if there are things they are like, then there are things they are not like. If we answer that people are like ghosts, then there are also people among ghosts. If we say ghosts are like people, then Read more
Make Buddha Images in This Very Mind
Why should people create Buddha images? Did the Buddha really want everyone to make images of him and worship his body?In truth, the purpose of creating the Buddha images is not to create symbols for worship. Buddha images are reminders that “the mind is the Buddha,” and that everyone has Buddha nature. Buddha images also remind us to frequently recollect the virtues of the Buddha Read more
What is Meditation?
One of the great advantages of sitting meditation is that you can take it with you wherever you go. Whether you are in a forest deep in the mountains or beside a stream among the grass and reeds, you can develop meditative concentration just by sitting down and crossing your legs.But what is meditation? Does it come from sitting, standing, or lying down? Huineng, the Read more
The Humanistic Buddhist Practice of Meditation
In the practice of meditation, once you have developed meditative concentration it does not matter if you are walking, standing, sitting, lying down, carrying firewood, or bringing water—every single action can suddenly lead to enlightenment and seeing intrinsic nature. For true Chan practitioners meditation is whatever they see in their daily lives; it is everywhere. Read more
Adapting Oneself to Others
If we want to understand what the Dharma teaches us about building affinity and living in harmony with others, we must first understand the four great all-embracing virtues. The Buddha teaches that for us to realize our true capacity of connecting with and serving our fellow citizens, we have to first build a good rapport, and the four virtues are tools to that end. The four Read more
How To Change Destiny
What we often care most for in life is the self, and the most important aspect of self is none other than destiny. During one's lifetime, destiny changes frequently because of circumstances that arise. Because of a person, an event, a word, a dollar, or even a thought, entire lives may be altered. Similarly, the development of a country may be changed and the history Read more
The Stages of Counting the Breath
Master Zhiyi’s “six wonderful methods” describe four different kinds of specialized breathing: bellowing winds, broken panting, low-pitched breathing, and internalized breathing.1. Bellowing Winds“Bellowing Winds” describes when one’s inhalations become more and more powerful. As the breathing becomes deeper and longer it can become very loud. This is because, once the power of one’s concentration has been gathered, it can be transferred elsewhere with great force. Read more
Healing the Body
Technological progress and advances in modern science have led to material improvements that have enhanced the quality of people’s lives on many levels. Yet, no matter how much we have progressed or how advanced our technology is, there still remain fundamental problems in life that science will never be able to solve.Two of the greatest problems people face are birth and death. No sooner are Read more
My Silent Revolution for Buddhism
In devoting my life to Buddhism, in order to keep Buddhism current with the advances in society, in terms of thoughts, I am always making improvements at every hour and moment; in terms of practice, I am constantly and continuously making adjustments. Even though I know that Buddhism must be reformed, innovation never comes into being in the heat of the moment. My “silent revolution” Read more