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Chan is often referred to as the "gateless gate."A "gate" is both a method of practice and a path to liberation. The gateway into Chan will open naturally as long as a practioner can let go of his/her self-centered conscious mind. In response to people's needs, past Chan masters adapted other forms of practice and invented methods that made Chan mode accessible. Chan practice use basic techniques of concentration to calm and unify the mindThe most common and basic methods for beginners are counting the breath and following the breath. These two methods can be used at all times and all places. The purpose of concentration techniques is to take the mind away from a normal state of scattered and discursive thoughts and feelings of affliction and fetteredness. One's mind becomes calm and stabilized and one begins to enter a state of concentration where the separation of body and mind disappears and one reaches a state of unification of body and mind. At this moment one feels peace and harmony within oneself. Chan practice is to help us familiarize this method and be able to use it in our daily life, so we will not be disturbed and influenced by other people and things occurring in the environment.There are more advanced stages beyond this point along our practice. In the Chan tradition there are two major methods, Huatou from the Linji lineage and Silent Illumination from the Caodong lineage, which help practitioners realize enlightenment. |