1751823 ' Lu K*uan Yu "::. .-^i-. Practical Buddhism STORAGE |8 OZ Ll. o COQ s PUBLIC LIBRARY ALLEN COUNTY, INO. FORT WAYNE AND 7 v ^o 'HtfRHHiA 1 O' i_ -^3 16-33 003R4 Z6P PRACTICAL BUDDHISM In this book, Lu K'uan Yii (Charles Luk), a foremost exponent of Chinese Buddhist thought, presents a very clear outline of the Buddha's doctrine from the point of view of both the Hinayana and Mahayana schools in China, together with various methods of medi- tation and practice. He gives the experiences of two modern Buddhists in the West who have achieved spiritual awakening. Part II recounts the story of the third Ch'an Patriarch of China, Seng Ts'an, and how he experienced enlightenment. There is a beautiful translation of his poem: "Have Faith in Your Mind." This is followed in Part III by a form of kung an (koan) which consists of giving shouts as demonstrated by Ch'an Master Chi Ch'eng. The last section of the book describes the life and training of Ch'an Master Han Shan and his final realization of enlightenment. Lu K'uan Yii was born in Canton in 1898. His first Master was the Hutuktu of Sikang, an enlightened Great Lama. His second Master was the Venerable Chan Master Hsu Ysu Yun, the Dharma- successor of all five Ch'an sects of China. Lu K'uan Yii now lives in Hongkong and devotes himself to presenting as many Chinese Buddhist texts as possible. His other books include Ch'an and Zen Teaching, and The Secrets of Chinese Meditation. By the same author Ch'an and Zen Teaching (first, second and third series) The Secrets of Chinese Meditation The Surahgama Sutra Taoist Yoga, Alchemy and Immortality Practical Buddhism Upasaka Lu K'uan Yii (Charles Luk) THE THEOSOPHICAL PUBLISHING HOUSE Wheaton, 111., U.S.A. Madras, India / London, England © Lu Kuan Yu 1971 Original edition published 1971 by Rider & Company, London 1st U.S. edition 1973, published by The Theosophical Publishing House (a department of The Theosophical Society in America), Wheaton, Illinois, by arrangement with Rider & Company ISBN: 0-8356-0212-5 Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 72-91124 Printed in the United States of America To the memory of Upasika Grace Constant Lounsbery Founder and President of 'Les Amis du Bouddrrisme' whose words of encouragement overcame the author's hesitation when he began to translate Chinese texts in 1956 1r> 1 Contents Preface ix part i The Buddha-Dharma (Theory and Practice) I part ii The Story of the Third Ch'an Patriarch of China and his gatha 'Have Faith In Your Mind' (Hsin Hsin Ming) 33 part in The Ch'an Shout, by Ch'an Master Chi Ch'eng 39 part iv Master Han Shan's Experiment with the Mind 43 part v The Autobiography of Ch'an Master Han Shan 57 Glossary 163 Preface We take refuge in the Buddha, We take refuge in the Dharma, We take refuge in the Sangha, We take refuge in the Triple Gem within ourselves. After the publication of our five books, the three series ofCh'an and Zen Teaching, The Secrets of Chinese Meditation and The Surang- ama Sutra, we have found it useful to present this book so that readers will have more information on the Buddha Dharma and its practice. This volume contains five parts: Part I outlines the theory and practice of the Buddha's doctrine which is divided into the teaching school and the transmission of mind outside the teaching. The teaching school comprises Hinayana or preparatory instruc- tion, and Mahayana or advanced and final courses. Hinayana is based on the three signata or seals of impermanence of all phenomena, the absence of an ego and peace in Nirvana or the state of extinction of passion and suffering. In this section we present various methods of meditation in con- formity with the four noble truths, the twelve links in the chain of existence and the eightfold correct path which are the tenets of Hinayana to put an end to suffering in order to reach relative Nirvana. Mahayana which is much more profound teaches the six perfec- tions or paramitas which are necessary for Bodhisattva development into Buddhahood. It teaches the wiping out of all dualities, rela- tivities and contraries to leap to the absolute state of the uncreate. In this section we present various methods of Mahayana practice. The transmission of mind outside of the teaching points direct to X PREFACE the mind for the perception of Buddha-nature and attainment of Buddhahood. This section deals with various techniques such as the kung ans and the hua t'ou with the feeling of doubt. In order to acquaint readers with the transmission of mind we present two cases of spiritual awakening (Chinese, wu, and Japanese, satori) achieved by two modern Buddhists, a European and an Englishman, in spite of the scepticism of a reviewer of my first three books who claims that the Dharma is not suitable for Westerners. It seems that the European Buddhist achieved the Tathagata's ch'an and the English Buddhist the Patriarch's ch'an. (For these two terms c{ Ch'an and Zen Teaching, First Series, page 130. Rider, London.) Part II tells a short story of the third Ch'an patriarch Seng Ts'an and his well-known gatha Hsin Hsin Ming (Have faith in your mind) which teaches how to realise the mind in order to achieve enlighten- ment. This section is most important for students of the Mind Dharma for it not only tells how the third patriarch achieved Enlightenment (Bodhi) but also how to meditate on the mind for this purpose. In Part HI we present a form of kung an (koan) which consists of giving shouts as demonstrated by Ch'an master Chi Ch'eng who defeated a Dharma master regarded as a skilful interpreter of the Hua Yen (Avatamsaka) School. This section is most important for students of both the teaching school and the transmission of mind outside the teaching. Part IV outlines the training and realisation of bodhi by master Han Shan of the Ming dynasty so that readers can compare it with the achievements of the two contemporary European Buddhists mentioned in Part I of this volume. Part V contains the said master Han Shan's autobiography which is most interesting and fascinating in that it gives a full account of his childhood, his early and advanced training and his final realisation of Enlightenment. Thus readers will have a clear picture of how bodhi can be attained in a lifetime. UPASAKA LU k'uAN YU Hong Kong : PART I The Buddha-Dharma (Theory and Practice) The Sanskrit word Buddha means The Enlightened One, that is one who understands the chain of causality which leads to worldly existence and suffering, and who succeeds in realising the unreality of the latter, thereby wiping out ignorance and all its consequences, and achieving absolute freedom and comfortable independence. Twenty-five centuries ago a young prince of the Sakya clan in north India, named Gautama Siddhartha, left his home in search of the Truth, disciplined himself, and, in his thirty-fifth year, realised Enlightenment after gazing at the stars in the sky. After being released from the illusion of birth and death, this holy man, who became Sakyamuni Buddha, exclaimed: 'It is wonderful that all living beings possess the Tathagata's wisdom which they are unable to experience solely because of their false thinking and clinging.' For over forty years Sakyamuni Buddha taught His disciples how to extricate themselves from worldly entanglements in order to realise Enlightenment (Bodhi). This is what we call The Teaching School But the absolute state of Bodhi is beyond all relativities and contraries, and cannot be expressed in human conditioned language. Therefore, one day in the assembly the Buddha held up a flower, a gesture which His chief disciple Mahakasyapa alone understood and acknowledged with a smile. Thereat the Buddha declared to him 'I have the treasure of the right Dharma Eye, Nirvana's wonderful mind and the immaterial Reality which I now transmit to you/ 2 PRACTICAL BUDDHISM This is The Transmission outside of the Teaching which is called Ch'an (Japanese, Zen). i. THE TEACHING SCHOOL According to the Tien T'ai (Japanese, Tendai) School, the Buddha's teaching was in five stages. In the first stage of three weeks, He explained The Avatamsaka Sutra which only Bodhisattvas under- stood, as it was beyond the comprehension of His disciples. In the second stage of twelve years, He taught The Agamas, urging His followers to forsake their attachments to the concepts of ego and phenomena (dharma) in order to rest temporarily in the Hinayana's relative Nirvana. After they had made further progress, He taught them the Hinayana-cum-Mahayana or Vaipulya doctrines in the third stage of eight years to help them develop the Mahayana mind. After they had been initiated into Mahayana, He taught them the Prajna Sutras in the fourth stage of twenty-two years to arouse their inherent wisdom so that it could manifest and function normally. In the fifth stage of eight years, He taught the Lotus Sutra to open their minds to the One Buddha Vehicle which transcends the three expedient vehicles of Sravakas, Pratyeka-buddhas and Bodhisattvas, by revealing it to them so that they could awaken to and enter it. Therefore, the aim of His teaching did not go beyond the four 1 words : opening, revealing, awakening and entering. Before passing away, in a day and night, He taught them The Mahaparinirvana Sutra to reveal the four absolute realities of Eternity, Bliss, Self2 and Purity in the Ultimate Nirvana.