CHAN MAGAZINE hear stories about the questionable behavior of some WINTER 2014 meditation masters in the West. If these stories are “I indeed true, then these teachers are not true masters. Nonetheless, they have still served a good purpose in bringing the teachings of Buddhism to the West and given many an opportunity they never would have had. The masters’ personal lives are their own problems, but people should be grateful to them for their contributions. Indian mythology speaks of a special swan that can swallow the pure, nourishing cream from a mixture of milk and water, without drinking any of the water. American Buddhists should adopt a similar attitude toward questionable teachers. Study Buddhadharma with them, absorb as much good teaching as possible, and leave the bad karma where you find it. I hope that you accept and practice the things that you find good and beneficial in my teachings. The parts you do not like, you can just ignore.” — Chan Master Sheng Yen “The Sword of Wisdom” Volume 35, Number 1—Winter 2014 CHAN MAGAZINE Settling the Mind 5 PUBLISHED QUARTERLY BY Institute of Chung-Hwa Buddhist Culture by Chan Master Sheng Yen Chan Meditation Center (CMC) 90-56 Corona Avenue Chan Thought and Chan Action 9 Elmhurst, NY 11373 by Venerable Chi Chern FOUNDER/TEACHER Chan Master Venerable Dr. Sheng Yen ADMINISTRATOR Venerable Chang Hwa EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Buffe Maggie Laffey The Arising of Conditioned Appearance 18 COORDINATOR Chang Jie from the True Mind - Part 2 PHOTOGRAPHY AND ARTWORK Rikki Asher, Kaifen Hu, Peter Lin, by Abbot Venerable Guo Xing Taylor Mitchell COVER PHOTO Lan Xu CONTRIBUTING EDITORS David Berman, Ernie Heau, Guo Gu Not Becoming Buddhist 23 CONTRIBUTORS Venerable Chang Ji, Venerable Chang Wen, by Venerable Chang Wen Rebecca Li, Shaun Chung, Kasey Andrist Bruce Rickenbacker CHAN MEDITATION CENTER (718) 592-6593 The Past 28 DHARMA DRUM PUBLICATIONS (718) 592-0915 News from CMC, DDMBA and DDRC [email protected] http://chancenter.org/cmc/publications/chan-magazines/ The magazine is a non-profit venture; it accepts no advertising and is sup- The Future 34 ported solely by contributions from members of the Chan Center and the readership. Donations to support the magazine and other Chan Center ac- Retreats, classes and upcoming events tivities may be sent to the above address and will be gratefully appreciated. Please make checks payable to Chan Meditation Center; your donation is tax-deductible. Chan Meditation Center Affiliates 36 Settling the Mind by Chan Master Sheng Yen his article is an excerpt from a lecture given by Master Sheng Yen to the Meditation TGroup at Nung Chan Monastery, Taiwan, on April 8, 1984. Antonio Hsieh translated the Chinese transcript, with bilingual editing by Chiacheng Chang and Robert Dougherty, English editing by Ernest Heau. Settling the Mind in Everyday Life for society. To save the families, we must start with each individual; everyone must fulfill their We face all kinds of issues in daily life— respective duties as a member of the family. That livelihood, family, safety and security, and most way a harmonious state can be achieved with “loving importantly, how to attain liberation from the cycle parents, filial children, harmonious couples, genial of birth and death. With these issues lingering in older siblings and respectful younger siblings.” the mind from moment to moment, it’s almost impossible to live day to day with peace of mind. Death is humankind’s biggest fear. In primeval For practitioners this creates obstructions. So times when people still lived as savages, human they have to eliminate their view of self, their lives were exposed to many threats. People had to attachment to the body, and to life itself. In today’s defend themselves against catastrophes and wild society, everyone is forever competing in pursuit of beasts, struggle with the natural environment, material desires such that ethics have deteriorated, and strive to survive. Then came civilized society, and familial affection has waned; there’s no security but due to severely conflicting interests, people in the family structure, and the divorce rate is slaughtered each other, with frequent disputes rising. Even as a couple is preparing to get married, and protracted wars pitting clan against clan, tribe they’re making prenuptial agreements in case they against tribe, race against race, and nation against get divorced. They even start to worry about the nation. For any individual, from cradle to grave, issue of raising children, and who gets the kids if there are no absolute guarantees for every minute they do divorce. Husband and wife aren’t prepared and every second of life. We may fall ill or die of in their minds to remain faithful “until death do accidental causes. “Human life is fragile, and can us part.” In many families, parents are busy all change at any moment in between breaths.” So we day with their careers and socializing, and thus must accept this fact. If we can accept it calmly, we neglect to discipline their children. This creates don’t need to worry about whether we’ll be safe. many problem children who can make problems But until we die, we have to find a way to survive. If Photo by Taylor Mitchell 6 WINTER 2014 5 you commit suicide, you would violate the Buddhist reciting sutras, or chanting mantras, can all mind has come to rest on a single thought, and is What the early patriarchs such as Bodhidharma, law of karma. Then again, if we’re afraid of death, discover that their mind is not yet concentrated. not situated in time or space. So dhyana is achieved Huike, Sengchou, and Daoxin called a mind at we can also change our past karma and prolong That shows they have made some progress in only when the boundary between before and after peace is to have no mind to be pacified or used. our life by practicing diligently. True practitioners, spiritual practice. If you have attained at least is broken, and the mental actions perish. That That’s the meaning of: “I searched for my mind but though, are not afraid of death. this level, it is better not to pay attention to means dhyana requires that there are no past or cannot find it” and “To not pacify anything is called disturbances in the mind, but just return to the future thoughts, and there is no inside or outside of true pacification of mind.” In short, the future is unknowable, and we can method. Ignore deluded or wandering thoughts, the body, mind, or environment. Having heard my only try our best to protect our safety. Furthermore, and they will naturally decrease, leaving only the explanation, she was very disappointed. as long as we’re alive we can never be absolutely safe. method. Finally, even the method will disappear, There is no Mind to be Pacified We don’t need to worry about the safety issue, but for the method itself is also a deluded thought. She asked me, “Then at that time, where was I?” we should strive to reduce danger to a minimum, Having no mind to be pacified doesn’t mean neither creating danger ourselves, nor giving other So when you notice wandering thoughts I said, “You were in an illusory, deluded state. abiding in some ethereal state. If mind abides in people opportunities to create danger. Even so, during your practice, ignore them. Don’t despise However, while in that state, at least you weren’t existence, mind exists; if mind abides in emptiness, this is only relatively safer, because humans are all them, but you must not follow them either. When afraid. For practitioners, it still exists. I have a mortal, and life itself is the source of insecurity. We you notice wandering thoughts, leave them alone that’s a good thing.” THE MIND HAS COME TO REST disciple who, during a have to take this perspective so that we can calm and go back to the method. That’s the best way. So that nun was seven-day Chan retreat, our mind in an environment that is insecure. Stay with the method. Then your mind will disappointed again. Having on A SingLe THougHT, swept the courtyard early naturally settle down. practiced for so long, she in the morning. While naturally thought that was AnD iS noT SiTuateD sweeping, she picked up Settling the Mind Nevertheless, if you feel that you are already a very good state. Instead, the azaleas that fell on the in the Process of Practice free of wandering thoughts, it does not necessarily I explained it as an illusory IN TIME OR SPace. ground, one by one, and mean that your mind is calm and stable. A Buddhist state. We should know put them on the cherry dhyana IS achieved WHEN Before we start to practice Buddhism, we nun said to me: “Over the past six months, I’ve that all states that have a trees. At that time the rarely openly face our own mental tendencies. often felt that after sitting meditation, there are no physical or mental form THe Boundary BeTween cherry trees had neither Only when we begin to practice do distinctions between me and other sentient beings, are illusory. Physical forms leaves nor blossoms. She we discover that our mind can be people, or things. It seems like I’m the same as involve the physical body BEFORE AND AFTER did this with great, intense chaotic, dirty, ugly, unstable, them. In those circumstances, I don’t care whether and the environment in interest. So I asked her, impure, and agitated. I, or they, exist.