The Essence of Chan by Guo Gu

Author:Guo Gu
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Shambhala Publications

4. Relinquish Delusion and Return to the Real

The fourth dimension of entering the path through principle is stated as: “If one relinquishes delusion and returns to the true—abides in stillness and engages in wall-like contemplation, where the self and other are absent and the ordinary and the holy are equal.”

Why are ordinary and holy equal? This is speaking from the perspective of principle. A huge, dangerous tsunami wave and a limpid, peaceful pond have the same nature: wetness. We may sit one day with a lot of wandering thoughts and think it’s bad, and we don’t like it; at another time, as we become more skilled, we get into a nice, comfortable, blissful zone, which we think is good. But the scattered mind and the blissful mind have the same, equal nature of wetness. In meditation, whether there is thought or no thought, it does not affect our mind’s nature of clarity and openness. Because of our self-cherishing notions of me and mine, this versus that, we compartmentalize states of mind and experiences as good and bad. We fail to see our true nature and what is actually happening.

Chan practitioners should learn to look upon everyone with equanimity. We act from the perspective of the nature or essence, which is the wetness; we do not act from the perspective of the discriminating mind, which is the wave. However, water can quench thirst or it can cause damage; people can give us flowers or they can try to steal our wallet. We always have to be clear about different perspectives and functions. But the nature of water is the same.

As the text explains further, if we can be free from self-attachment, then “one is in sublime accordance with the principle.” Self-attachment manifests as being moved by this or that, as being attached to what we think is right and wrong, or as thinking deludedly that this teaching is better than that one. Self-attachment is chasing after the finger pointing to the moon.

In the midst of our practice, let us not attach to our actions or use the Dharma like a measuring stick to judge others. Buddha-nature—the nature of fluidity, openness, and clarity—is everyone’s true nature, whether one is a criminal or a sage. Allow this to resonate in you for a moment.

To be in accordance with the principle is to fully recognize our intrinsic freedom, which cannot be ensnared by all the constructs, narratives, and ideas we create about ourselves and the world. The relationship between these constructs and the nature of mind is like the relationship between the space inside a Chan hall and the furniture inside it. Does the furniture, no matter how dirty or clean, messy or orderly, affect the nature of the space? No. Similarly, all of us are originally enlightened. That is the true meaning of “wall-like contemplation.”

Some people think that wall-like contemplation simply means to sit facing the wall the way we do at our meditation center, remaining still and not moving during meditation. But Bodhidharma is pointing to something more subtle than this.

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