Buddhism, Blue Cliff Record, Meditation, Koan

1. Buddhist Association of Canada Cham Shan Temple 加拿大佛教會 湛山精舍 禪修學佛入門 Introduction to Buddhism and Meditation 2011/04/09

2. Buddhist Association of Canada Cham Shan Temple ná mó fó tuó 南 無 佛 陀 Namo Buddha ná mó dá mó 南 無 達 摩 Namo Dharma ná mó sēng qié 南 無 僧 伽 Namo Sangha

3. Presentation Topics and Schedule April 9 - Twelve links of causation (nidāna) – Presented by Les Skibinski April 16 - Six Paramitas presented by Kitty Cheung April 23 – Ten Titles of Tathagata presented by Mike Feeley April 30 – Four Persuasions presented by Wai Fun Lai May 7 - Four Elements presented by Doris Lau May 14 - Five Iniquities of Mundane World presented by Elena Morelli May 21 - Five Aggregates (skandhas) presented by Grace Lau May 28 - Eightfold path presented by Shirley Lew June 4 - Ten realms presented by Winnie Tsang June 11 – Ten Virtuous Actions by Brandilee Maxwell

4. Meditation禪修 Towards a Liberated and Enlightened Life 煩惱輕智慧長

5. Initial Stages of Meditation Sustained attention on the present moment; (Let “past and future” go) Silent awareness of the present moment; (No inner chatter) Silent present moment awareness of the breath; (Observe and appreciate your breath as a bystander) Full sustained attention on the breath; (100 Breaths without disruption) Full sustained attention on the beautiful breath. (Breath disappears)

6. Springboard Meditation Into Dhyana (Jhana) You can dive into the blissful states of meditation thought full mindfulness on breathing. When you simply maintain this unity of consciousness, by not interfering, the breath will begin to disappear. The breath appears to fade away as the mind focuses instead on what is at the centre of the experience of breath, which is the awesome peace, freedom and bliss. You are aware of this beautiful breath continuously, moment after moment, with no break in the chain of experience. You are aware only of the beautiful breath, without effort, and for a very long time. You enter into the 1st state of absorption meditation called Jhana.

7. Full Sustained Attention on the Beautiful Breath You should be able to count 200 breaths without disruption and without actual counting. The mind recognized beautiful breaths and delights in them. The mind is so sensitive that the mind will follow and obey your instructions. Do absolutely nothing and see how smooth and beautiful and timeless the breath can appear. The beautiful breath gradually disappears. “Cheshire Cat” You are going to enter into the Stage of Nimitta.

8. The Third Chán​ Patriarch JianzhiSēngcàn​ (506-606, 三祖鑑智僧璨大師) The lay name and birthplace of the Third Patriarch Sēngcàn are not recorded. The historical record of Sengcan is extremely limited. As a layman, he went to Sikong Mountain 舒州司空山（今安徽岳西县西南店前镇）in the year 535 to pay respect to the Second Patriarch Huike whom was hiding from Buddhist Persecution by the EmperiorWuZhong of North Zhou Dynasty. Sēngcàn was very sick with chronic infectious disease. He felt very sinful and the need of deep repentance.

9. The Third Chán​ Patriarch Jianzhi Sēngcàn​ (506-606, 三祖鑑智僧璨大師) Sēngcàn said to the Master, “I am riddled with sickness. Please absolve me of my sin. Huike replied, “Bring your sin and I will absolve you.” After a long pause, Sēngcàn exclaimed: “When I look for my sin, I cannot find it!” Huike said, “I have absolved you. You should live by the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha.” Sēngcàn asked, “I see you and know what is the Sangha. What about the Buddha and the Dharma?” Huike compassionately instructed him, saying “The mind is the Buddha. The mind is the Dharma. The Buddha and the Dharma are not different. The Sangha is the same.”

10. The Third Chán​ Patriarch Jianzhi Sēngcàn​ (506-606, 三祖鑑智僧璨大師) Upon hearing such enlightening words, Sēngcàn’s mind was suddenly thrown wide open. Whence, Sēngcàn said joyfully, “Now I know that the nature of sin is not inside or outside, nor in between. Like the mind, the Buddhadharma is not different.” Hearing what Sēngcàn said, Huike regarded him highly and took him as disciple. He shaved Sēngcàn’s head and named him Sēng (monk) Càn (gem). On March 18th (Lunar Calendar) of the same year, he took the full ordination, the grand precepts, at Guāngfú​ Temple ​(光福寺). His affliction gradually resolved while he attended his Master for two more years.

11. The Third Chán​ Patriarch Jianzhi Sēngcàn​ (506-606, 三祖鑑智僧璨大師) One day, Huike told Sēngcàn: Bodhidarma from the far away India transmitted the Treasure of the Proper Dharma Eye to me with the Bowl and Robe. Now I transmit them to you. Guard and protect them. Carry on and do not let the transmission break off. Listen to my verse: Originally, the ground is the condition, flower grows on the ground. Originally, the Essence does not exist, flower has never grown. Huike then told Sēngcàn, “having received my teaching, stay in deep the mountains. Do not teach in public, for a national disaster is imminent.” Sēngcàn replied, “Please instruct me as you can foretell.” Huike explained, “It is not me that can foretell. The words were relied to me by Bodhidharma from his teacher, Prajnadhara who said ‘The mind is auspicious but the world is dangerous’. I have just calculated the dates which so happen to fall upon your generation. Pay good attention to these words and avoid the danger. I have my own karma to repay. Go and travel well. Transmit when the condition is right.”

12. The Third Chán​ Patriarch JianzhiSēngcàn​ (506-606, 三祖鑑智僧璨大師) After the transmission, Huike went to Yedu to repay his karma. Sēngcàn followed the instruction not to teach Chán in public. He travelled between WangongMountain（皖公山,天柱山,今安徽潜山县西部）andSikong Mountain and practiced as a hermit for ten years. He met Daoxin (道信) in 592 whom became his only student. Daoxin attended Sēngcàn for twelve years and received his Dharma transmission. On 606 Nov 12 (Oct15 in Lunar Calender), he told an assembly: “Others prefer dying seated as a rarity. I die standing to show the liberation from life and death.” He then held a tree branch and passed away. Sēngcàn was posthumously honored with the title JianzhiChán Master (Mirror Wisdom, 鉴智禅师). In The Record of the Masters and Disciples of the Lankavatara Sutra (楞伽師資記), Sēngcàn meditated a lot, did not write nor transmit the teaching except to Daoxin.

13. The Third Chán​ Patriarch Jianzhi Sēngcàn​ (506-606, 三祖鑑智僧璨大師) According to Vietnamese tradition, Sēngcàn also had a student monk from India, Vinitaruci who started the Chán (Thiền in Vietnamese) teaching in Vietnam in 580 upon patronized by a Minister in Guangdong, China. There is no record about the Chán style of Sēngcàn except the famous XìnxīnMíng (Inscription on Faith in Mind, 信心铭) which continues to make a big impact on the development of Chán despite being a very short verse. Not only does it illustrate the level of the Patriarch’s awakening, it also established the right understanding and right view for Chán cultivators. Every line has great benefit and many cultivators use it as a training guide. It is translated in the next section.

14. INSCRIPTION ON FAITH IN MIND 信心铭 by Third Patriarch Sengcan 1) 至道無難，唯嫌揀擇。但莫憎愛，洞然明白。 The Supreme Way is not difficult Except for those who pick and choose. Simply let go of hate and love; The Way will fully reveal and illuminate itself. 毫釐有差，天地懸隔。欲得現前，莫存順逆。 Even a hairbreadth distinction Sets apart heaven and earth. For the Way to manifest, there is no room for likes and dislikes. 違順相爭，是為心病。不識玄旨，徒勞念靜。 The contention of likes and dislikes Is a disease of the mind. Without realizing the Profound Principle, It is futile to practice stillness.

15. INSCRIPTION ON FAITH IN MIND 信心铭 by Third Patriarch Sengcan 圓同太虛，無欠無餘。良由取捨，所以不如。 It is perfect like the Great Void, With nothing lacking and without excess; Because of grasping and shunning, Suchness is no more. 莫逐有緣，勿住空忍。一種平懷，泯然自盡。 Neither pursue conditions, Nor dwell in emptiness and endurance. Regarding oneness and equanimity, All delineations are dissolved by themselves. 止動歸止，止更彌動。唯滯兩邊，寧知一種。 Trying to stop action Is an action itself. Still trapped in duality, How can you recognize oneness?

16. INSCRIPTION ON FAITH IN MIND 信心铭 by Third Patriarch Sengcan 一種不通，兩處失功。遣有沒有，從空背空。 Failing to penetrate oneness, Practicing on both sides will not work. One drowns in existence by banishing existence; One misses emptiness by pursuing emptiness. 2) 多言多慮，轉不相應。絕言絕慮，無處不通。 The more you talk and think, The more you will go astray; Cease all talking and thinking, Then there is nowhere you cannot penetrate. 歸根得旨，隨照失宗。須臾返照，勝卻前空。 To attain the principle, return to the source; Pursuing reflections, the essence will be lost. Turning the illumination inward upon the moment, One surpasses appearance and emptiness.

17. INSCRIPTION ON FAITH IN MIND 信心铭 by Third Patriarch Sengcan 前空轉變，皆由妄見。不用求真，唯須息見。 The changes in appearance and emptiness Are entirely results of deluded views. Do not seek for truth, Just put all views to rest. 二見不住，慎勿追尋。纔有是非，紛然失心。 Do not dwell in dualistic views; Be careful not to pursue neither. As soon as right and wrong arise, The mind is bewildered and lost. 二由一有，一亦莫守。一心不生，萬法無咎。 Two follows from one, Hold on not even to the one. When not even one thought arises, Everything is flawless. 無咎無法，不生不心。 No flaw, no thing, No arising, no thought.

18. INSCRIPTION ON FAITH IN MIND 信心铭 by Third Patriarch Sengcan 能隨境滅，境逐能沈。境由能境，能由境能。 The subject ceases with its object, The object is gone its subject. Object is object because of subject, Subject is subject because of object. 欲知兩段，元是一空。一空同兩，齊含萬像。 Understand these two sides, That their origin is the one emptiness. The one emptiness is the same for both, Encompassing all phenomena. 3) 不見精粗，寧有偏黨。大道體寬，無易無難。 Do not discriminate fineness or coarseness, With or without, prejudice or association. The Great Way is all embracing, Neither easy nor difficult.

19. INSCRIPTION ON FAITH IN MIND 信心铭 by Third Patriarch Sengcan 小見狐疑，轉急轉遲。執之失度，必入邪路。 The narrow minded are full of doubt; Going too hastily or too slowly. With grasping, one loses judgment And will surely go astray. 放之自然，體無去住。任性合道，逍遙絕惱。 Let everything follow its own nature; There is no going or abiding in the Essence. To follow your true nature is to live in accord with the Way, Be at ease and ones worries will cease. 繫念乖真，昏沉不好。不好勞神，何用疏親。 Fixated thought is unnatural, Yet sluggishness is undesirable. Do not tax the spirit Nor harbor attachment or aversion.

20. INSCRIPTION ON FAITH IN MIND 信心铭 by Third Patriarch Sengcan 欲趣一乘，勿惡六塵。六塵不惡，還同正覺。 To enter the One Vehicle, Be not prejudiced against the objects of senses. To have no prejudice toward the six objects of senses Is to come into perfect awakening. 智者無為，愚人自縛。法無異法，妄自愛著。 The wise abide in wúwéi, the non-acting approach. Fools entangle and fetter themselves. The Way is not in a variety of paths, Yet the deluded desire and cling. 將心用心，豈非大錯。 To seek the mind with the mind Is this not a great mistake? 迷生寂亂，悟無好惡。一切二邊，良由斟酌。 In delusion, chaos and stillness arise, In enlightenment, there is no like nor dislike. The duality of all things Comes from mulling and considering.

21. INSCRIPTION ON FAITH IN MIND 信心铭 by Third Patriarch Sengcan 4) 夢幻空花，何勞把捉。得失是非，一時放卻。 Dreams, illusions and mirages, Are they worth grasping? Gain and loss, right and wrong, Let these all go at once. 眼若不睡，諸夢自除。心若不異，萬法一如。 If the eyes are not sleeping Dreams will naturally cease. If the mind makes no discrimination, All things are of One Suchness. 一如體玄，兀爾忘緣。萬法齊觀，歸復自然。 In the profound essence of Suchness, One is empty of all conditioning. Beholding all things in their entirety Things return to their spontaneous natural state.

22. INSCRIPTION ON FAITH IN MIND 信心铭 by Third Patriarch Sengcan 泯其所以，不可方比。止動無動，動止無止。 Cease all causes, Stop measuring or comparing. When what is still moves, there is no motion; When what is moving stops, there is no stillness. 兩既不成，一何有爾。究竟窮極，不存軌則。 Since two cannot be established, How can there be one? Reaching the ultimate, Rules and principles do not exist. 契心平等，所作俱息。 Accord the mind of impartiality, All striving comes to an end; 狐疑盡淨，正信調直。一切不留，無可記憶。 All doubts are completely cleared away, The right faith in mind is set straight. Nothing to linger, Nothing to remember.

23. The Third Chán​ Patriarch Jianzhi Sēngcàn​ (506-606, 三祖鑑智僧璨大師) 虛明自照，不勞心力。非思量處，識情難測。 Vacuous, clear and self-illuminating, The mind exerts no effort. This is beyond the sphere of thought and calculation, Which consciousness and feeling cannot fathom. 5) 真如法界，無他無自。要急相應，唯言不二。 In the Dharma Realm of True Suchness, There are neither self nor others. To reach accord with it at once Just say non-duality. 不二皆同，無不包容。十方智者，皆入此宗。 In non-duality everything is equal Nothing is left out. The wises from the ten directions All follow this teaching.

24. INSCRIPTION ON FAITH IN MIND 信心铭 by Third Patriarch Sengcan 宗非促延，一念萬年。無在不在，十方目前。 The Way transcends time and space — One thought is ten thousand kalpas. Being nowhere yet everywhere, All places are right before your eyes. 極小同大，妄絕境界。極大同小，不見邊表。 The smallest is the same as the largest, In the realm free of delusions. The largest is the same as the smallest; Where no boundaries or marks can be seen. 有即是無，無即是有。若不如是，必不須守。 Existence is precisely nonexistence, Nonexistence is precisely existence. If you cannot realize this, Then you should not hold to your ways.

25. INSCRIPTION ON FAITH IN MIND 信心铭 by Third Patriarch Sengcan 一即一切，一切即一。但能如是，何慮不畢。 One is all; All is one. If you can realize this, Why worry about not reaching the ultimate? 信心不二，不二信心。言語道斷，非去來今。 This is faith in the non-duality of mind; Non-duality results from faith in mind. Beyond words and speech, It is neither past, present, nor future.

26. The Twelve Links of Causation

28. The Twelve Links of Causation The Twelve Links of Causation are a sequence of twelve causes or conditions of rebirth and suffering. Ignorance is the first link and each of the subsequent links is dependent on the preceding one in the sequence. The Buddha set forth extensively this in the Lotus Sutra.

29. The Twelve Links of Causation 1. Ignorance Ignorance leads to volitional action tainted by greed, hatred and delusion. 2. Volitional Action Volitional action leads to consciousness linking the past with the present. 3. Consciousness Consciousness leads to name and form. Other than being used to represent the mental and the physical objects, the name and form are not the true nature of the universe.

30. The Twelve Links of Causation 4. Name and form Name and form leads to six senses. The desire for knowing worldly phenomena results in the formation of eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind. 5. Six senses Six senses leads to contact. The senses are used to contact with the external world and collect the information about it. That is why the six senses are called the entrances of karma. 6. Contact Contact leads to feeling. The contact with lights, sounds, odors, tastes, tactile and mental objects gives rise to seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, touching and thinking.

31. The Twelve Links of Causation 7. Feeling Feeling leads to craving. Experiences of painful and joyful sensations leads to the pursuit of material and sensual satisfaction and avoidance of hardship. 8. Craving Craving leads to clinging. Craving wealth, fame and sensual pleasures causes one to cling to the notion of self. 9. Clinging Clinging leads to becoming. Karma created due to craving and clinging is added to those created by volitional action in the past. They then become the conditions for the cycle of birth and death.

32. The Twelve Links of Causation 10. Becoming Becoming leads to birth. The conditions or the causes of life leads to the formation of the five aggregates in due time. 11. Birth Birth leads to old age and death, worry, lamentation, suffering and vexation. 12. Old Age and Death The reverse process of the Twelve Links can lead to the cessation of rebirth and suffering.

33. Questions on Six Consciousness and Cycle of Suffering What is 18 Dhatus十八界? What is 6 Realms in Samsara? What is the force that drives samsara – the cycle of suffering? What is in the hub of Bhavacadra and its meaning? What is the three venoms and their symbols?

34. Thirty-One Worlds Four Immaterial Worlds Sixteen Form (Material) Worlds Eleven Sensuous Worlds

35. A Full Course of Cognition -Seventeen Thought Moments 1. Past Bhavanga 2. Vibrating 3. Arrest 4. Sense-door 5. Sense 6. Receiving 7. Investigating 8. Determining 9 -15 Impulsion (Javana) 16. Retaining 17. Registering consciousness Javana, as a function of consciousness, applies to the stage of the cognitive process that immediately follows the determining stage, and consists of a series of cittas (normally seven, all identical in kind, which "run swiftly" over the object in the act of apprehending it. The javana stage is the most important from an ethical standpoint, for it is at this point that wholesome or unwholesome cittas originate.

36. Questions and Comments 討論 www.ChamShanTemple.org www.shengguangshi.blogspot.com ShengguangShi@hotmail.com Shengguang Shi 釋聖光 Tom Cheung 張相棠 Kam Cheung 張仁勤 Dennis Yap 葉普智