How to Practice the Art of Investigative Meditation

For instance, when investigating the question of whether the manas (the thinking mind) experiences neutral feeling, there may be a longer topic or example, such as: when people are extremely happy, they dance with joy and are elated; when angry, they hurl insults and come to blows. First, we need to understand that these bodily actions and verbal actions are created under the direction and command of the manas, involving the participation of the body consciousness and the mental consciousness, as well as the eye consciousness and ear consciousness. Several consciousnesses work together to produce these bodily and verbal actions. Since they are created under the direction and command of the manas, why does the manas direct the creation of two different types of bodily and verbal actions? Why, when happy, does the manas direct the creation of dancing with joy, expressing its own happiness and excitement? Why, when angry, does it direct the creation of hurling insults, expressing its own hatred and anger? Is the manas not happy when joyful, merely experiencing neutral feeling? Is it not angry when enraged, also experiencing neutral feeling? Does the manas lack the emotional response of happiness or anger? If the manas has no happy emotion and does not feel joy, why can it still direct the six consciousnesses to dance with joy? If the manas has no unhappy emotional response, no suffering feeling, then why, when angry, can it still direct the six consciousnesses to come to blows?

Although these questions are lengthy, the mental consciousness must carefully contemplate and analyze them, thoroughly discerning the meaning within these words. At this stage, there are words, language, and sound images; the mind must repeatedly generate linguistic and textual impressions. After the mental consciousness superficially comprehends the meaning of these words, it must condense this meaning into a single point—formless and imageless—and hand it over to the manas. Then, the mind deeply suspends this formless, imageless meaning. This is the mode of contemplation of the manas: without words, language, or sound; quiet, deep, continuous, day and night, unwavering, never abandoned even in dreams or waking. This is the investigation led by the manas, with the mental consciousness assisting. Earlier, when contemplating and understanding the content of the words and language, it was primarily the mental consciousness, with the manas assisting it. Now, it is the opposite. This is the true method of Chan investigation, the genuine work of inquiry. When conditions ripen, one will inevitably break through the investigation, find the answer, resolve the doubts in the mind, have the doubt-mass fully opened, and achieve realization through Chan investigation.

When the manas investigates the function and nature of the manas, there is also no concept of the manas or oneself; it does not correspond to concepts or words; there is no language or idle talk. It is straightforward, simple, clean, and direct, heading straight to the center and the crucial point. It does not affect eating, drinking, excreting, or urinating; it does not affect walking, standing, sitting, or lying down; it does not affect the normal activities of the five aggregates. There are simply no distracting thoughts, no additional mental preoccupations; it is relatively focused, not scattered in mental application.

This is the manas investigating itself. Investigating the Tathāgatagarbha (Buddha-nature) is also like this; investigating any Dharma principle is the same. No matter how profound the Dharma principle, one must apply effort in this way, must exert oneself thus. The mental consciousness and the manas closely cooperate with each other, with the Tathāgatagarbha serving as the hidden assistant, the nameless supporter, providing all the necessities and sustenance required for the investigation.