Essential Zen Practices Before Enlightenment (March 30, 2025)

Shi Ruyuan: I am grateful for the master's blessings over these days, which have allowed me to remain in samadhi whether walking, standing, sitting, or lying down. On the first night after meeting the master, during meditation, an inconceivable phenomenon occurred in samadhi. As soon as I sat down to meditate, my head suddenly felt a loud "boom," as if a large mass of energy had been expelled. My mind felt empty, as if something had struck my head fiercely, causing me to be shaken out of samadhi. On the second and third days, my body remained immobile in samadhi, unable to exit. On the third night, I was so excited that I couldn’t sleep, and I began to worry: if this continued for the next few days, what would I become? During these days, my inner thighs also became sore and swollen, my eyes could barely open, and though I wanted to get up and walk, I couldn’t move. When I stood up, I felt unsteady, as if I might fall, as though my cerebellum had lost its balancing function.

On the fourth day, I felt slightly better and was able to move, and my legs were no longer sore or swollen. Around eleven o’clock at night, while in samadhi, a powerful stream of energy rushed out from my nostrils, shaking me out of samadhi. At that moment, I sat still to calm myself, recalling the master’s teaching not to just sit but to engage in appropriate activities, practice walking meditation, and contemplate the tathagatagarbha in the midst of experiences. So I got up to walk while contemplating, and as I visualized that all dharmas born from the tathagatagarbha are illusory, in an instant, I felt the Dharma meanings swirling ceaselessly in my mind. I wanted to exit samadhi, but my body and mind were beyond my control. I could not perceive the six external dust realms; only the sound of the Buddha’s name kept rotating and playing in my mind. Such profound resonance and realization truly cannot be expressed in words; they can only be experienced or understood in deep samadhi—shallow samadhi cannot perceive them.

The above are the resonances and realizations I experienced over the past few days. Now I have recovered, feeling light and at ease in body and mind, able to contemplate the Dharma meanings normally. The doubts or answers that arise in my mind are becoming increasingly clear. Even when going to the restroom, doubts arise uninterruptedly: Who is dragging this wooden-like five-aggregate body of mine to the restroom? How does this force function and manifest its wondrous effects within the physical shells of sentient beings? While eating or drinking, I involuntarily ask: Who is holding and enabling these five-aggregate activities—raising hands, lifting feet, dressing, eating, drinking, holding bowls, and using chopsticks?

Comment: Shi Ruyuan’s spontaneously arising doubt is very powerful. If a bodhisattva’s conditions are fully met, investigating it requires no effort at all—it’s like a thin layer of paper. If the manas can continuously hang onto this doubt, the kung fu of Chan meditation would be no less than that of many Chan masters during the Tang and Song dynasties. Because before realization, the kung fu of Chan meditation is the same regardless of the era—there are no updates, no changes, nor can the standard or level be lowered. The only difference is that Shi Ruyuan has learned too much about the tathagatagarbha Dharma from me, and it’s too straightforward, so she doesn’t need to spend much effort organizing and systematizing it. She relies more on external forces, while her self-power appears very insufficient. In contrast, ancient Chan masters learned relatively rough prajna principles, far less numerous and detailed, so they had to investigate more diligently, relying more on self-power, and their wisdom was developed deeply and subtly. Being too explicit is not conducive to a disciple’s Chan meditation; it easily leads to intellectual understanding, affecting the disciple’s path and the arising of wisdom.

Shi Ruyuan first said: "Visualizing that all dharmas born from the tathagatagarbha are illusory." This is learned language, external speech—it does not count as visualization or investigation; it belongs to thinking, reasoning, and understanding within samadhi. Without realizing the tathagatagarbha, it’s impossible to know how the tathagatagarbha gives birth to all dharmas, nor can one know specifically how all dharmas are illusory. There is no evidence to support such a statement. This is called "mistaking the effect for the cause," or conjecture, which results from not using the manas to hang the doubt. However, because Shi Ruyuan’s samadhi is deep, her understanding of the Dharma also greatly impacts her manas. Those without samadhi, even if they understand correctly, experience little inner fluctuation—let alone any profound impact.

The doubt that arose later in Shi Ruyuan is like a thin layer of paper—easily pierced—directly pointing to the central point, the target of realization, that never-fading moon. This entirely relies on her samadhi kung fu, which is continuous and unbreakable. Not even demons can interfere, and no one can interrupt it. Therefore, at this time, she did not use the conscious mind to resolve the doubt through reasoning, guessing, conjecture, or analysis. If she had used the conscious mind, she might have resolved it effortlessly, breaking the conscious doubt, but the manas’ doubt would remain unbroken.

Precisely because Shi Ruyuan did not use the conscious mind to resolve the doubt but relied solely on the manas to investigate honestly, the doubt—which seems as thin as a paper window to an enlightened person—remains impenetrable to her. This is solely because her wisdom is insufficient, and she is too honest, cutting no corners. In such deep and continuous kung fu, it’s hard to cut corners. When the manas itself is heavy with doubt, it generally doesn’t give the conscious mind a chance to resolve it.

Therefore, as long as the kung fu is deep and the manas’ doubt is strong, even if the Dharma meanings are explained too plainly, one can avoid intellectual understanding. Even if the esoteric meaning is explicitly revealed, because doubt remains, the manas will still investigate, prove, and realize it, not allowing the conscious mind to merely believe or understand. In this way, as long as the kung fu is sufficient and the manas harbors doubt, previous intellectual understanding can transform into realization. What was once clear and obvious Buddhism becomes a proof question—knowing the answer but requiring a process of seeking the solution. In the genuine process of investigation, the bodhisattva nature matures, giving rise to the merit and wisdom of the path of insight.

Inadvertently, Shi Ruyuan’s account clearly reveals the method and process of Chan meditation kung fu, pointing plainly to the target of Chan investigation—almost explicitly, with the finger pointing directly at the moon. Yet even so, for many people, it remains useless; they cannot grasp it. Why? Because they do not cultivate blessings, their merit is severely insufficient, their samadhi kung fu is inadequate, and even conscious guessing is difficult. Even if they guess correctly, it’s inaccurate and has no effect on their body or mind—afflictions remain afflictions.

Most importantly, they lack the renunciation mind of the Hinayana and cannot generate the bodhi-mind of the Mahayana. For them, the practice and realization of Buddhism is only a small part of life; many worldly matters still occupy important positions. If the manas does not value practice, how can kung fu be achieved? Each person practices and receives their own results; no one can substitute for another. Therefore, explicitly stating the final outcome of Chan meditation is of no help to others—even intellectual understanding is not easy, let alone realization.