One Cannot Practice Chan by Cultivating Meditative Concentration

To attain enlightenment, see the mind, and realize one's nature, one must use the methods of investigating Chan (canchan), investigating the huatou, and investigating gong'an in order to realize the tathāgatagarbha and awaken to the true suchness mind, the eighth consciousness. What is called "investigating" means using the mind consciousness to investigate the principle of true suchness and to search for the location of the eighth consciousness. Since it is an investigation, the mind consciousness must of course be clear-headed, wise, and understanding of the principles—not muddled or drowsy—and certainly must not disappear into meditative concentration. Only a rational mind consciousness can investigate and search for the eighth consciousness. Without a mind consciousness, or if the mind consciousness is drowsy, one cannot investigate or search; the result will be total ignorance, and one will not achieve the goal of seeing the mind and awakening to the Path.

It is like searching for a person: we must have a mind that seeks, and we must know where to look and how to look. If we do not know where to look or the method of looking, nor what that person looks like, and we do not have a photograph of that person, then no matter what, we will not find that person. It is the same with investigating Chan and searching for the eighth consciousness, true suchness: we must first know the nature of the eighth consciousness, which is equivalent to having a photograph of the eighth consciousness. But merely having a photograph of the eighth consciousness is not enough; you must also know how to search—where does He generally appear? If you do not know any of this, it will be like fishing a needle out of the sea—laboring in vain with nothing to show for it.

In that case, using the method of counting the breath cannot lead to enlightenment, because there is no thought of investigation; using the method of attending to thoughts cannot lead to enlightenment either, because there is no thought of searching for the eighth consciousness; and using the method of sitting in meditation and entering concentration also cannot lead to enlightenment, because the mind consciousness in concentration knows nothing and thus cannot correspond with the eighth consciousness. All of these are methods of cultivating meditative concentration, not methods of investigating Chan. When counting the breath, the attention is on the numbers, not on investigating and searching for the eighth consciousness, so one certainly will not find the eighth consciousness; moreover, if one counts the breath for a long time, one easily becomes drowsy or enters concentration, making it even more impossible to find the eighth consciousness. When attending to thoughts, the mind consciousness is on the thoughts and does not investigate or search for true suchness, so one cannot awaken either. When sitting in meditation and entering concentration, there is no awareness or cognition, no mind of investigation and searching, and no truth can be discovered, nor can one find the true suchness of the eighth consciousness.

None of the above methods of cultivating meditative concentration can be used to investigate Chan and attain realization. The direction is unclear and the method is wrong; with one's mental effort misapplied, the result is predictable—nothing will be gained. If this continues, after practicing for a while one will easily lose confidence and will inevitably regress from the Path. In the process of cultivation, understanding the principles is most important; having wisdom and correct views is most important; one must not practice blindly. A Buddhist practitioner should constantly examine whether his or her method and route of cultivation are correct and whether they can reach the goal. If not, one should adjust one's direction of cultivation at any time and carefully choose a method suited to oneself. Cultivating concentration requires the method of cultivating concentration, and attaining enlightenment requires the method of investigating Chan. One must understand what Chan is, how to investigate it, when to begin investigating, and so on. All of these questions must be clarified, and one must also observe whether one's conditions for investigating Chan are complete; only after striving to perfect all the necessary conditions can one begin to investigate Chan.