2. ZUOCHAN 坐禪

 ZUOCHAN (tso-ch'an) of the "Inner Paths" 内道禪

 and "Outer Paths" 外道禪

The sudden contemplations are not easy to perform or understand. But it is clear that these three forms of Chan contemplation are not meant for all; each one is chosen on the basis of the person's ability to do it.

1. East Mountain Sitting Chan

2. Caodong Sitting Chan

3. Non-sitting Sitting Chan

The Fourth Patriarch Tao-hsin, 道信（580-651）

 Ju-tao anhsin yao fang-pien men, 入道安心要方便 門

Methods for Entering the Path and Calming the Mind

Note here that we speak of ENTERING THE PATH. It is the portal to Chan Contemplation, but it is not Chan Contemplation itself.

His references are from the Chan foundation text, the Lankavatara Sutra, and also from the Prajna Sutra Spoken by Manjushri, the Wen-shu shuo po-jo ching, 文殊說般若經.  

The Manjusri Sutra says, "He should contemplate the five skandhas as originally empty and quiescent, non-arising, non-perishing, equal, without differentiation. Constantly thus practicing, day or night, whether one is sitting, walking, standing or lying down, finally one can reach an inconceivable state without any obstruction or form."

This is clearly a basic preparation and was the same as that proposed by Buddha, practised by his disciples and converted later into the Shiné preparation of the Tibetan systems. When it is performed correctly, and unfortunately it seldom is explained, particularly in the first stages.

The Fourth Patriarch here is describing the elementary practice using the simple and basic methods used by Indian Theravada Concentration.

But this is just an elementary preparation to allow the cognitive mind to be calm and see the vacuity of the Identity interpretations and experiences of the Skandhas and the presence of the visceral, emotional and cognitive identities at each level.

As he advances the student will see that he is not limited to this sitting for Samadhi, but it can for many students who are capable and have the correct chracteristics open the door to both Chan and Mahamudra Contemplations.

Look at this extract from work of the so-called fifth Patriarch, Hung-jen (602-675), the Hsiu-hsing Yao Lun, 修行要論 The Essentials of Cultivation, quoting from the I-chiao ching, 遺教經, the Sutra of the Buddha's Last Bequest:

"When the mind is placed at one point, there is nothing that cannot be attained."

But do not be confused here, for the one-pointedness refered to is not the one-pointedness of Concentration, the Samadhi of zuochan, sitting meditation, but zuochan, the Chan Sitting Contemplation of one's original mind, called the Primordial State. 

The understanding of the word "zuochan" is further complicated by Huineng's very special interpretation.

For him, when there was no mind, or no thoughts arising, that was "zuochan, a sitting mind". Do you see his reasoning there? He also considered that when internally in one's self-nature there is no movement of the mind that was "Chan".

This is different from the sitting zuochan of the Indians and modern Theravada meditation, including Vipassana and the Chan Sitting Contemplation of Bodhidharma.

Old School Fundamentals of zuochan

Techniques of samatha-vipasyana, which are methods for attaining  samadhi through:

1. Regulating one's body

2.  Regulating one's breathing

3. Regulating one's mind.

Regulating the Body by Sitting

The Vairocana Seven-Points of Sitting, 毘盧遮那 七支坐法

The Lotus and Half Lotus 

Sit on the floor with legs crossed either in the Full Lotus or Half Lotus position. Other positions are less effective but functional and each person must adapt his potential to sit in the best manner posible considering his age or physical difficulties.

To make the Full Lotus, put the one foot on the opposite thigh, then cross the other foot onto the remaining thigh. In the Half Lotus one foot is crossed over onto the thigh of the other and the other foot is placed underneath the raised leg.

The Burmese position is also acceptable, in which one foot is crossed over onto the calf, not the thigh, of the other leg. 

One can also kneel with an appropiate stool supporting the buttocks or do so without the stool. 

Meditation cushions and a meditation mat are also completely acceptable as they do help to maintain an erect spine, which is important for both correct natural breathing and the movement of the subtle maintaining energy of the system through the body.

The Spine

The spine must be upright and vertical without inclination to left or right. and the chin must be tucked in a little bit. An upright spine also means that it must be vertical. (A good practice is to rock the body to left and right like a pendulum gradually reaching the center.)

The Hands

The hands form a Dharma Realm Samadhi Mudra, 法界定印. The open right palm is placed underneath, and the open left palm is rested in the right palm. The thumbs lightly touch to form a closed  oval. The hands are placed in front of the abdomen, almost but not touching, and rest on the legs.

There are alternative positions for the hands, but this and the open hands placed upon the knees, signifying that the meditation is open for the benefit of all sentient creatures, are recommended.

        The Shoulders

The shoulders must be relaxed and not at all rigid or tense, but pulled lightly backwards to avoid a slump and the constriction of the lungs.

      The Tongue

The tip of the tongue should be lightly touching the palate of the mouth just behind the front teeth, with a light pressure applied without mental or physical energy applied. Let it be a natural thing.

The Mouth

The mouth must always be closed. At all times breathe through the nose, not through the mouth.

        The Eyes

The eyes should be slightly open, not almost shut. There is a subtle difference here and they should be gazing downward at a forty-five degree angle. Do not try and penetrate any object, just relax and allow the eyes to rest lightly like a butterfly.

         Regulation of the Breath

Regulation the breath is important and is not difficult. One should breathe naturally and develop better natural breathing habits in separate exercises.

There are then the preparation exercises, which we speak of as Preparation Meditation, where it is possible to enter the path of Chan contemplation or other Buddha Dharma meditations. Then there are the three legitimate Chan Contemplation methods: 

1. East Mountain Sitting Chan

2. Caodong Sitting Chan

3. Non-sitting Sitting Chan

The zuochan of "outer Paths" 外道禪

These outer paths include the East Mountain Sitting Chan.

The zuochan of "inner Paths" 外道禪

These consist in the Caodong Sitting Chan and the Non-sitting Sitting Chan.

Liusu t'an ching, 六祖壇經, The Platform Sutra, attributed to Huineng, 惠能

Here Hui-neng says that if one were to stay free from attachment to any mental or physical realms, and to think of neither good nor evil, that is, refrain from discriminating, then neither thought nor mind will arise. 

This would be the true "sitting" of Chan. Here, "sitting" is not limited to mere physical sitting. It refers to any practice where the mind is not influenced, disturbed, or distracted by anything arising either internally or from the external environment.