If one penetrates to the essence of zuochan that is actually sitting physically in the traditional meditation position of the Caodong Zong, one encounters that strangely there is no difference between this practice and that of the Linji Zong. But that essence must be taught by a master before one enters zuochan or the practitioner will sit for a thousand years without encountering the awakened state.
SILENT TRANSCENDENCE
Hung-chih Cheng-chueh was a student outside the mainstream of the Golden Age, but his ideas sprang from Liang-shan, who was part of that Golden Age five generations before. He was called K'u-mu (dry wood) because when he sat, his body resembled a block of dry wood.
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Hung-chih said, "In this silent sitting, whatever realms may appear, the mind is very clear as to all the details, yet everything is where it originally is, in its own place. The mind stays on one thought for ten thousand years, yet does not dwell on any forms, inside or outside."
In the hands of Hung-chih, this practice evolved into what he called Silent Transcendence. He describes "silent sitting" thus:
"Your body sits silently; your mind, quiescent, unmoving. This is genuine effort in practice. Body and mind are at complete rest. The mouth so still that moss grows around it. Grass sprouts from the tongue.
"Do this without cease, cleansing the mind until it gains the clarity of an autumn pool, bright as the moon illuminating the evening sky."
Another Master, Master Shih-shuang Ch'ing-chu 石霜慶諸 (805-888) lived on a mountain called Shih-shuang for 20 years. He was not directly involved in the development of this zong, but was a great master of that period. His disciples just sat continually, even sleeping in the upright position. They resembled dead tree stumps, for they never seemed to move, so they were called "the dry wood sangha."
Shih-shuang had two famous phrases of advice:
1. "To sit in Chan, fix your mind on one thought for ten thousand years".
2. "Let yourself be like cold ashes, or like dry wood."
This contemplation is called the method of Silent Awakening.
Now, the question is whether this Silent Awakening is indeed the type of practice that Huineng advocated or is it something else.
In evaluating concentration and contemplation practices, Huineng used the phrase chu-hsin kuan-ching, 住心觀 境, or "fixing the mind on one thing and contemplating that state." This is the traditional method of one-pointedness of the ancients and it is a method of Samadhi that is not involved directly with intrinsic Wisdom.
What is that Wisdom that Huineng was talking about?
It is the acquired wisdom of the direct experience of Non-Duality. In the traditional ancient practices, Samadhi was the objective, and a noble one indeed for those who could not go further, for it destroyed the symptoms of Identity. The only problem was that in this state there was a necessity for continued vigilance to prevent the return of Mara. This was one of the important points that brought about the birth of Mahayana, the AVAIVARTIKA approach.
Silent Transcendence is different, for while the mind is still ("sitting" while sitting in silence), it is clear that it has the necessary conditions if correctly practiced to reach the Awakened state.
The meditations of Samadhi are indeed silent but the form of penetration is not illuminating, although it is clear from the Sutras that Buddha himself went beyond the Samadhi experience before he began teaching.
In Silent Illumination there appears to be no abiding (chu), that is, nothing to dwell on, no place to dwell in. That is correct, inasmuch as the mind is not influenced by external stimulation or internal mental activity.
But the mind is fixed in a state of míng, 明, which signifies "to understand"/"clear"/"bright", and the meditator is continually attending to this míng. This míng is not a physical phenomenon of brightness or a mental understanding. It is a clear understanding beyond words. But do not confuse this experience with Awakening or Illumination.
While in Mo-chao Chan there are no thoughts, no sensations or discriminations, and no distraction by external events. But the mind is not empty; it is clear, aware. The mò, 默, mental silence, the non-moving state of the mind is there, but the chāo, 超, must also be present.
What is this chāo, 超, exactly?
The word means "to exceed/overtake/surpass/transcend/ultra-/super-/to pass/to cross." It is to be in a state of a silence that transcends that silence. But do not confuse that state with either Awakening or Illumination.
Hung-chih explained clearly that while there is no mental activity of thoughts and reactions to sensation, discrimination, and perception, you are conscious that something is happening. Be clear about this. If your mind is unknowing about its own state or if it is empty and grooving on tranquility, this is Chan sickness, not Chan.
So in this state, the mind is perceiving everything but perceiving no element in particular. The panorama is transparent in the background.
At this stage, the mind is prepared to pass through where there is no name and form. But with only this míng, 明, present, the question is if the Awakening is really encountered or is the mind entrenched in that silent state which is transformed into a false brightness which can be called mistakenly Awakening.
THE CAODONG ZONG AND MODERN ZAZEN
In the Soto systems, zazen, called shikantaza, is similar to this Silent Transcendence was introduced by Master Dogen (1200-1252) into Japan.
In the book Fukanzazenji, "The principles of Zazen for everyone", he declared correctly, "You should therefore cease from practice based on intellectual understanding, pursuing words and following after speech, and learn the backward step that turns your light inwardly to illuminate yourself. Body and mind of themselves will drop away, and your original face will manifest."
His idea, shikantaza, which has become the Zazen of today, is to "just sit", without thoughts in the mind. So, for Zazen participants the trust is that when thoughts are abandoned, it becomes possible for the mind to be clear and prepared to transcend. But the question is whether the conditions are complete for encountering the Awakening in this reduced form of Silent Transcendence.