Why do we practice Chan? The practice
of Chan is like a bridge that connects us with our essential
nature, which is totally empty. If we connect well and become
one with emptiness, we are liberated, free, no longer subject
to life in Samsara. If we can live our daily life from the heart
of emptiness, we are no longer caught in the cycle of birth
and death. If therefore we want to cut off our karmic link to
Samsara, we need to apply ourselves to our practice of Chan.
If we are able to really concentrate on listening to silence
for one day, two days, three days – up to seven days, without
being dispersed or distracted, we can become completely one
with emptiness, with the sound of no sound.
Spiritual practice is to step out of the cycle of arising
and decaying, birth and death, which is full of impermanence
and suffering. Now we are learning the method to do so – there
is a gate of emptiness that we can step through. What is this
gate of emptiness? It is our practice – the Chan of inner
peace; listening to the sound of no sound. If we keep practicing
it well, we will get a good sense and clear direction to follow.
This world is created by mind and appears in our consciousness.
It is a world that we are creating and reflecting all together.
Those who do good create heaven, and those who do harmful
things create hell. The appearance of the three good and the
three bad realms of rebirth (namely, the 6 realms of heavenly
beings, humans, titans, animals, hungry ghosts and hell dwellers)
is caused by us. The decision whether we want to go to the
good or the bad realms is completely up to us.
I want all of you to practice Chan well, because I want you
to arrive at the Right View of things, so that you don’t take
the wrong path in life and thereby regret it later. Even though
we may be under the impression that we are walking straight
on the path of the Bodhisattva, grounding our heart in reality
and increasing good deeds and seeds all begin with the realization
gained through our Chan practice. It is the degree of our
groundedness that lets us be planted on the path of the Bodhisattva.
Dharma Master Hsin Tao
(Translated by Maria Reis Habito)
禪修 與空性相應入空門
為什麼要禪修？禪修就是一個橋樑，透過橋樑與我們的空性接軌，如果我們跟空性合得很好，也就解脫了、自在了，不生滅了，如果我們以空性之心運用在生活上，也就不會與輪迴相應，所以我們與輪迴之間的絕緣體就是要好好用功在禪修上。若一日，若二日，若三日，乃至七日能夠一心不散亂的專注在聆聽上，就能與空相應，相應於無聲之聲。
修行，就是出離輪迴，因為生死輪迴很苦，而我們現在學習了方法，有一個空門可以出！空門是什麼呢？我們所學習的平安禪--聆聽無聲之聲就是空門，一直做下去，就有訊息跟線索。
這個世界是唯心所造、唯識所顯，是我們共同顯現出來與映照出來的世界，作善的人造了天堂，作惡的人造了地獄，也就是三惡道與三善道的顯現，所以我們想去三惡道還是去三善道，就由我們自己決定。
要大家好好禪修，就是要啟發大家到一個正確的知見，才不會後悔自己這一生所走的路。雖然菩薩道看起來像是一直在做事，但增長的善業與種子，讓自己的內心覺得相當的踏實，這也就必須要從禪修的修證上下功夫，那樣的踏實度才能在菩薩道裡生根。
─── 心道法師
