In our daily lives, we can start our practice with walking meditation. While walking, we slowly, slowly develop clear awareness, and out of that awareness we discover our awakened nature. Clear awareness allows us to see our awakened nature, and through our awakened nature we enter into the Dharma World, the universe. This mind of ours is the key-- the key to enter into the universe. This will reveal itself only if we really want to open it up completely. If we do not even undertake the attempt, we will not receive anything.

It does not matter whether we are walking or standing still-- the same principle of awareness applies to walking, standing, sitting and lying down. Of course, seated meditation is an important practice in addition to walking meditation. It does not matter whether you sit 15 minutes or 50 minutes. Just try to slowly develop the habit of sitting in the morning and in the evening, whether it is 15 minutes or half an hour. You will slowly start getting used to it, and once you have developed this habit, you will enjoy meditating mornings and evenings.

The practice of Chan is like the process of water being purified. Our ordinary mind is like a torrent of muddy water. When we let that which is agitated settle down, the muddy water becomes clear and transparent. And at that point, we can illuminate things and see them with great clarity. The goal of Chan meditation is to let the sediments, those messy things in our lives, settle down, and to slowly, slowly allow the light of our enlightened nature to fully emerge. Chan is not about getting anything-- it is only about settling down and then radiating light. It is such a natural thing.

Somebody once asked me if Chan meditation is the only way to enlightenment, or whether there are other ways. Actually, there is a foundation for enlightenment. Sometimes during our practice we meditate on or recite the name of the Buddha Amitabha, but no matter what form of practice it is, we need to concentrate, that is, to be singleminded in concentration. When we continue to singlemindedly concentrate on Amitabha, reciting his name over and over, our thoughts become stilled and purified in the process, in the same way in which water becomes settled and clear. What does settling down depend on? It depends on stillness.

Chan meditation is a way of settling down. It is the same with reciting the name of the Buddha Amitabha singlemindedly. As we keep reciting the name, our confused thoughts become settled. Our confused thoughts are agitated and messy things. Singlemindedly reciting the name of Amitabha is like water flowing drop by drop-- word by word, drop by drop, word by word, bringing out the sound of silence. Amitabha Buddha, recited repeatedly, can be likened to those drops of water that slowly, slowly, from a state of movement, produce a state of stillness. It is that state of stillness which lets the light of our heart shine.

It is also like that with saying mantras. We keep saying the mantra over and over until the waves no longer arise, until they neither arise nor recede, but become as calm as the ocean-- until our mind becomes as calm as the ocean. In this way, the mind will let its light shine-- a very still light. What can we call this? We can call this the grounding for a peaceful life.

Dharma Master Hsin Tao
(Translated by Maria Reis Habito)

禪 生命的寧靜平台

現代人的生活充斥著爆炸的資訊，打開電視、電腦、報紙，都是刺激我們感官的各種訊息。人們不出門，坐在家中，光看這些東西都會得憂鬱症。我們如何能夠過一個寧靜的生活？這是許多人的渴望，這也正是佛法能夠提供給現代人最好的平台。

例如說生活當中，我們可以從行禪開始練習，在行走當中慢慢觀照出我們的覺知，從覺知裡面發現覺性，從覺知去看到覺性，從覺性進入法界、宇宙。這個心是一把鑰匙，進入宇宙的一把鑰匙，我們要開它，才會呈現，我們如果沒有去做嚐試，什麼就沒有辦法得到。

我們不管走也好、站也好，行住坐臥都是在這樣的方法裡面，當然除了行禪之外，打坐也是個重要的方法，一天十五分鐘、五分鐘都沒關係，慢慢養成早晚打坐的習慣，十五分鐘、半個小時都沒關係，慢慢就會習慣，慣性一養成，就會喜歡上打坐。

因為禪修就是像水的沉澱過程，平常的心就像渾水，如果我們把動的靜下來的時候，渾水就會變澄清，我們就可以照明很多的東西，我們可以看得很清楚。打坐的目的就是沉澱那些很雜亂的東西，從雜亂裡慢慢慢慢，慢慢讓我們的光明能夠呈現出來，並不是要去抓取什麼，就只是沉澱，然後顯現光明而已，所以它是那麼自然的東西。

有人曾問說開悟唯一的路是一定要坐禪嗎？還是有其他的路？其實開悟要有一個基礎。我們修行有的時候是念佛法門，念阿彌陀佛，但是還是要專一，做專一的事情，專一阿彌陀佛、阿彌陀佛，念念念到最後的時候，就把這個心念平了、念淨了，就是像水一樣，也沉澱下來了，它是靠什麼？也是靠寧靜去沉澱的。

坐禪是一種沉澱，念佛也是一樣，念佛，念念念念它就沉澱了我們的妄念，妄念是動亂的東西，而念佛就像水滴一樣，一句一句的滴、一句一句的敲出寧靜的聲音，答！答！答！阿彌陀佛，就像水滴一樣這樣子，慢慢這個從動中產生一個靜態，所以在靜態裡面讓我們的心明亮起來了。

念咒也是這樣子，念念念念念到這個浪不起、波不生，浪波都不生起，然後平靜如海，心平靜如海，一樣就是呈現光明、很靜的光明，這叫做什麼呢？就是寧靜的平台。

─── 心道法師