A Restful Mind through Chan Practice

In recent years, I’ve been trying to share the bliss of Chan practice to as many as possible worldwide. Why is that? The world today is in chaos and people wish for stability. The simplest method is to bring the mind back to the origin.

One can bring the mind back to the source through Chan practice. We can stabilize our minds from its chaotic and afflictive state. Our minds are too used to run after endless desire. That’s why we are always occupied and tired. Driven by greed, we cannot settle down our minds easily. However, our body and mind prefer serenity. When we are not distracted, our mind doesn’t get exhausted and our body stays healthy. When our mind and body are tired, our health deteriorates. If we are focused enough, our pursuit of desire will fade away. Consequently, our minds will become clear and stable.

We can take a further step to understand the meaning of Chan practice. Through phenomena, we can realize emptiness and that all are devoid of inherent existence. When we analyze and examine, we’d come to the understanding that all phenomena are compounded, fabricated, and of emptiness nature. What does it mean? Does “emptiness” in Buddhism implies that we must give up on everything and stop all sorts of pursuit? That is not true. By understanding emptiness, we are clarifying our pursuits and if they are worthwhile. Or, if our attitude needs a little bit of adjustment. This is the change that’d surely take place after we began practicing Dharma. We’d change the attitude towards our mind and the phenomenal world. We’d keep transforming the links and the cycle among these two. Chan practice allows us to break the links so our minds can rest completely. Consequently, we can return to spirituality, or the source of the mind. Once we do, we’d no longer be occupied by phenomenal matters.