#huatou

The longer I consciously walk the spiritual path, the more appreciation I gain for the Zen tenet of “great doubt.” Fixed views, which can also be called conceptions, are at the root of all suffering. Only in forgoing conceptions can we (literally) enter into the unknown.

One of the books I got in the mail today

This method is not meant for you to think about the meaning of a kung-an as if the kung-an were a question for intellectual solution. Speaking of the hua-t’ou method, [Dahui Zonggao] taught his disciples to kill the “sneaky mind” with a cold-blooded hand. According to him, the first principle of Ch’an practice is to empty one’s mind. One must first paste the two words “life-death” on the forehead, and regard them as seriously as if one owed a debt of a million taels. In day or night, while drinking or eating, traveling or staying at home, sitting or lying, entertaining friends, in a quiet moment or at a noisy hour, you must hold on to the hua-t’ou.

Sheng Yen, Shattering the Great Doubt