From Swampland Flowers, Dahui's letter entitled Meditation:
Both torpor and excitation were condemned by the former sages. When you’re sitting quietly, as soon as you feel the presence of either of these two diseases, just bring up the saying, “A dog has no Buddha-nature.” Don’t exert effort to push away these two kinds of disease—just be peaceful and still right there. Over a long time, as you become aware of saving power, this is the place where you gain power. Nor do you have to engage in quiet meditation—this itself is meditation.
This is a practice he's prescribing to someone. It's a method of controlling mind. Meditation is not a "prayer" or a "religious practice." It's a means of cleansing awareness and dismantling conditioning. It's an exercise of saving power and gaining power. It's being peaceful and still. It is practiced over a long time.
Sounds pretty clearly defined to me.
Hongzhi defined it with a little more color:
The practice of true reality is simply to sit serenely in silent introspection. When you have fathomed this you cannot be turned around by external causes and conditions. This empty, wide open mind is subtly and correctly illuminating. Spacious and content, without confusion from inner thoughts of grasping, effectively overcome habitual behavior and realize the self that is not possessed by emotions.
Sit serenely in silent introspection. Overcome habitual behavior. Why do you think this scares some people? Why are they so opposed to it? My theory is that they can't do what Dahui and Hongzhi are talking about. They have tried and failed and given up in frustration, so they pretend "meditation" is some vague concept that has no meaning because they don't know how to talk about it.
Submitted February 20, 2023 at 12:56PM by patchrobe https://ift.tt/TGtm5c3
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