Meditation and Mind Regulation

A beginner practitioner’s mind is unsettled and confounded.

Thanks to the ancient practices of Chih-Kuan, one can regain control of his or her mind with much more success.

The first approach, called Chih (stopping), includes three distinct components:

1.

Fixing your attention on a single spot (the tip of your nose or navel).

2.

Restraining the wondering mind through observation as it strays.

3.

Understanding the importance of understanding. According to the sutra, causes that give rise to all phenomena are empty and ownerless. All dharmas (things) stem from the mind and they are devoid of a separate self. By understanding this, our minds stop grasping things.

The second approach, called Kuan, entails the following:

1.

Perceiving all things as illusions. If you find yourself caught up in anger, you should find a way to express compassion. By opposing our ego’s concerns we remind ourselves of the illusory nature of all phenomena. The sole purpose of this strategy is to put a halt to discriminatory thoughts.

2.

Realizing that all worldly causes have no inherent nature. This leads to an understanding that the contemplated objects are unreal which then prevents the mind that contemplates them from arising.

Let us briefly recapitulate what we have learned thus far about the Chih-Kuan Dharma Gate.

The Chih relates to stopping the misleading activity of the mind. This can be done by fixing the mind on a single point to keep it from straying.

After you have managed to restrain the wandering of the mind, you are free to look within and examine your thoughts.

Then and there, you realize that, for the most part, your thoughts arise almost randomly.

You realize that most of your thoughts are the product of the false mind which is devoid of reality.

The Kuan relates to the sinking of the mind which can be experienced as drowsiness.

The Kuan teaches us to combat the sinking of the mind by closing our eyes and looking inward.

Traditionally, there are three types of Kuan:

Contemplation of the Void

Looking into all things in this universe and coming to a conclusion that they are all non-existent and void.

Contemplation of the Unreal

Looking into your mind and realizing that all thoughts have their objects. It boils down to understanding that all natural phenomena come to life due to a union of various inner causes and external circumstances.

Contemplation of the Mean

After you have mastered both the contemplation of the void and the contemplation of the unreal, understand that you should not be clinging to either of the two. Once you realize that, your mind will enter the stage known as the contemplation of the mean.