Shattering the Great Doubt: The Chan Practice of Huatou - Softcover

Yen, Chan Master Sheng

Softcover

ISBN 10: 159030621X ISBN 13: 9781590306215

Publisher: Shambhala, 2009

Synopsis

Huatou is a skillful method for breaking through the prison of mental habits into the spacious mind of enlightenment. The huatou is a confounding question much like a Zen koan. Typical ones are "What is wu [nothingness]?" or "What was my original face before birth-and-death?" But a huatou is unlike a koan in that the aim is not to come up with an answer. The practice is simple: ask yourself your huatou relentlessly, in meditation as well as in every other activity. Don't give up on it; don't try to think your way to an answer. Resolve to live with the sensation of doubt that arises, and it will pervade your entire existence with a sense of profound wonder, ultimately leading to the shattering of the sense of an independent self.

Master Sheng Yen brings the traditional practice to life in this practical guide based on talks he gave during a series of huatou retreats. He teaches the method in detail, giving advice for dealing with the typical pitfalls and problems that arise, and answering retreat participants' questions as they experience the practice themselves. He then offers commentary on four classic huatou texts, grounding his instructions in the teaching of the great Chan masters.

About this title

About the Author:

Chan Master Sheng Yen (1930–2009) was a widely respected Taiwanese Chan (Chinese Zen) master who taught extensively in the West during the last thirty-one y ears of his life, with twenty-one centers throughout North America, as well as dozens of others throughout the world. He has co-led retreats with the Dalai Lama, and he is the author of numerous books in Chinese and English, including Song of Mind, The Method of No-Method, and his autobiography, Footprints in the Snow.

Review:

“Master Sheng Yen is a true spiritual practitioner of deep and broad learning.”—H. H. the Dalai Lama
“Master Sheng Yen has the truly rare ability to harmonize classical teaching with actual meditation practice.”—Larry Rosenberg, author of Breath by Breath

About this edition

• Publisher: Shambhala
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 159030621X
• ISBN 13: 9781590306215
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 208