The stages of searching
Zen - in Chinese, Ch'an, in Sanskrit Dhyãna, in English meditation, and
now the trendy term Yoga - this word has caused a lot of confusion among people. This is a realm of
experience that so many people aspire to! But in the whole world there is almost no one who can explain what this ancient
practice really is.
The source of all this confusion about Zen lies in facile formulas like "Zen is the
original face of life" and "Zen is the direct route to the home of life." Most people are like lost sheep in
the wilderness. Under pressure from their awareness of life, how could they not feel an ardent desire and hope to return to
this home of life?
Both this definition of Zen come from the special character of Mahayana meditation methods in
China, and especially the fundamental spirit of Huayen meditation. Materials related to this ... belong within the scope of
the Huayen Sutra and Huayen thought.1
Introduction: Guidelines for Huayen Meditation Methods
In order
to introduce the Huayen approach and clarify its principles, here is a brief account of the major stages in traveling the
path of Huayen meditation.
The basis of worldly virtue is psychological
health and complete character development.
Non-Buddhist meditation takes
worldly virtue as its basis. This is called sharing in worldly virtue.*
the practical methods of the Two Vehicles take non-Buddhist meditation as their basis. This is called sharing
non-Buddhist meditation methods.†
The practical methods
of the Mahayana take the meditation methods of the Two Vehicles as their basis. This is called sharing the meditation
methods of the Two Vehicles.‡
The methods of Huayen meditation
take the meditation methods of the Mahayana as their basis. This is called sharing the meditation methods of the Mahayana.
The special features of the Huayen meditation methods like in the followings: It includes the
virtues of the Mahayana and the Lesser Vehicles, and the virtues of the non-Buddhists, and the worldly virtues.
Huayen meditation has some unique methods which it does not share with any other traditions. These are called
the practical methods of the One Vehicle which are specific and complete and not shared with other traditions.
These six great stages give a general blueprint of all forms of practice, and also give an essential
summary of guidelines for the practical methods of Huayen meditation.2
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*"Worldly virtue" means what is defined as good according to conventional social morality.
†"Non-Buddhist meditation methods," literally, of the "outside paths," in which
meditation and other practices are seen as a means to acquire special powers beyond the range of ordinary people.
‡The term "Two Vehicles" refers to two approaches to Buddhism considered as deficient in
Mahayana: the vehicle of the literalist disciples, the sravakas, who seek nirvana outside the world, and the vehicle
of those seeking their own solitary illumination, the pratyekas.
1. Excerpt from J. C. Cleary's translation of Haiyun Jimeng's Huayen Meditation Methods, Part II of
Jimeng, Haiyun. Huayen World Teachings and Meditation Methods in Mahayana Buddhism. Taipei: Kongting Shuyuan Publishing
Co., 2005. p. 72
2. ibid., pp. 63-4
This book contains the guidelines for Huayen meditation methods and three sections describing the three
stages in the development of the practice of Huayen Chan. These stages are firstly, the stage of searching, secondly,
the stage of correct practice, and thirdly, the stage of wondrous practice.
