"Chan is the practise of liviing wisely and experiencing
a blissful life."
"Chan is not the same as knowledge, yet knowledge is not
completely apart from Chan. Chan is not just religion, yet the
achievements of religion can be reached through Chan. Chan is
not philosophy, yet philosophy can in no way exceed the scope
of Chan. Chan is not science, yet spirit of emphasising reality
and experience is also required in Chan."
- Ven Sheng Yen
Chan is everywhere, in space without limit and time without
end.
Chan exists universally and eternally. There is no need for any
teacher to transmit it; what is transmitted is just the method
by which one can personally experience Chan. In China, the Chan
school developed from Indian Dhyana Buddhism, which taught methods
of meditative concentration aimed at the attainment of an absorbed,
concentrated state of mind. This school later spread to other
countries from China, and is called Zen in Japan, Son in Korea,
and Thien in Vietnam.
Chan starts with gaining through knowledge of one's own self.
Through letting go of all attachments and giving rise to wisdom,
our mind can regain its luminosity. We call this knowledge of
the notion of self "enlightenment" or "seeing one's
self-nature." This is the beginning of helping yourself to
thoroughly solve real problems. In the end, you will discover
that you as an individual, together with whole of existence, are
but one indivisible totality.
Chan encompasses four key elements: faith, understanding, practise,
and realisation. Faith belongs to the realm of religion, understanding
is philosophical, practise is belief put into action, and realisation
is enlightenment. Without faith, we cannot understand; without
understanding, we cannot practise; and without practise, we cannot
realise enlightenment. Together, these four concepts create a
doorway we enter to attain wisdom.
