Introduction
Chan Master Ben Huan (left in photo) is arguably China’s most influential Chan master of the mid- and late- 20th century, following his masters, Hsu Yun and Lai Guo. Hsu Yun established the groundwork for the resurgence of Chan following the Cultural Revolution by forging favorable relations between Buddhism and the government, revitalizing numerous temples, and lighting a fire that rekindled Chan training in the country. Two of Hsu Yun’s disciples, Jy Din (right in photo) and Ben Huan, both continued working toward Hsu Yun’s vision of spreading Chan. Master Jy Din built Hsu Yun temple in Hawaii (prior to Hawaii becoming a state), which now serves a largely ethnic congregation of Chinese immigrants and their descendants. On the outskirts of Hong Kong in the city of Shen Zhen, Master Ben Huan built Hong Fa temple, which is now one of Southern China’s largest Chan temple complexes. It’s home to monks from around the country, hosts Chan training retreats, ordination ceremonies, and provides numerous community services throughout the year.
I met Abbot Ben Huan at Hong Fa teimple in 1998 when he was 92. He would continue as Abbot until near his death in April, 2012. His legacy reaches beyond the temple he’s credited with establishing. His enthusiasm for Chan not only shaped the temple’s guiding principles as a refuge for people seeking the Dharma, but many of his frequent Dharma talks, eagerly attended, were recorded, and later transcribed and translated, spreading his insights and guidance throughout the country and beyond.
Before we delve into his teachings, it’s helpful to recognize that his talks were addressed largely to monastics and lay people who already had a keen interest in Chan and understood the basics of Buddhist asceticism. His Chan retreats were full-emersion experiences, with congregants living as monks in a temple for a week or more, sleeping for only a few hours each night and spending long days in the meditation hall. Many of the prerequisites for Chan training were thus already satisfied—his congregation was adequately motivated and disciplined to be able to sit daily for many hours and live, at least temporarily, as ascetics.
Considering he was a disciple of Hsu Yun (Ben Huan claims himself the 44th Dharma generation), it’s not surprising that his favorite training technique was the hua-tou, a technique explained in depth elsewhere on this website. He emphasized, however, that the hua-tou, alone, was insufficient for success with Chan. To achieve enlightenment, the hua-tou must be approached with right effort and great doubt, both of which must be inspired by a battle with life and death. It’s worth examining the concepts of enlightenment, life-and-death, and great doubt in advance of exploring Ben Huan’s teachings, as they are recurring themes and may be misunderstood by Westerners unfamiliar with their Buddhist cultural and religious context.
Enlightenment: Ben Huan describes enlightenment as coming to see our True Essence or Dharma Nature (法性 – Fa Xing), the fundamental aspect of who we are, which is devoid of ego. Enlightenment is like waking up out of a dream: awareness becomes expansive and unbounded by a sense of personal identity.
Life-and-death: Although “life-and-death” was a central theme in Ben Huan’s teachings, life-and-death has been a central theme in Buddhism from its inception. It’s said that before spiritual awakening, we live in samsara’s realm of life-and-death, a realm of suffering which is ruled over by the ego. Life-and-death is synonymous with the idea of creation and destruction, gain and loss, and the emotional/psychological turmoil that accompanies them. Once we’re able to break through the ego’s controlling domain, we recognize that it alone is responsible for our multitude of miseries in this realm of samsara. When the ego-self is transcended, there is no longer meaning to the idea of its death or its life because it’s recognized to be an illusion, like a shadow, and an illusion is transient and ephemeral. It can neither live nor die. This shift in cognition changes everything. It eliminates myriad forms of suffering we endure from the ego’s control over us us.
Great doubt: In the West, the notion of doubt is often used in a different context from that used by Ben Huan. When we say, “I doubt it.”, what we mean is that we disbelieve it or that we question the validity of it. That is, doubt puts us on one side or another of a belief about something. In Buddhism, however, when we talk about great doubt (疑情 Yi Qing), we are talking about, in Ben Huan’s words, “not accepting things as they are.” Great doubt means questioning the reality of everything and not being slaves to our habitual ways of seeing and interpreting the world. Great doubt works toward breaking psychological bonds that have been forged by our beliefs, opinions, and attitudes. Broadly, it helps decompose our fabricated sense of personal identity. Breaking out of our personal reality bubble is extremely difficult and takes extraordinary effort. It’s only through intense focus on great doubt that we can hope to expand our consciousness beyond that bubble, resulting in what Ben Huan calls wù—spiritual awakening/awareness, or enlightenment.
This article is based upon a transcription of Dharma talks given by Ben Huan in 2003, when he was 96, at a week-long Chan training retreat at Ling Quan Temple (灵泉寺) in Taiwan. The transcription, originally titled Old Master Ben Huan’s Dharma Words (本焕老法师开示), was compiled and edited by Ming Yao (明尧居士整理) and translated to English by Adrian Chan-Wyles in 2012, who holds the copyright to the English translation. For purposes of clarity, I have, at times, taken the liberty to condense passages to their essential ideas. The interested reader can find the full text online.
To make Ben Huan’s teachings more accessible to the reader, I have organized his thoughts by topics which were most important to him. It should be noted, however, that his lectures smoothly integrated these concepts and that, to him, they were not distinct, separate, things. As a preface to his more general remarks on Chan practice, I begin with some of the teaching stories he presented to his congregation during this week-long Chan training retreat at Ling Quan Temple.
Ben Huan’s Chan Teaching Stories
Finding our way home
The ancestor said: “Last year's poverty was not poverty enough, but this year it is real. Last year I was poor as I did not own an inch of ground to stick my awl.” – This is like a petty minded person who has a dualistic mind that grasps after externals and who has not relinquished attachment to sense objects. The ancestor continued: “This year I possess true poverty, because I do not even own an awl!” This is the enlightened mind which is beyond duality and does not discriminate. We are followers of the Chan method and we must train very hard to find the true essence that underlies all things – this is the same as ‘finding our way to our true home’.
Let go of the mind
We must be able to lay down all our delude misconceptions. There is a gong-an that tells a story about the Buddha. One day a disciple brought fresh and bright flowers to the Buddha as an offering. The Buddha told him to lay the flowers down. As the disciple was laying the flowers down, the Buddha told him to let go of the body. The disciple did not know how to “let go of the body”, so the Buddha told him to let go of the mind – at that instant the disciple was thoroughly enlightened! Think about this: if the Buddha had not assisted the disciple by calling to him, how could he have attained enlightenment? For us, we must make every good effort to realize enlightenment. We must lay down not only the body (and its habits), but also the mind (and its habits) completely.
Ridding ourselves of attachments
I would like to present a gong-an to you. There was an ancestor named Jin Bi Feng, and his practice was very powerful. Yama (the protector presiding over “hell” and the cycle of rebirth) decided to try and capture Jin Bi Feng and so sent a small spirit to harass him. However, despite asking many people, and looking everywhere, this spirit could not find him. Then he discovered Jin Bi Feng’s disciples, and asked them where their master had gone. A disciple replied that if the spirit wanted to find their master, he should strike the gold coloured begging bowl that he was very fond of. The spirit did as he was advised and struck the golden alms bowl. Immediately Chan master Jin Bi Feng appeared, and the little spirit caught hold of him, telling him that Yama wanted to see him. Jin Bi Feng asked the spirit to give him seven days, and said that he would voluntarily go to see Yama after that time. The little spirit did not agree, but master Jin Bi Feng made his request over and over again. Eventually the spirit agreed and after receiving the promise of Jin Bi Feng, he left. Jin Bi Feng thought that Yama wanted to see him because of his attachment to his golden begging bowl, and so he decided to smash it to pieces. After this the master assumed a state of very deep meditation and entered the Void. When the little spirit reappeared to apprehend master Jin Bi Feng, he could not find him, or the golden begging bowl anywhere. Then he heard master Jin Bi Feng talking from the Void: “The little devil can only take me when the iron chain of attachment (to the world) is not realized as empty. Once the iron chain of attachment is broken through the realization of emptiness, then the little devil can not touch me!” You must consider this: how can one remain ‘attached’, after the realization of the Void? The little spirit went back to Yama and informed him of the situation, explaining why he had been unable to bring master Jin Bi Feng. Yama exclaimed: “Respect and happiness to him!” Think about it: master Jin Bi Feng was nearly taken to be judged by Yama simply because he was attached to a begging bowl - how many more attachments do we still possess?
Uproot the grass
Deluded thinking is entirely of our own making. It will resist any attempt to eradicate it. Do not be afraid of this. Instead, use your determination in the correct manner to eradicate delusion. Deluded thoughts must be uprooted with determination and the application of the correct method must be used because no outside force can remove it for you. It is like the old Chan teaching which says that getting rid of delusion is like “lifting a rock that presses upon the grass” – when the rock is moved, the underlying grass is revealed. If you look at the rock, the grass is obscured, but lift the rock and all becomes clear. Do not stop here. The rock is representative of gross surface delusion – do not become attached to it. The grass is like subtle delusion which when revealed through training, must be thoroughly uprooted.
Ben Huan’s Sayings
Life and Death
“Committed Chan practice is also known as a ‘life and death’ retreat.”
In this practice you must be diligent and careful, do not give-in to bad habits, and always remain alert in your practice. Those who study hard, seek earnestly to transcend life and death. The entire energy of the mind and body is focused toward this important task.
If you cannot make the ground move, then this is like not living, this is like choosing to die. How is it like dying? The master in charge of the incense, the master in charge of the disciple, and the master in charge of the ‘fragrant board’, (or the ‘discipline stick’ 香板 – Xiang Ban), must all assist in (metaphorically) putting you to death. You must understand that today is a matter of life and death. You must practice with the utmost effort.
Enlightenment is not a small undertaking and should not be thought so as such. It is really a life and death activity. If you win enlightenment – that is life, if you do not win enlightenment, that is death.
Chan master Wei Shan said: “A meditating monk can devour many pounds of rice.” If enlightenment is the objective, what does the expense of a few buns matter? Enlightenment is not a small undertaking, and should not be thought so as such. It is really a life and death activity. If you win enlightenment – that is life, if you do not win enlightenment, that is death.
Great Doubt
Arousing a strong sense of doubt is very important and should not be underestimated as an effective method for achieving enlightenment. With great doubt there is great enlightenment, with small doubt there is small enlightenment, with no doubt there is no enlightenment. How does the arousing of the feeling of doubt in the mind secure enlightenment? It does so by creating the condition for the establishment of oneness in the mind through strong concentration. Doubt in the mind creates an urgency that requires the development of intense concentration if it is to be overcome. Overcoming doubt creates a singleness of mind where all thought is stilled. Do not let the mind be scattered but pull the mind into a focused oneness – forget the body, forget the mind, forget the world; forget everything.
A great doubt should be generated that reveals ‘who’ is repeating the Buddha’s name. With the continuous practice of questioning “who”, coupled with the generation of a great doubt, all ignorance and delusion is focused into a single point in the mind, and this allows for the bottom of the barrel to fall out.
If you study Chan, then the most important requirement is that you must arouse in your mind a great doubt. For this to be achieved, a practitioner must develop and pursue the Dao of the mind with vigor. The sense of serious urgency required for Chan training is similar to mourning for ones parents, looking into an abyss, or walking on thin ice. It is only by developing this urgent sense of (questioning) doubt, that the scattered thoughts in the mind can be gathered together and controlled. Without vigilance and determination, a diligent effort cannot be generated and sustained. If you are serious about developing the Dao of mind, then you must adopt a serious attitude to training. You must guarantee that the great doubt is maintained equally in all situations without exception. In this way the great doubt is put to very good use. There must be a great doubt when we are quiet and still, or when we are moving – everywhere there must be this great doubt. If you can generate the great doubt, then there is hope for enlightenment. The ancestors said: “Whether walking, sitting, or lying down, all is Chan. When this is understood, everything in life is Chan.” Knowing this, we should work hard to bring all circumstances into the Chan training method. This is because the great doubt questions and investigates all phenomena without exception. If you are walking, then walk with this investigating vigor. When you eat, maintain the great doubt. Whilst sleeping maintain the good effort. Whether we are at peace or engaged in physical activity there must be a continuous effort in our training. Only making effort when we are in quiet and calm situations ignores the requirement to practice at times of noise and movement, as practice must be all-inclusive. The ancestors said that when we are in quiet situations we make far more effort than when we are in dynamic situations, but that we should make a good effort even when we are moving about. With a correct and good effort all sufferings can be left behind, if you do not try hard enough then suffering will follow you around in all situations. You must let go of all delusive habits when training.
Chan training emphasizes a profound ‘investigating’ of a single word which originates from the cultivation of an urgent ‘sense of doubt’. What is this ‘questioning’ based upon? It is based upon the fact that we do ‘not see clearly into the essence of reality. We are unaware of our own nature, we do not know “who” is speaking, or “who” is reciting the Buddha’s name, and we do not perceive our “Original Face” – as individuals we do not see clearly who we really are. To remedy this, we cultivate an urgent sense of investigation based upon a profound feeling of doubt.
The Deluded Mind
When training ends deluded thought, the Dharmakaya manifests.
It is hard to thoroughly uproot delusion in the mind if insight is not cultivated through perfect concentration developed within quiet meditation.
If everyone has the potential to gain enlightenment, why is it that very few tend to seek it? The reason is that few are willing or able to give-up their desire for sense objects in the world. Why is this? It is because of attachment to a sense of ‘self’, or the sense of ‘I’. This ‘I’ (or ego) is the basis of the entire ordinary existence in the deluded state. Essentially, the ‘self’ defines itself through its attachments; attachment to wife, sons, daughters, and possessions. We all tightly hold on to the sense ‘self’ as if life would be meaningless without it. Although the sense of ‘self’ robs us of peace of mind, we still think that we cannot live without it.
I want to make it clear that hardworking practitioners should not be afraid of delusion. The practitioner should not be frightened, and should not generate fear. This is because fear only assists the scattered nature of the deluded mind. Why is this the case? It is because we have had habits of delusion in the mind for an immeasurable amount of time that has produced worry, fear, anxiety, paranoia, and all kinds of troubles without end! How should delusion be dealt with? It is simple; always use your directed strength in the face of delusional thinking, and delusional thinking will naturally fall away.
We are accustomed to being in the deluded state, it is familiar to us. This is why very few people ever consider transcending the delusion they experience every day of their lives. As delusion is an ingrained habit, we must, through our Chan training, develop the habit of good and effective training. If we can achieve this, then the more we practice, the less delusion will be in our minds. This is the process of replacing a bad habit with a good habit and may be considered the right attitude toward the care of the mind.
Careless Study at the beginning is due to the undeveloped nature of the mind and of the inherent life force in the body. This is very important and must be thoroughly understood. In this deluded condition it is difficult to concentrate the mind and raise the great questioning doubt that is required to look into the situation effectively. It is difficult to raise this purposeful doubt, and even if it is generated, it is difficult to maintain and lasts for only a short time. At one moment the mind is focused on a single point and at another moment the concentration falls away. Therefore, when we are stuck in the careless study of the mind, nothing can be achieved. Everything is short in duration and ineffective for spiritual development. It is important to understand that this careless study is the product of an undeveloped mind and an unrefined essential energy.
Right Effort
The right kind of effort grows like a seed in the mind of those who apply the correct technique. If the correct effort is not made, the Chan method will not work.
If we go on a journey to Guangzhou or Hong Kong, this is thousands of miles. We may fly, take the train, ride in a car, or walk on foot. If we have the choice, we take the fastest mode of transport and fly, do we not? Trains are slower than an aeroplane, a car slower than a train, whilst walking is the slowest of the choices. Regardless of the speed we travel, it is always better to go on the journey than not to go. As Buddhists we should not speak all kinds of false talk and take no action – we must all embark upon the journey without exception. With hard work we can return home, without hard work we can not travel anywhere.
Those who apply right effort are like the filial off-spring who are so distraught at the death of their parents that they want to follow them by taking poison. This kind of determination is very rare, but it is the correct state of mind for the practicing of Buddhism. That sense of utmost urgency is exactly what is required to realize enlightenment.
If a Chan practitioner makes the right kind of intense effort, then eventually enlightenment will be achieved, but it is important to remember that these achievements are definitely not the consequence of a superficial approach to training. You must understand that Chan requires hard practice and not merely the reading of words. What does this mean? This analogy will explain. It is like when a door is locked, and we are looking for the key. This search is a continuous process that is repeated day in and day out. The search can never end until the key is found and the door is unlocked. In our practice we must realize ‘who is speaking?’ with the same kind of commitment. Who is the essence of our thoughts and words?
Your commitment to training should be like the fierce heat of an iron furnace. You must generate this fire in your training to create the transformation that is enlightenment – quickly go about your task! Run! Run! Make good effort!
If you allow a sense of urgency to motivate your practice, then the bottom of the barrel can fall out for you. However, you must be cautious, like treading on thin ice, or standing on the edge of an abyss. This sense of urgency must be coupled with the utmost effort in our practice – the mind must be fully committed and focused to the task in hand. With this kind of effort, enlightenment can suddenly manifest. Use this to motivate your efforts. You must understand that enlightenment can only be attained if the utmost effort and diligence is maintained throughout the practice. There must be no slacking at any time. Enlightenment is definitely possible, do not give up.
Enlightenment
Enlightenment is a mystery and difficult to understand. It is difficult to understand because we are not yet enlightened. This is like having no sight and having to feel our way around all day long. If our sight suddenly returns, and everything is discernable, this is like the attaining of enlightenment – a journey from not knowing, to fully knowing. When the vision clears the path can be clearly discerned and all obstacles overcome – nothing can bar our way. However, as we are not yet enlightened, we must engage in meditation to clear the mind fully and attain this clear vision. We must work very hard to attain enlightenment and not settle for analogies. We must be like the Buddha and attain to full enlightenment by realizing the essence of the “Dharma-nature”. As we have not completed the path, we have not yet realised enlightenment, this is why we must train harder to achieve this objective. If we train with strength and commitment we are sure to eventually achieve enlightenment.
Travelling the path of training to realize enlightenment is like making a very long journey. It does not matter whether we have travelled ten, twenty, thirty, or a hundred miles, we must keep our strength up and continue upon our way. If we rely upon this Dharma, we will benefit greatly, and eventually we will all return home and realize the true essence. We must stay committed to the training and not let our minds become distracted by illusions. If a Buddha manifests, we should chop him to pieces – just as if a devil manifests – all illusions should be cut to pieces. All illusion in the mind must be thoroughly cleansed, so nothing will get in the way of the training. If you lust after anything in this world, the cycle of suffering (samsara) will continue without end.
The Hua-Tou
Chan training starts with an intense investigation of the mind. “Who is reciting the Buddha’s name?" This question creates a situation of intense doubt and is designed to help the practitioner realise the Buddha-nature. This sentence is held in the mind and repeated over and over again so that the mind is firmly focused within. This ‘who’ must drive the mind back upon itself so that the essence of the mind is penetrated. This ‘who’ is a word that arises within the mind – this process must be followed back to its origin – but can only be achieved if a strong enquiring doubt is both produced and maintained. If the mind loses concentration then the “who” will not be effective, as the mind chases this or that thought without end. This is a lack of effective doubt. Arousing a strong sense of doubt is very important and should not be underestimated as an effective method for achieving enlightenment. Establish this practice firmly within the mind and never let the effort diminish.
Can we truly lay down the sense of “self”? Yes. We can give up all attachment to self if we work hard enough to do so. Difficulty is to be expected, and it takes a very strong will to progress quickly. Chan training points directly to the empty and pure essence of the human mind, whilst the sense of self (or ego) only serves to obstruct the direct perception of the Buddha-nature which lies within – is this not sad? If we are really hard working practitioners, then we must develop our minds not only in quiet and tranquil environments, but also in situations of movement and chaos – this requires the firm grasping of the hua-tou or gong-an in every situation without exception.
The Gong-an
Gong-ans (公案) – or ‘Public Records’ consisting of enlightened dialogues – were left by our ancestors to assist us in over-coming ignorance and delusion in the mind. It must be understood that although there are many gong-ans, in reality there is only one. This is because every single gong-an, regardless of its structure and content, performs exactly the same function of penetrating ignorance and revealing the true nature of the mind (心性 – Xin Xing). Ignorance is not penetrated if the gong-an is held in a superficial manner. Simply repeating the words of the gong-an is of no use. Instead, the words of the gong- an should be used with a directional force of will that focuses the awareness back upon the true nature of the mind itself, so that its essence is directly perceived by the practitioner. This insight penetrates the continuous stream of ignorance and brings it to an end.