Live a life of ease and freedom, on the basis of peace and solidity,
with the principle of being less agitated and affected.

 

Many masters in the history of Chinese Chan Buddhism emphasized practice as daily living. Whether monastic or lay, a follower uses the concepts and methods of Chan in daily life. By doing so, one experiences calmness and ease while being spontaneous and lively amidst mundane reality. Chan is not a religion, not a philosophy, and surely not mysterious or weird sorcery. It is the wisdom of living, the cultivation of body and mind, and a principle and guideline for spiritual development. It is also the best method for influencing and purifying the environment.
--Master Sheng Yen

 

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作者簡介

 

Master Sheng Yen (1930-2009)

Master Sheng Yen was born in 1930 and became a monk in 1943. He conducted a six-year solitary retreat, after which he went to Japan for further study and obtained a doctorate in Buddhist literature at Rissho University. In 1975, he began sharing the Dharma in the US, and in 1989, founded the Dharma Drum Mountain organization. In 2005, he established the Dharma Drum Lineage of Chan Buddhism, as an effort to reinvent Chinese Buddhism.

 

He authored more than 100 publications in Chinese, English, and Japanese, and received the Sun Yat-sen Art and Literary Award, the Sun Yat-sen Academic Award, and the Presidential Cultural Award, among other honorary awards.

 

He proposed the vision of "uplifting the character of humanity and building a pure land on earth," founded the Chung-Hwa Institute of Buddhist Studies, Dharma Drum Institute of Liberal Arts, and Dharma Drum Sangha University. Experienced in Chan using correct approaches, he guided practice in both the West and East. Popularizing the Dharma in modern language, the Master initiated movements including Protecting the Spiritual Environment, Four Kinds of Environmentalism, the Fivefold Spiritual Renaissance Campaign, and the Six Ethics of the Mind. He shared the Dharma globally with a broadminded perspective, winning him worldwide recognition.

Contents
Preface

Enlightenment and the Practice of Chan
Chan Studies and the Correct Buddhist Teachings
The Methods of Practice of Chan and Pure Land
Chan and Mental Health
Chan and Modern Life
Chan and Spiritual Environmentalism
Chan Practice and the Environmental Life
Religion, Chan, Buddhadharma and "Evil Demons"
No-Self and True-Self
No Rise of    Wandering Thoughts, No Rejection of Phenomena
Wandering Thoughts, Scattered Thoughts, and Mindfulness
Awakening to the Mind and Seeing the Nature
Mind in Buddhism and Chan
Ordinary Mind
The Mind is Like the Sun Shining in Empty Space
Zero Faults
From Existence to Emptiness and from Emptiness to Existence
The Power and Function of Group Practice
The Attitude for Practicing Chan
Chan for Ordinary People
The Principle of Chan Meditation Practice