chan-金沙1005

if a person’s mind and morality are are noble and lofty at ordinary times, then he will enter into the supreme state of sitting in meditation; if a person is gravely sinful, certainly he will never reach the high state of chan over his whole life. referring to the realm of chan practice, we just think of what level or what day we shall obtain the realm, which is thought in a wrong way. the perfect realm is what we do good works or make merit at ordinary times. we always do good and make the requisites of enlightenment, not to pursue external reward, but to purify the will. many people take the purification of the will as sitting in meditation or chanting practice. i don’t think so. the purification of the will means the practice or cultivation of doing no evil and doing only good. ( from words of chan by shi yongxin)