Before you fully embark on the path of the bodhisattvas and buddhas, says Chan master Sheng Yen, you must first practice the four steps to magical powers. What are these steps and what are the magical powers you need? The four steps to magical powers are also called by such names as the four steps to the power of ubiquity, the four steps to unlimited power, and the four [...]
Let’s Be Realistic
Chan Master Sheng Yen reminds us not to be discouraged that we haven’t attained enlightenment. After all, we’re only human. After practicing buddhadharma for a while and listening to lectures about liberation and freedom, some people feel very frustrated if they have not gained realization. They forget that it takes a very long time to evolve from being an ordinary person [...]
Living and Dying With Dignity
With the death of Master Sheng Yen, Chan Buddhism lost a great teacher and its most prominent voice in the West. He left a substantial legacy, but his greatest gift was his ability to touch his students’ lives deeply and personally. Here he reminds us to approach life—and death—with a clear mind, without regret, anger or pride. It was only several months ago in the pages of [...]
Into the Depths of Emptiness
In this single talk, the Chan Master Sheng Yen surveys the path to enlightenment, explaining how it progresses and where its pitfalls are. Our intellectual understanding, our temporary realizations, even the exalted state of oneness—all must be dropped to realize the deepest emptiness, the highest truth. We can speak of two kinds of emptiness: the emptiness of the dharma [...]
Niutou’s Song of Mind: A Commentary by Sheng Yen
Teachings at a meditation retreat by the renowned Chan Master Sheng Yen on stanzas one through five of the Chinese classic Song of Mind. Thoughts Are Illusory The nature of the mind is non-arising, What need is there of knowledge and views? The opening line of Niutou’s Song of Mind, The nature of the mind is non-arising, is what the Buddha himself taught—that all [...]
There Is No “I” Who Is Sitting
Master Sheng-yen teaches the technique of silent illumination. When you first practice the Ch’an method of silent illumination, it is very simple. You just sit with the awareness that you are sitting. However, as your practice deepens, the method changes to where there is no method to speak of, even as you continue in the state of silent illumination. The silent aspect is [...]
