Seven-day Retreat Talk (Day 1)

The following talks were given by Ch'an Master Sheng-yen during a seven-day Ch'an retreat at the Ch'an Meditation Center in Elmhurst, New York some years ago. 

First Morning Instruction 

This the first morning of a seven day intensive retreat. Some of you are here for the first time. Probably, some of you didn't sleep well last night. You're in an unfamiliar environment, and the street noises of New York City never stop. Perhaps you're nervous or overly anxious about what will happen as the retreat progresses. This is all normal. You will adjust, but accept that it might take three days, possibly more. Just relax. In addition to your surroundings and psychological state, you also have your body to contend with. Most of you will suffer from leg and back pains. Again, my advice is to relax. Your body as well as your mind will adjust quickly if you do not put up resistance, if you relax into the situation. Make a firm commitment to focus, to leave thoughts of past and future outside these doors. You can, and certainly will, return to your issues once the retreat ends, but they will hinder your practice now. And you are here to practice. Your mind should be on your method. When the inevitable wandering thoughts appear, do not follow them. Simply recognize them and return to the method. Know that once you identify a wandering thought for what it is, you are no longer on that thought. If you can do this, I guarantee you will have no anxiety over wandering thoughts. To practice successfully, you must relax both body and mind. To accomplish this, decide not to be concerned with thoughts or physical sensations, both real and imagined. Easier said than done, but if you can do this and focus solely on your method, then time will fly by. On the other hand, if you become preoccupied with your thoughts and physical condition, then time will drag and you'll experience a lot of suffering. Another difficulty all of you will face is your expectation of what you might gain from this retreat. I'm sure you all have personal goals and expectations concerning your practice. I'm telling you now to forget them. They do not exist. You are here to practice. That is your goal; you have already achieved it. Now you must continue to make it a reality. Put your illusory goals and expectations with your thoughts of past and future. Practicing is like working for a salary. If all of your attention is focused on your future paycheck, your on-the-job effectiveness will diminish. You might even be fired. Also, realize that this work only issues checks when the work is done. So, this first day's theme is to relax -- your body and your mind. Give your body to the cushion and your mind to the method. The rest will take care of itself. 

Breakfast Talk 

There are four principles of daily life activities that impact on our practice. I will consider the first two together, namely to be tidy and clean. When we keep our environment clean and in order, it will influence the mind to be less scattered. An unkempt and dirty environment will likely add to your confusion and disturb your practice. That is why ask you, during retreat, to keep your area in order. I ask you to put away your bedroll upon waking so that it looks as if no one was sleeping there. When sitting, place your extra belongings between your cushion and the next person's, not in front of or behind you. When you rise from sitting meditation, fold your towel neatly and place it on top of the round cushion, and center the round cushion on the square cushion. While walking, take the initiative to pick up any debris you may find on the floor. Tidiness should carry over during mealtime as well. When finished eating, place the bowl on the plate with your spoon or chopsticks to their right. Leave your area clean. Use the napkin to clean your face and hands as well as the table in front of you. Wash your bowl and plate with water from the pitchers and then drink the water. Dry your bowl and plate with the napkin and place any remaining debris, such as fruit rinds, in the bowl. If we cannot even keep our environment clean, how can we expect to purify our minds? An ordered environment helps to pacify the mind and positively influences our practice. The third principle is to remain peaceful. Our every movement should manifest peacefulness. When we can maintain peace and gentleness in our behavior, we will naturally generate the fourth principle -- harmony -- in our relationship with others. To be truly harmonious with others, however, one must first be harmonious with oneself. A harmonious mind is not plagued with contradictions and self-criticism. When we are at peace with ourselves, it is naturally easier to be at peace with others and the environment. Even in the midst of adversity, we should try to maintain peace within ourselves and encourage harmony with others. Here on retreat, you have a chance to work on keeping your environment clean and your mind peaceful. To do this, focus on your mind. It is where everything begins. Do not be concerned with others' practice and behavior. Attend to your practice and let others attend to theirs. 

Afternoon Talk 

There are several ways one can meditate on the breath. One is to be mindful of the breathing process; that is, be aware of the length of the breath or of the subtle movements of the abdomen. In maintaining such awareness, do not attempt to control the rhythm of your breath or your moving abdomen. Simply be aware of the relationship between breath and abdomen. The limitation of this method, although it makes you feel stable and comfortable, is that it is difficult to move beyond this point. That is why I usually advise the method of counting breaths. When counting, do not concentrate on your abdomen or the length of your breath. Instead, breathe normally, and when exhaling, focus on the number 1. Maintain your awareness on the number 1 until the next exhalation, and then count 2. Do this silently up to 10, and then begin again. While counting, wandering thoughts will naturally arise. The advantage of this method is that you will notice their intrusion quickly, providing you with an efficient reminder to return to the method. Whenever you notice that you have lost count and are following your wandering thoughts, return to your breath and begin at 1 again. Do this for the entire sitting period. Sometimes you are so scattered you cannot even get to 10, or you repeat a number over and over, or you over count. If this occurs without improvement, try the following alternative counting method: First, count even numbers backward from 20 to 2 (again, changing numbers with each exhalation), and then count odd numbers backward from 19 to 1. Because it requires more concentration, this method usually helps to lessen scatteredness. There are three important requirements for the proper use of concentration methods. First, disengage your intellect. Second, cultivate patience. In other words, relax your mind and emotions. Third, after settling into the correct posture, relax your body. Tension, whether it be physical or mental, has a detrimental effect on practice. It leads to resistance, which in turn causes exhaustion; and you cannot focus on your method if you are exhausted. To learn to relax your body and mind, and to give your body to the cushion and your mind to the method, is the foundation of effective meditation practice.