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42 EASTERN HORIZON | TEACHINGS

pithy exchange of questions and answers between Chan
masters and their students. These exchanges are often
profound and difficult for most people to understand.
In a Chan meditation hall you are likely to hear such
questions as, “What was your original face before you
were born?” “What is the meaning of Bodhidharma
coming from the west?” and “Who is it that chants the
Buddha’s name?” This questions require us to doubt,
and from these doubts we can gain wisdom and awaken
to the truth.

Fo Guang Shan Temple, Bussy St Georges, France Awakening
People go to school to gain knowledge. People study
the Dharma to awaken. Awakening is not the process
Faith is as important to us as roots to a tree: without of accumulating knowledge; it is a moment of sudden
it we cannot accomplish anything, for it gives us our realization. It is when we think, “Ah ha! I understand.”
strength. As Buddhist practitioners, we should study the How then, do we reach the state of awakening?
Dharma with a mind-set of faith and sincerity.
Once there was a young student who went to ask a
Questioning Chan master, “I just came to the monastery and do not
In what state of mind should Buddhist practitioners understand anything. Master, please instruct me: how
approach the Dharma? Perhaps many of you have do I enter the Way?”
doubts and questions? The Buddha taught that we
should study the Dharma with a questioning mind. The Chan master replied, “Do you hear the birds singing
This is how Buddhism differs from other religions, in the trees? The crickets chirping? Can you see the
for in addition to emphasizing faith, it also tells us to water flowing in the stream? The flowers blooming?”
doubt. In the Chan School of Buddhism, practitioners
are encouraged to doubt and ask questions. This is why The young student replied, “Yes!”
they say in the Chan School, “Small doubts lead to small
awakenings. Great doubts lead to great awakenings. No Then the Chan master told him, “The Way is entered
doubt leads to no awakening.” from all these things.”

The Dharma is like a bell. If you tap it gently it will We can see that the Dharma is not mysterious, nor is it
ring softly. If you strike it hard it will resound loudly. separate from our lives. It is always a part of the world
However, if you do not strike it at all, it will not ring. We around us. When we “understand” the sound of the
must have questions in order to gain answers. In fact, flowing water, that is the sound of the Buddha’s voice.
the Buddhist sutras themselves are largely the questions When we see flowers blooming, it is the presence of the
of disciples, which the Buddha answers. Buddha. When we awaken to the truth, everything we
do is the Way. We do not need to go far away in search of
Chan Buddhism instructs practitioners to question and the Way, for it is in our lives and in our minds.
investigate. This method is called huatou, which literally
means “speech head,” or essential words. For hundreds There is another story that illustrates this point. Once a
of years, Chan masters have used this method to achieve novice monk named Longtan went to study under Chan
awakening. As a result, much of Chan literature is the Master Tianhuang (748-807). Year after year passed,