Instinct, Direct Contemplation, and Contemplation of Emptiness

"Direct contemplation" is a method often used in Chan practice, which is suitable for us to apply in daily life. How do we break our habitual "instinct" and instead apply direct contemplation in our daily life? And, how do we even go beyond the latter and achieve the "contemplation of emptiness"?

As Master Sheng Yen mentioned in his book The Theory and Practices in Chan (禪的理論與實踐), the so-called "instinct" is a direct reaction. Our instinctive reaction tends to reflect our own habitual perceptions and judgments. They are often preconceived and preoccupied, not necessarily based on the facts that we come into contact at the time. For instance, suppose we are familiar with a certain smell. When a similar scent enters our nostrils, we will, off the top of our head, think out loud the smell we are familiar with, even though it may not necessarily be correct.

Direct contemplation indicates observation, reflective contemplation, and awareness of our thoughts. We observe our own actions and thoughts, as well as external things, objects, and phenomena, without resorting to intellectual thinking and conventional knowledge to make judgments. As Master Sheng Yen explained, direct contemplation is, in fact, a practice of silent illumination, where practitioners simply act like a camera, without pick and choose. After the exposure, distance, and focus of a camera is set correctly, its lens then equally take in everything from the external world, as long as it is within the scope.

Direct contemplation is about observation towards the environment, which, however, still involves a subjective self and an objective target. If we can go further and practice transcending the self and its concerns about gain and loss, then we can go beyond direct contemplation, achieving "contemplation of emptiness" that is free from the self-other dualism. Contemplation of emptiness does not mean that there is no object to contemplate. Rather, it means to transcend objectivity and subjectivity, being free of a dualistic opposition concerning the notion of self, other, environment, objects, and events. In the practice of entering the state of contemplation of emptiness from that of direct contemplation, one is supposed to be even free of thought of a unified mind. Nonetheless, contemplation of emptiness is certainly not about having a blank mind; it entails letting go of everything until you have nothing more to let go, and simply be mindfully in the present.



Related articles:

The Healing Powers of Nature

Instinct, Direct Contemplation, and Contemplation of Emptiness

The Healing Power of Micro Chan Practice – Trip Preparation

Contemplation of the Four Foundations of Mindfulness

Making Good Use of Natural Experiences for Practice

Planning Outdoor Chan at Ease

Four Ways to Experience Outdoor Chan



Resource: Issue 453 of Humanity Magazine (May 2021), Dharma Drum Publishing Corporation
Translation: Li Siang-ling (李祥苓)
Editing: Keith Brown, Chang Chia-cheng (張家誠)