THE CH'AN SEVEN-DAY RETREAT | Getting The Buddha Mind

The seven-day retreat, or “Ch’an seven, ” is a practice in which disciples gather for a period of intense meditation under the guidance of a Ch’an master. The attitude of disciples during this period is one of total dedication to the task at hand ─ to shed, at least for a period of time, all the vexations of mind and body, and to bring the mind to a state of supreme clarity.

Since Sakyamuni Buddha, there has been a tradition of setting aside a definite period for deep practice. The aim was to achieve realization within that period. We learn from the Buddhist sutras that there were various periods, ranging from seven days to fourteen, twenty-one, or forty-nine days, always a multiple of seven days. In some cases this period lasted as long as three months. Of course it was only when Buddhism entered China that the term “Ch’an retreat” developed. (The Chinese word ch’an is derived from the Sanskrit dhyana, and the Japanese zen in turn, from ch’an.) In fact, what we call a Ch’an retreat literally means “Ch’an seven.” In the Pure Land sect, the practice of reciting the Buddha’s name for seven days is called “Buddha seven.” Reciting Kuan Yin’s name for seven days was “Kuan Yin seven.” Some people practice repentance ─ prostration for seven days, and that would be “repentance seven.” These are periods when one practices with more dedication and energy than usual, with the goal of achieving significant results.

Why seven days or a multiple of seven days? Our mental states are influenced by our physical states, which in turn are influenced by the cosmos. Nature itself seems to take seven days as a definite period. This concept of seven days is very ancient. It may come from the observation of celestial bodies. In the Bible, God created the world in seven days. In India the seven days were related to the seven planets. In ancient China this period was called “one come-and-go.”

Our body is a small universe, a microcosm, and it tends to reflect the great universe, the macrocosm. Our body and mind seem to demonstrate a cycle of seven days. Thus we take seven days as the optimum period of practice. So we can go on the first seven days, the second seven days, and the third seven days to help us to get onto a smooth and diligent path of practice. In Japan it is called sesshin, meaning “uniting or transmitting, the mind.” This can be interpreted on one hand, as the roshi, or teacher, taking away the student’s vexed mind and enabling him to achieve enlightenment. On the other hand, the student takes the mind from the roshi.

What is it that is transmitted from master to disciple, generation after generation? It is Buddha-mind. When a person has eliminated his vexations, that is called “getting the Buddha-mind.” We also use the phrases “seeing one’s self-nature, ” or “seeing one’s original face.” The person who has entered the Path has done so because he wants to break the endless cycle of suffering. At the moment of enlightenment he is clear of vexation and has received the Buddha-mind. So “transmission” means both that the student has had a Buddha-mind experience and that the experience was recognized by a master. Although it is said that the Buddha-mind has been “transmitted” from Sakyamuni to master to disciple, it is really the disciple who, through faith and practice, has come up with that Buddha-mind. To confirm the transmission, there must be an experienced master who can recognize the student’s achievement. There are not many formal records of Ch’an retreats, but a few famous cases come down from the Sung Dynasty. In one of these, Master Ta-Hui held a retreat in which thirteen out of fifty-three became enlightened. Another master, Yuan-Wu, transmitted to eighteen disciples in one night. This gives you some idea of the power of the Ch’an retreat in the hands of a great master.

Because the traditional retreat had many participants, there was little opportunity to speak with the master. In fact, the master would usually come into the hall only to say a few words. Most disciples would not dare ask for a private interview unless he had an experience he wanted to have affirmed. In modern times, the Ch’an master has been more accessible. In Japan the dokusan, or interview, is actually required by many masters. In any event, it is in the interview that recognition usually takes place. More often than not, the student is not confirmed and sometimes even receives a stinging rebuke or a beating. This is done not to punish but to provoke the student to greater effort or to break through obstructions, and is used by the master according to his perception of the student’s state of mind. To a Ch’an master, even the way a student prostrates can show a presence or lack of genuine achievement.

In Sakyamuni’s time there were disciples who got enlightened but didn’t know it, and others who thought they did, but, in fact didn’t. It was necessary for Sakyamuni himself, or one of his major disciples, to recognize and confirm the disciples. Therefore, to attain the Buddha-mind and to be confirmed are strong reasons for participating in retreats.

To one who has not received the Buddha-mind, it seems very mysterious. Even people who have had a glimpse cannot always recognize it. This recognition cannot be explained, but can only be done by one who has already experienced it at a deep level. A good master has had many deep experiences and frequently can ascertain someone’s level of attainment just by looking at him. Very often affirmation comes through master and disciple asking each other questions, or the disciple describing his experiences to the master. One who has seen self-nature for the first time could not recognize another’s experience, nor is he ready to accept disciples.

The chance of a practitioner getting the Buddha-mind depends on his developing a “great ball of doubt, ” which drives him to diligent and energetic practice.

During retreat the master tries to bring each student to this state of great doubt, for only then is it possible to create an opening through which the Buddha-mind can enter. The Ch’an master will use different methods to do this, according to the student’s state of mind, personality, and accomplishment. So how I deal with a student depends on my sense of the student’s mental state. I call this a spontaneous perception-response. I don’t reflect on how I should deal with each student. I don’t form an idea that one student needs this, another needs that. If it is time to scold or beat, I scold or beat. If it is time to console or encourage, I console or encourage. I am just a mirror. The student’s perception of me is a perception of himself.

At the start of retreat, the students’ minds are usually scattered. The concerns of daily life are still with them. They may have fears and anticipations about being on retreat. A cold, pains, bodily complaints all add to their more or less uneven state of mind. At this point it is necessary to give them methods that will help them settle down and become concentrated. I often have them start with simple methods, such as counting or following the breath. The reason is that most modern lay people lack a firm foundation in practice. Only when their mind has settled will I give them a kung-an to help generate the doubt sensation. Only then is there a chance for enlightenment. Even without enlightenment, when doubt has formed, the student has at least gotten on the proper path of practice.

Another method of helping students to settle their minds is to give them a kung-an to work on. At the beginning, it is more like reciting a mantra, simply repeating the phrase, over and over. This can help to gather a scattered mind, but it takes a long time before a student can truly work with the kung-an. This is when the kung-an is not a mechanically repeated phrase, but becomes a deeply felt question whose answer has life-and-death urgency, but which cannot be found by reasoning. When this happens, when there is no thought other than the kung-an, the doubt sensation can be generated. Only then can the mind open up for an experience. This stage may be reached naturally after a period of time, or it may come about from suggestions made by the master.

In the Ts’ao-tung sect, neither breathing methods nor kung-an are used in the beginning. Instead, the method called “silent illumination, ” the “method of no method, ” is used. Because the method dispenses with technique, it requires tremendous concentration and energy to penetrate into the fundamental emptiness of the mind. In this method even the mind itself is seen as formless. In Japan, where the sect is known as Soto, this practice is called shikantaza.

By judging the student’s mental state, and knowing when to assign or suggest a method, the master can help the student generate the energy for practice, and help him make progress. With the right conditions, with dedication and hard work under a watchful master, it is possible in seven days to make much progress, even to experience one’s self-nature. To say that getting some experience is very difficult is accurate from the point of view of a struggling student.

But there have been people who praticed for decades before getting genuine results. So you should realize that getting an experience can also be very easy;it is just seven days compared to decades. Of course, you should not think that it is too easy.

Those fortunate enough to have some genuine experience find that the results do not necessarily stay with them. Over a period of time there is a fading away of the experience if it is not reinforced with pratice. This is quite common. Even monks and nuns will lose the energy of a deep experience, but it is much more difficult for lay people to retain it. In Ch’an there is a saying: “To hear the Buddha Dharma is not very difficult. More difficult is it to pratice. To practice is not very difficult. More difficult is it to realize the Path. To realize the path is not very difficult. More difficult is it not to fall from the Path.” There is another saying: “When you have gotten the Buddha-mind, go to the woods, live by a stream, and meditate. Thus will you nourish your saintly embryo.” When will this baby be born? You don’t konw. But, like an expectant mother, you must nourish the saintly embryo.

To have experienced the Buddha-mind and lost it is a great pity. Even so, to see self-nataure is to be forever changed. What is the taste of a mango? If you have never tasted a mango, you can’t imagine it. But having tasted it, you still have a memory of it, however faint. Likewise, someone who has experienced Buddha-mind has been changed forever. If he falls from the Path, he is very aware of it, and in his mind there is always the intention to regain the practice. By comparison, one who has never glimpsed Buddha-mind is confused.

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