He replied, "What do you mean by practice? I spend all of my time reading Buddhadharma, writing about Buddhadharma, thinking about Buddhadharma. My whole life is spent in the midst of Buddhadharma. What other practice do I need?" For him the answer is none. He has a clear understanding of Buddhadharma, so he feels no need for meditative practice. His is a path quite different from that of Ch'an.

If people pursue the intellectual path and forego meditation, they also forego the spiritual experience of the practice, which directly affects body and mind. Intellectual stimulation only engages the mental faculties. People would lose the physiological and direct mental benefit from meditating. Even the Hindu traditions do not completely neglect meditation, using it as a supportive, auxiliary practice.

Furthermore, just because you are intelligent does not mean you are proficient or trained in the skills of logic and deductive reasoning. A non-scholar probably would not be suited for a practice that involves intense analysis. On the other hand, anyone can practice the methods of Ch'an.

Ch'an practice is rational, but does not require scholarly skills. If it did, there wouldn't be many Ch'an and Zen practitioners. Even someone who has never read a textbook can practice Ch'an.

STUDENT:

You say the modern master you spoke about has a perfectly clear understanding of Buddhadharma. Is this the same as being enlightened?

SHIH-FU: