by Min-Ku Tsai of Taipei
I took refuge under the guidance of Venerable Tsu-Hung when I was 20 years old, a freshman at the National Taiwan University. I have practiced Buddha Dharma ever since. It has been forty-eight years now. I meditated on the “One-Mind and Three-Contemplations” according to the Tien-Tai School and the contemplation of “Searching the Mind in Seven Places” expounded in the Shurangama-Sutra.
In the absence of guidance by an enlightened master, I was not able to make significant progress. In the first of my twenty years of spiritual cultivation, I experienced the meditation state with “no conceptual thoughts”. Often it was a kind of voidness, nothingness. My Zen master instructed me to place more emphasis on the training of “insight and mindfulness”. However, I had difficulty in deep meditation stabilization. So, in the ensuing twenty years, I switched back and forth between the two types of meditation techniques. I sought advice from many Dharma Masters. Unfortunately there was no breakthrough.
About two years ago, I learned about Mahayana Zengong and Grand Master Shan-Fo from the newspaper. I signed up and joined Mahayana Zengong. One year later, I participated in a Three-Day Retreat in the Nan-Shan Temple. Grand Master Shan-Fo led us step by step into deep meditation. It goes without saying that my deluded mind had suddenly exploded beyond limits. It was like a ten-thousand-kilometer clear sky and the whole earth was full of bright light. My mind transcended the I and mine and went beyond object and subject. It was peaceful and boundless like a vast, empty sky. The mind that was wakeful and able to reflect was that unwavering mind, the unborn mind, the innately fulfilled mind, the true-nature of mind.
One needs the guidance of an enlightened master to attain realization. I had the great fortune to receive the profound teachings and guidance from Grand Master Shan-Fo so that I could realize the innate Self-nature. In addition, Grand Master Shan-Fo taught us the medical Chi-Kung through which my Ren (the front meridian) and Du (the back meridian) Channels were opened and many of my ailments were cured. I am also able to perform healing for my relatives and friends.
Grand Master Shan-Fo is indeed an enlightened master. It is not easy to find such a master in ten thousand years. I sincerely share my meditation experiences with you. May the profound Mahayana Zengong teaching be propagated everywhere. May all beings benefit from the practice and attain realization.