Quote from Kai Chan Andrew on 09/08/2025, 4:15 am

The Essence of Seon Meditation: The Path of No-Thought and Enlightenment  

Seon meditation is the path to enlightenment. But then, what is enlightenment? What does it mean to be enlightened? The Buddha himself practiced Seon throughout his entire life, and the scriptures record his words: “I and my disciples all practice meditation.” Seon is not something done only at special times; it is twenty-four hours a day, in walking, eating, speaking, sitting, and washing—every moment of daily life is practice. Among these, the most representative is seated meditation (zazen), and it must be done properly, for it forms the foundation upon which all other practices can unfold. After the Buddha’s parinirvana, Bodhidharma, the 28th patriarch from India, came to China, and his dialogue with Emperor Wu of Liang reveals the very essence of Chan. When the emperor asked, “I have built temples and supported many monks—how much merit have I accumulated?” Bodhidharma answered, “None at all. No merit.” This does not mean that merit does not exist in the law of cause and effect, but rather that from the standpoint of enlightenment itself, distinctions such as having or not having merit simply do not apply. When the emperor further asked, “Then what is holiness?” Bodhidharma replied, “In the Buddha-nature there is no distinction between sacred and defiled.” And when the emperor asked, “Who are you, standing before me?” Bodhidharma said, “I do not know.” This “not knowing” is precisely the state expressed in the Heart Sutra, where Avalokiteśvara declares, “no eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, or mind; no form, sound, smell, taste, touch, or thought; no ignorance and also no ending of ignorance…”—a state beyond all discrimination.

This unknowable, ungraspable realm of emptiness is the world of no-thought and no-form. Master Huineng, the Sixth Patriarch, taught in the Platform Sutra that “no-thought is the essence of the teaching.” No-thought does not mean the absence of thinking, but rather that even when thoughts arise, one does not cling to them nor is one stained by them. This is the same meaning as Bodhidharma’s “not knowing.” Ultimately, the direction of our study must be no-thought and sudden awakening, and only by experiencing this directly can one truly understand. For this purpose there is the method of investigating a hwadu (koan), the most famous being “What is this?” Through deep inquiry into such a question, one enters a world free from attachment to joy and sorrow, right and wrong—a liberated realm beyond the self, akin to the Pure Land.

During practice, drowsiness and scattered thoughts often arise, but one must overcome these and maintain a clear mind. In doing so, strength and energy are cultivated, and this power keeps one’s life steady and unshaken. When one abides in the state of no-thought, compassion and wisdom naturally manifest. Only when the attachment to “I” is absent can true compassion appear, and only when one acts without desire can even acts of devotion or temple-building be genuine. Thus, Seon is the most important study of all. Reading scriptures, researching doctrine, or spreading the Dharma all have meaning, but one must first establish practice within one’s own mind, and at the root of this practice lies Seon meditation.

When sitting in meditation, posture is crucial: the spine must be upright, the body steady, so that one can remain long in practice without wavering. In the end, Seon meditation is the path to enlightenment, the very heart of Buddhism, and the truest practice that opens compassion and wisdom on the foundation of no-thought.

 

참선은 깨달음으로 들어가는 길이다. 

그렇다면 깨달음이란 무엇인가, 무엇을 깨달음이라 하는가를 알아야 한다. 

부처님께서는 평생 참선을 하셨고 경전에도 “나와 나의 제자들은 참선을 한다”는 말씀이 전해진다. 

참선은 특별한 시간에만 하는 것이 아니라 24시간, 걷고 먹고 말하고 앉고 씻는 모든 순간이 다 참선이다. 그 가운데 대표적인 것이 좌선인데, 좌선을 바르게 해야 다른 모든 행위가 제대로 이어진다. 

부처님께서 열반하신 뒤 인도의 보리달마 대사가 28조 조사로서 중국에 들어왔고, 양무제와 나눈 대화가 선종의 핵심을 보여 준다. 양무제가 “내가 절을 짓고 스님을 제도했으니 공덕이 얼마나 되겠습니까?” 하고 묻자 달마는 “무(無), 공덕이 없습니다”라 답했다. 

이는 인과의 법칙 속에서 공덕이 없는 것이 아니라 본래 깨달음의 자리에서는 공덕이 있느니 없느니 하는 분별조차 없다는 뜻이다. 양무제가 다시 “그렇다면 성스러움이란 무엇입니까?” 묻자 달마는 “불성에는 성스럽고 더럽다는 분별이 없다” 하였고, “당신은 누구십니까?”라는 물음에는 “불식(不識), 알지 못합니다”라 답했다.

이 “모른다”는 자리가 바로 관세음보살의 반야심경에서 설한 무안이비설신의, 무색성향비촉법, 무무명역무무명진…으로 이어지는, 모든 분별을 넘어선 자리이다. 

 

알 수 없고 붙잡을 수 없는 공의 세계, 그것이 곧 무념무상의 세계다. 

혜능 스님은 『육조단경』에서 “무념을 종지로 삼는다(無念爲宗)”고 말씀하셨다. 

무념은 아무 생각이 없는 것이 아니라 생각이 일어나더라도 집착하지 않고 물들지 않는 상태를 뜻하며, 이는 달마의 “불식”과 같은 의미이다. 

 

결국 우리가 공부해야 할 방향은 무념이고 돈오이며, 이를 체험해야만 진정 알 수 있다. 

그러기 위해 화두가 있으며 대표적인 화두가 바로 “이 무엇고?”이다. 화두를 참구하다 보면 즐거움과 괴로움, 옳고 그름에 집착하지 않는 자유로운 세계, 나로부터 자유로운 극락의 세계에 닿게 된다. 

 

수행 중에는 졸음이나 잡념이 많지만 이를 여의고 맑은 정신을 지켜야 하며, 그렇게 힘을 기르면 공력과 에너지가 생겨 삶이 흔들리지 않게 된다. 이 무념의 자리에 이를 때 자비와 지혜가 저절로 드러난다. 

 

‘나’라는 집착이 없어야 진정한 자비가 나오고, 욕심 없이 행할 때만이 불사도 바른 길이 된다. 

그러므로 무엇보다 중요한 공부가 참선이다. 경전을 읽고 연구하는 것도, 포교하는 것도 모두 뜻이 있으나 자기 마음의 공부가 먼저이며 그 근본은 참선이다. 

 

좌선할 때는 자세가 매우 중요하여 척추를 곧게 세우고 바르게 앉아야 오래도록 흐트러지지 않고 수행할 수 있다. 

 

참선은 결국 깨달음으로 들어가는 길이자 불교의 핵심이며, 무념을 바탕으로 자비와 지혜를 여는 가장 바른 수행이다.  

 

Seon meditation is the path to enlightenment. But then, what is enlightenment? What does it mean to be enlightened? The Buddha himself practiced Seon throughout his entire life, and the scriptures record his words: “I and my disciples all practice meditation.” Seon is not something done only at special times; it is twenty-four hours a day, in walking, eating, speaking, sitting, and washing—every moment of daily life is practice. Among these, the most representative is seated meditation (zazen), and it must be done properly, for it forms the foundation upon which all other practices can unfold. After the Buddha’s parinirvana, Bodhidharma, the 28th patriarch from India, came to China, and his dialogue with Emperor Wu of Liang reveals the very essence of Chan. When the emperor asked, “I have built temples and supported many monks—how much merit have I accumulated?” Bodhidharma answered, “None at all. No merit.” This does not mean that merit does not exist in the law of cause and effect, but rather that from the standpoint of enlightenment itself, distinctions such as having or not having merit simply do not apply. When the emperor further asked, “Then what is holiness?” Bodhidharma replied, “In the Buddha-nature there is no distinction between sacred and defiled.” And when the emperor asked, “Who are you, standing before me?” Bodhidharma said, “I do not know.” This “not knowing” is precisely the state expressed in the Heart Sutra, where Avalokiteśvara declares, “no eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, or mind; no form, sound, smell, taste, touch, or thought; no ignorance and also no ending of ignorance…”—a state beyond all discrimination.

This unknowable, ungraspable realm of emptiness is the world of no-thought and no-form. Master Huineng, the Sixth Patriarch, taught in the Platform Sutra that “no-thought is the essence of the teaching.” No-thought does not mean the absence of thinking, but rather that even when thoughts arise, one does not cling to them nor is one stained by them. This is the same meaning as Bodhidharma’s “not knowing.” Ultimately, the direction of our study must be no-thought and sudden awakening, and only by experiencing this directly can one truly understand. For this purpose there is the method of investigating a hwadu (koan), the most famous being “What is this?” Through deep inquiry into such a question, one enters a world free from attachment to joy and sorrow, right and wrong—a liberated realm beyond the self, akin to the Pure Land.

During practice, drowsiness and scattered thoughts often arise, but one must overcome these and maintain a clear mind. In doing so, strength and energy are cultivated, and this power keeps one’s life steady and unshaken. When one abides in the state of no-thought, compassion and wisdom naturally manifest. Only when the attachment to “I” is absent can true compassion appear, and only when one acts without desire can even acts of devotion or temple-building be genuine. Thus, Seon is the most important study of all. Reading scriptures, researching doctrine, or spreading the Dharma all have meaning, but one must first establish practice within one’s own mind, and at the root of this practice lies Seon meditation.

When sitting in meditation, posture is crucial: the spine must be upright, the body steady, so that one can remain long in practice without wavering. In the end, Seon meditation is the path to enlightenment, the very heart of Buddhism, and the truest practice that opens compassion and wisdom on the foundation of no-thought.

참선은 깨달음으로 들어가는 길이다.