There are many points that might touch your heart or stimulate your mind from a teaching by Shifu. The purpose of these key point suggestions is for non-mandarin speakers to have some potential focus points, or for those that do not feel a clear connection point. It is important that if some other point from the talk touches your heart, focus there for this week.
These are key point for our practice time, like sitting Chan, group classes, training etc.. and application to daily life points.. These are not absolute though and may likely overlap.
Points for practice consideration:
Meditation practice: 3 channels (wind, water, and fire) meditation.
Wind channel: First focus on root chakra. Then feel the end of the tail bond. This way can allow us to enter the tail bond through the 2 holes. Otherwise, we may end up staying outside of the spine. Connect the energy to Life chakra, and then to Wisdom chakra, and Chan chakra.
Water channel: From Root chakra to Kidney chakras, Throat chakra, Wisdom chakra and Chan chakra. Once the Wisdom chakra opens up, the energy will directly flow to Chan.
Fire channel: From Root to Heart to Chan chakras.
Points for application to daily life:
Each of us has the sacred heart like Buddha, all Chan patriarchs, and Shi-Fu. Just we have not realized and witnessed it yet. It is because of the sacred heart, we all can reach enlightenment in this lifetime. Buddha simply realized that first. Shifu realized that later. You haven’t realized that yet. You can realize that in the future. It’s like a gold mine. The way to dig up the gold is through Chan Ding. Don’t attach to forms.
Practice, like all things, is an actual experience. There is much weaker result, for we only use for of mind to think, read, or listen to practice or only talk about practice. The path to enlightenment requires effort. If you want to drink tea, go make a cup of tea. If you don’t make the tea, just keep saying you want to drink tea, you won’t get the tea. Spiritual practice is the same. If you read the sutras, but do not practice and purify, then it’s in vain.