Chapter Overview
"Sitting meditation" (zuochan, 坐禅) is one of Buddhism's most traditional practices. Most people understand sitting meditation as cross-legged stillness, regulating the breath, and observing the mind. In this chapter, Huineng offers a completely new interpretation: sitting meditation is not about the posture of the body but the state of the mind — "Externally free from appearances is dhyāna; internally undisturbed is samādhi."
This chapter echoes the Meditation and Wisdom chapter, further developing Huineng's unique understanding of meditation and representing a fundamental redefinition of traditional meditation practice.
1. A New Definition of Meditation
Sutra Text
The Master addressed the assembly: "In this Dharma gate of sitting meditation, one does not originally attach to the mind, nor to purity, nor to immobility. If one says to attach to the mind — the mind is originally false. Knowing the mind is like an illusion, therefore there is nothing to attach to. If one says to attach to purity — human nature is originally pure. It is only because of false thoughts that true suchness is covered over. Simply have no deluded thoughts, and the nature is pure of itself. If you give rise to the mind to attach to purity, you create a 'purity delusion.' Delusion has no fixed location; the one who attaches is the delusion. Purity has no form or appearance, yet you establish a 'form of purity' and call it practice. Those who hold this view obstruct their own nature and are bound by purity."
Huineng states from the outset three things that sitting meditation is NOT:
- Not attaching to the mind — Do not cling to observing the mind, because the mind is originally illusory; clinging to it becomes an obstacle
- Not attaching to purity — Do not cling to seeking purity, because self-nature is originally pure; the intention to seek purity becomes a "purity delusion"
- Not immobility — Physical stillness alone is not meditation
2. The True Meaning of Meditation
Sutra Text
Good friends! What is sitting meditation? In this Dharma gate, there is no obstruction and no hindrance. Externally, toward all states of good and evil, the mind does not give rise to thoughts — this is called "sitting" (zuo). Internally, seeing that self-nature does not move — this is called "meditation" (chan).
Huineng gives a completely new definition of "sitting meditation":
Good friends! What is dhyāna-samādhi? Externally being free from appearances is dhyāna; internally being undisturbed is samādhi. Externally, if one is attached to appearances, the mind is disturbed within. Externally, if one is free from appearances, the mind is not disturbed. The original nature is self-pure and self-settled; it is only because seeing conditions and thinking about conditions that one becomes disturbed. If, upon seeing all conditions, the mind is not disturbed — this is true samādhi.
"Externally free from appearances is dhyāna" — when facing external conditions, not being bound by appearances is dhyāna. "Internally undisturbed is samādhi" — when the mind is not perturbed within, that is samādhi. The original nature is naturally pure and settled; it is only because one sees external conditions and clings to them that the mind becomes disturbed. If one sees all conditions while the mind remains undisturbed — that is true samādhi.
3. Practicing Meditation within Conditions
Good friends! Externally free from appearances is dhyāna; internally undisturbed is samādhi. External dhyāna and internal samādhi — this is dhyāna-samādhi. The Vimalakīrti Sūtra says: "In that very moment, one is suddenly awakened and returns to the original mind." The Bodhisattva Precepts Sūtra says: "My original nature is originally pure." Good friends! In each and every thought, see that your own nature is pure. Cultivate yourself, practice by yourself, and complete the Buddha Way yourself.
Huineng emphasizes: meditation is not about escaping external conditions but about maintaining awareness within them. "In each and every thought, see that your own nature is pure" — in every thought, perceive the purity of one's original nature. This is true meditation practice.
"Cultivate yourself, practice by yourself, and complete the Buddha Way yourself" — practice is your own affair; awakening is your own affair. No one can do it for you. This is in the same spirit as the dialogue in Chapter 1: "When deluded, the teacher ferries one across; when awakened, one ferries oneself across."
4. Dispelling Misconceptions about Sitting Meditation
In this chapter, Huineng dispels several common misconceptions about sitting meditation:
- Misconception 1: Sitting meditation is about the body being still — Huineng points out that true "immovability" is the immovability of self-nature, not of the body
- Misconception 2: Sitting meditation requires observing the mind — The mind is like an illusion; clinging to observing the mind becomes an obstacle
- Misconception 3: Sitting meditation requires seeking purity — Self-nature is originally pure; the intention to seek purity becomes a "purity delusion"
- Misconception 4: Sitting meditation requires leaving the world — Meditation is not in the mountains but in every moment of daily life
These corrections do not deny sitting meditation itself but rather correct misunderstandings of it. True sitting meditation is the cultivation of the mind, not the posture of the body.
5. Key Themes of This Chapter
The core ideas of the Sitting Meditation chapter can be summarized as:
- Externally free from appearances is dhyāna — Not being bound by external appearances is dhyāna
- Internally undisturbed is samādhi — The mind not being perturbed is samādhi
- Self-nature is self-settled — The original nature is naturally pure and settled, needing nothing from outside
- Seeing one's nature in every thought — In every thought, perceive the purity of the original nature
- Self-cultivation, self-completion — Practice and awakening are one's own affair
These ideas liberate meditation from the monastery cushion and bring it to every corner of daily life. Maintaining awareness in walking, standing, sitting, and lying down; not losing one's original mind amid the mundane affairs of firewood, rice, oil, and salt — this is what Huineng calls "sitting meditation."
Further Reading
→ Chapter 4: Meditation and Wisdom
→ No-Form as the Substance: A Philosophical Interpretation
→ Mindfulness and Modern Meditation Practice