Tie Shan writes:
“I knew Buddhism since I was thirteen years old. At the age of eighteen, I entered the priesthood. Later, I read a thesis one day brought by a monk named Hsueh Yen, entitled Advanced Meditations.
“This made me comprehend that I had not yet arrived at that point. I then went to see Hsueh Yen and I followed his instructions about the way to meditate on the word
“On the fourth night, perspiration surged from my whole body, and so, I felt comfortable and light.
“I remained in the meditation hail, concentrated, without exchanging a word with anyone.
“Afterwards, I saw Miao Kao Feng who told me to continue meditating on the word ‘WU’ without rest day or night.
“When I got up, before dawn, the Hua Tou (the meaning of the word ‘WU’, the essence of this phrase) immediately presented itself before me.
“As soon as I had some drowsiness I came down off of my seat. The Hua Tou (that is to say the word ‘WU’) accompanied me while I walked, while I prepared the bed or the food, when I took the spoon or when I put aside the chopsticks. It was with me all the time, in all my activities, day and night.
“If one succeeds in fusing one’s mind into a continuous and homogeneous whole, enlightenment is assured.
“As a result of the former advice, I completely convinced myself that I had reached that state. On the twentieth of March, Master Yen addressed the congregation.
“Sit erect, refresh your minds as if you are at the edge of a precipice that is about one thousand feet in height and concentrate yourself on your Hua Tou (the magical word WU).’
“If you work in this manner during seven days (without resting for even a second), you will undoubtedly attain realization, performed a similar effort forty years ago.’
“I began to improve as soon as I followed his instructions. On the third day I felt that my body was floating in the air; on the fourth day I became completely unconscious in regards to what was happening in this world. That night I remained leaning against a balustrade. My mind was so serene as if I was not conscious. I constantly kept the Hua Tou (the magic word ‘WU’) before me and afterwards I returned to my seat.
“At the moment that I was going to sit down, I suddenly had the sensation that my entire body, from the crown of the head to the tip of the toes, was divided.
“I had the sensation that my cranium was being broken or that I was being raised to the sky from a pit of about ten thousand feet in depth.
“I then told Master Yen about this indescribable ecstasy and the detached happiness that I had just experienced.
“But Master Yen said, ‘No, it is not this. You must continue working in your meditation.’ “To my request, he quoted some words of the Dharma, of which the last verses were:
To propagate and glorify the noble deeds of the Buddhas and the patriarchs you need to receive a good hammer blow on your neck.
“I asked myself, ‘Why do I need a hammer blow on my neck?’ Evidently, there was still a slight doubt in my mind, something that I was not sure about.
“So, I continued meditating a long time every day for half a year. Afterwards, on a certain occasion when I was preparing a brew of medicinal herbs for a headache, I remembered a Koan (enigmatic phrase) in which Red Nose made a question to Naja:
If you return your bones to your father and your flesh to your mother, where, then, would you be?
“I then remembered that, when the monk who received me asked me the same question I did not know what to answer him; yet now, suddenly, my doubt disappeared.
“Afterwards, I went to see Meng Shan. Master Meng Shan asked me: ‘When and where can we consider that our Zen work is finished?’
“Once again I did not know what to answer. Master Meng Shan insisted that I must work with greater insistence in meditation (Dhyana) and that I must leave aside all human habitual thoughts.
‘Every time that I entered into his room and gave an answer to his question, he said that I did not understand the thing.
“One day, I meditated from evening to the following morning, utilizing the power of Dhyana to maintain myself and to advance, until I directly reached the state of profound subtlety.
“Leaving Dhyana, I went towards where the Master was and I told him about my experience. He asked me:
‘Which is your original face?’
“When I was going to answer, the Master cast me out and closed the door. Since that moment, I achieved, each day, a subtle improveme nt.
“Later, I comprehended that the whole difficulty had arisen because I did not remain long enough with Master Hsueh Yen, working in the delicate and subtle aspects of the task.
But how fortunate I was to have found such an excellent Zen Master! It is only thanks to him that I was able to reach that state.
“I did not comprehend that if one practices in an incessant and insistent manner, one will always achieve something every now and then. Thus, one’s ignorance will diminish at each step of the path.
“Master Meng Shan told me, ‘This is similar as to polishing a pearl. The more you polish it, the more it shines, and it becomes clear and pure.’
“A polishing of that kind is superior to an entire work of incarnation. Nonetheless, when I wanted to answer my Master’s question, he always told me that I was lacking something.
“One day, in the middle of meditation, the word ‘lacking’ presented itself within my mind and I suddenly felt that my body and my mind were broadly wide open from the medulla of my bones in a complete manner.
“This feeling was as if an ancient mountain of sand was suddenly dissolved under the scorching sun, that surged after many dark and hidden nights.
“I could not help it and I burst out in laughter. I jumped from my seat, I took the arm of Master Meng Shan and asked him, ‘Tell me, what am I lacking? What am I lacking?’
“The Master slapped me three times and I prostrated myself before him three times. He told me, ‘Oh, Tie Shan, you have taken many years in order to reach this point.”
Samael Aun Weor
