Reflections on & Extracts from Gilbert’s Meditation Seminar “Living in Chan”

Introduction

Ronald Bacci, my husband, and I were excited to see Gilbert Gutierrez again. I brought my caregiver and friend, Rosalie Weatherhead. I am working on overcoming stage 4 cancer affecting my breasts, bones, liver, and left eye, having survived a near-death experience in December 2023 with only a few weeks of life expectancy. We all sat on chairs in the Chan hall in the San Francisco Bay Area. This event marked the culmination of many of Gilbert’s dharma talks on the nature of Mind during 1-2 day retreats in Sunnyvale and later in Fremont, San Francisco Bay Area. Gilbert’s announcement of a shortcut immediately caught my attention. It woke me up! There is a shortcut? I love shortcuts! Now, I must discover Gilbert’s Shortcut. I took notes, and here are my notes seamlessly combined with my reflections and some applications on Gilbert’s Shortcut, with the possibility of honest mistakes on my part.

Gilbert’s Shortcut to Practice with Right View

Right View: There is one Mind, and everything is Mind. This Mind is Buddha Mind. We all possess Buddha Minds. When we talk to another person, we are conversing with Buddha. The Mind has two realities: absolute reality and apparent reality. Mind has thoughts, phenomena, samsara, apparent reality, and absolute reality. Absolute reality is not born, never dies, never changes, and is immutable. Apparent reality is born, dies, and changes. Phenomena is apparent reality. Samsara, the world we live in, is characterized by birth and death, joy and suffering, war and peace, and good weather and earthquakes. Samsara is apparent reality, is illusory, like a dream. Samsara includes all phenomena such as tables, chairs, cars, roads, houses, people, and animals, as well as devas from other realms of samsaric existence. All these are not truly real; they are empty. As human beings, sentient beings, we have limited capacity, while Mind has unlimited capacity. An individual cannot turn a stone into a diamond. Coupled with knowing Mind creates everything and recognizing our true nature, the Buddha Mind, we access unlimited capacity and unlimited creativity. It takes faith to recognize Buddha Mind. This is the secret: use our Buddha Mind, use the Mind to observe the Mind. Employ a method like watching the breath, counting breaths, chanting “Amituofo,” silent illumination, or hua-t’ou to watch the Mind.

Method to Use Mind on Mind: On cushion, off cushion, 24/7-365, when awake, watch the body, mind, and speech, letting naturally arising thoughts pass through without clinging to them or letting them form a narrative. Do not let one thought, like “I forgot to water the plants,” expand into a lengthy story like, “How long have they been without water? I shouldn’t garden if I forget to water. I should only buy self-watering plants.”

Watch the body: I recall an incident years ago when someone with a burning cigarette brushed past me, burning my hand. I felt the pain, and should have just let it pass. Instead, I repeatedly scolded the guy, and my anger escalated, turning that person into an enemy, a villain. Now I am aware that scolding another is scolding Buddha. It’s foolish to scold Buddha; it’s wise to accept the apology and say “Amituofo” (giving effect to recognizing Buddha in the person) and move on.

Off cushion: Remain mindful in speech and actions as one would on the cushion, maintaining mindfulness in eating, walking, working, exercising, talking, or bathing. It’s like living in a gentle expansive retreat 24/7-365.

Practicing 24/7-365 with Right View

The secret lies in believing in the unlimited capacity and creativity of Mind to manifest wisdom through body, speech, and mind in samsara. The secret is having the mind observe itself, both on and off the cushion. Mind creates everything, including samsara. Mind’s creative power is limitless, without limits! Mind projects thoughts onto itself, creating stories and events. Samsara and suffering are projections, like a nightmare, illusory, not real, and empty. Yet samsara is not separate from Mind. “Illusory” samsara is in “real” Mind and not separate from “real” Mind. “Illusory” phenomena is inside “real” Mind, and not separate from it. Practice to realize that apparent reality, as real as it seems, is illusory. Practice to uncover the absolute reality, which is not born, never dies, and is immutable and unchanging. Use this shortcut to practice to discover the Mind Ground and Great Wisdom.

Conclusion

Gilbert said he and Guo Yuan Fashi both teach practicing meditation with Right View. Otherwise, meditation without Right View will be unproductive and not yield Great Wisdom. May everyone succeed wisely.

Bella Loo