ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the second portion of Sheng Yen's doctrinal classification chart and presents his formulation of Chan as the spiritual fulfillment of the whole of Buddhism. Specifically, it examines the evolution of his Chan teachings and how they are rooted in the Platform Scripture of Huineng and merge the sudden awakening in Chan with an emphasis on gradual cultivation. It analyzes his three expedient devices or approaches for guiding students: “relinquishing mind, consciousness, and cognition”; “using delusion to transform delusion”; and “using the scattered and deluded mind to cultivate unobstructed activity.” These three devices correlate to different phases of his teaching career and synthesize the sudden and gradual approaches to awakening, and the two distinct methods of huatou (critical phrase) and mozhao (silent illumination) meditation in daily life. This chapter also details how Sheng Yen linked Chan practice with his vision of Buddhism as three distinct but interrelated form of education: university education, universal education, and caring education.
