The Chinese character chan is a translation from Sanskrit and has the meaning "peaceful contemplation." During the Wei, Tsin and Northern and Southern dynasties, the Indian teacher Bodhidharma went east and established a unique philosophy and method of self-cultivation on Chinese soil. Unlike other schools of Buddhism, Chan does not stress chanting of the liturgy and ceremony, but emphasizes direct illumination of one's inner self. Like the smile of Sakyamuni as he grasped the flower and the idea embodied in the saying of Hui Neng, Chan's Sixth Patriarch, that "originally there was nothing, from where is dirt stirred up?" the ultimate aim of Chan is to "clear your heart to realize your essential nature; to realize your nature and become a Buddha."

Chan originally stressed teaching through nonlinguistic intuition, but the number of people who can really achieve spiritual awakening in this way is small, so more convenient methods had to be developed, a congregation accepted, and self-cultivation through the use of riddles and paradoxes adopted. It was thus that the flourishing of Chan Seven came about.

Forsake the myriad volitions and give rise not to one thought: In simple terms, Chan Seven is a seven-day course of intense meditation. The aim is to clarify the heart so as to see one's true nature and penetrate through to one's original countenance.

Such a method originates from the story of Sakyamuni's enlightenment and discovery of the true Way while sitting under the Bodhi Tree. With Chan, the Way is attained in seven days without having to leave one's seat. Since the Sung dynasty, the establishment of this period of time as the limit for attaining Buddhahood has been a special characteristic of Chan, which has flourished down to today. As for Chan Three, this was begun as a convenient method for people living in a busy industrial-commercial society.

The first absolute condition for Chan meditation is: "Forsake the myriad volitions, do not give rise to even one thought." For seven days all visual, audio and olfactory stimulations are denied in the process of concentrating on the regulation of consciousness. Not only is talking forbidden, but those who go through the seven days must control their minds and feelings, achieve clarity and not be subjected to confused and disorderly thoughts.

On most Chan Seven courses you are woken at 4:30 in the morning by a knock from a stick. Apart from a morning and evening class and three meals a day, the rest of the time is spent sitting in meditation for as long as it takes to burn ten incense sticks. Each lasts for about 45 minutes, and to revive circulation after sitting, everyone forms a line around the meditation hall or outside where they begin to walk slowly, increasing the pace until there is a final dash--a process called "incense running."

When the exercises are going at full pace, the master might suddenly bang his stick to announce a halt. Everyone suddenly stops moving while he observes just where their minds were at that instant in time. Who heard the stick? Who came to a halt? Self-control must be gasped when these exercises are being done, with the mind remaining clear and not giving rise to any thoughts.

Counting from one to ten: After "incense running," sitting is resumed once again. As each incense stick is lit, the presiding monk will give a lesson on how best to work for success, for which Chan Seven uses various methods. The first of these is "counting breathing" which concentrates one's attention on respiration, counting to ten with each breath before you take the next breath in a cycle without break or loss of order. When this can be done smoothly, disorderly thoughts are few, uninterrupted concentration is possible and you are ready to go on to the next method, called "discussion."

"Discussion" is the raising of a big doubt or desire and thinking over where it actually comes from. If it does not originate in one's mouth, then it must come from the heart. But what then is the heart before it has given rise to such thoughts? With incessant questioning, when your feeling of doubt is continuous so you are aware when acting, sitting, waking and sleeping, then you are working in the right way, can smash the ring of doubt and perceive the Truth.

In former times, Chan Seven was called the "Buddha Selecting Temple," and was actually a place where people seeking self-cultivation could test their own condition. In response to today's requirements, it has become more of a kind of training in Chan meditation. But Chan Seven is certainly not all that self-cultivation amounts to, perhaps today being only a way for enlightenment in the study of Chan. Ultimately, self-cultivation must be a part of everyday life which can only be successful through constant effort.