By Late Ven. Bhikkuni Hiu Wan
Translated and annotated by Hahn Yang
Rev. December 27, 2018
（Yuan-lin Thought 園林思想: A thought, promoted in 1970s by late Ven. Hiu Wan, emphasizes on cultivation in a natural surroundings which was Ven. Hiu Wan’s answer to the cure of the modern mechanical civilization.）
Generally speaking, the expression of Chan(Zen禪) painting, as one branch of Buddhist art, was developed and matured in the later period of Buddhist painting history. Eventually, all of the Buddhist paintings have been included and called as Chan painting. Why was that? How did the Buddhist art develop and turn into Chan painting? The answers for progress and development of the thought of Buddhist art have to be observed from the development history of Buddhist thoughts in the land of China. Only then would one be able to understand how the Chan painting emerged in the Chinese Buddhist art. Chan painting is thoroughly related with both of the Buddhist thought and the Chinese art.
Obviously that is simply a research subject for the development of thoughts. However, for learning of Chan painting the empirical philosophy of a life of “Chan practice” is, of course, an extremely important subject. In a more concrete term, one needs to understand “Chan practice” thoroughly before one could do Chan painting. Furthermore, only lives in a constant collectedness of Chan living can one realize the essence of Buddha’s teachings. “The doctrine is Buddha’s mouth while Chan Buddha’s mind(禪者，佛之心；教者，佛之口；律者，佛之身。).” That means by Chan one aiming one’s goal towards the Buddha’s mind, while what the formulated teaching and the truth conveyed are uttered from Buddha’s mouth. Therefore, all prajñā(transcendental wisdom般若) and dhyāna(meditation禪) preached by the Buddha we perceived are from both within and out. The oral teaching emerges from Chan. In other words, where there is no cultivation and achievement in Chan practice, there is no “firm dwelling in the profound dhyāna(安住大禪)”. That is the essence what Buddha has taught. Thus, we can clarify the relationship between the two by saying that Buddha’s mind formulated teachings. Suppose we say that one piece of Chan painting is equivalent to a paragraph of “prajñā in writing(Buddhist Teachings express in writing文字般)”, as we speak of “prajñā in writing” and “Samadhi in art(The ultimate stage of art is similar to ultimate stage of meditation,藝術三昧), then both the writings and painting, which representing the Dharma of the mind, have their spiritual source originated from the mind.
Confucianism also describes the mind in a profound and subtle manner, as stated in the Doctrine of the Mean(中庸): “If one let go of the truth, it fills the universe; if one retracts the truth, it recedes and hides away mysteriously.(放之則彌滿六合，卷之則退藏於密)” Buddhist Sutras stated that a single universe contains worlds as numerous as motes of dust, and that a single grain of sand contains a universe. In short, one is many and many are one. As quoted from the Song of Realization by Chan Master Yung-chia(永嘉禪師證道歌), “On all waters everywhere one moon is manifest; the moons on all waters are represented only one moon.(一性圓通一切性，一法遍含一切法；一月普現一切水，一切水月一月攝；我性同共如來合。)” Since the mind is too sublime and subtle to be fathomed by thinking or speaking, Buddha teaches us primarily on how to control the mind. Buddha’s basic teaching, the Four Noble Truths, and the Mahayana’s Six Perfections(Sank. Paramita, Six perfections literally mean six practices and qualities by which on “crosses over to the other shore.” i.e. attain the stage that one liberates oneself and enables all beings to liberate themselves.), and the myriad activities of Buddha’s mind are all sprung from unobstructed illumination and transparent shining purity of the experiential realm of mind. If one can comprehend the mind one can see one’s own true nature, and if one can see one’s own nature one can comprehend the mind. If one comprehends the mind, then one will realize that “all dharmas are without self” in all mental activities, thereby it destroys the twofold that clinging to others and oneself directly. You can then see your own nature in its origin; thus, there is neither a necessity to add anything from external nor to eliminate from internal. There is neither deficiency nor surplus, like one who always “contemplates with emancipation(Literally translated from”觀自在” which originated from”觀自在菩薩” or the alternate translation which is more commonly used “觀世音菩薩”, or in Sanskrit, Avalokiteśvara.)”. All Buddhist sages possess a complete, bright, and emancipated mind. Even though they go through torturing environment like burning fire and turbulence, their natural minds of pure contemplation and bright beneficence never lose or disperse, for their minds are always illuminating the past and lighting up the present. Such a complete and dazzlingly bright mind is sublime and illuminating, and that is the “mind of prajñā-dhyāna(般若禪心)”.