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The text clarifies the Japanese meaning of “just sitting” and contrasts it with earlier emphases in silent illumination, highlighting an unmoving yet clear mind. It interprets related Ch’an teachings on non-discrimination, time as neither hurried nor slow, and the experience where language and thoughts do not function while perception remains active, providing practical guidance for beginning the method.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":45,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/religion-spirituality/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/shikantaza-and-silent-illumination/415738/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/shikantaza-and-silent-illumination/415738.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Angel","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-19","2026-09-28",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":34},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"What do “shikantaza” and “silent illumination” mean in the text?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"“Shikantaza” literally means “just sitting.” “Silent illumination” refers to silent practice without using a specific method, cultivating clarity where the mind is unmoving yet very clear.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"How does the text explain the difference between “just sitting” in Japan and the earlier approach?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"In Japan the emphasis shifts toward maintaining the sitting posture and first paying attention to “just sitting,” while the “silent” state of mind still must be established. Silent illumination includes both the posture and the mental state that becomes unmoving and clear.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"Is silent illumination the same as having “nothing there” or an empty mind?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"No. The text says everything is still present, but the mind is not moving. Even when gross wandering thoughts disappear, subtle wandering may remain, so practice should not stop from mistaking emptiness for the method.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},415738,1790912157,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":44,"category_name":45,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":34,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":39,"language":139,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":140,"faqs":141,"seo_title":142,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":143,"read_time":46},687207412472,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_155a257f0dc6eb9ab79c44ca47cae57d","VEL  \nNE  \nPROCESSED  \n3171995  \nC H’A NN E W SLETTER  \nNo.106 February,1995  \nTeacher-Advlsor  \n(Shih-fu)Venerable  \nMaster Sheng-yen  \nEditor  \nHarry Miller  \nStaff  \nGiora Carmi,Chris Marano,Linda Peer,Alan Rubinstein,Guo-gu Shih,Nora Ling-yunShih,Ming-yee Wang,Dorothy Weiner  \n# Shikantaza and Silent IIlumination\n\nLecture given by Master Sheng-yen during the Dec.1993 Ch'an retreat,edited by Linda Peer and Harry Miller  \nThe Japanese term“shikantaza”literally means “just sitting.”Itsoriginal Chinese name,mo-chao,means“silent illumination.\"“Si-lent”refers to not using any specific method of meditation andhaving no thoughts in your mind.\"Illumination\"means clarity.Youare very clear about the state of your body and mind.  \nWhen the method of silent illumination was taken to Japan it waschanged somewhat.The name given to it,“just sitting”,means justpaying attention to sitting or just keeping the physical posture ofsitting,and this was the new emphasis.The word “silent”wasremoved from the name of the method and the understanding thatthe mind should be clear and have no thoughts was not emphasized.In silent illumination,\"just sitting\"is only the first step.While youmaintain the sitting posture,you should also try to establish the\"silent\"state of the mind.Eventually you reach a point where themind does not move and yet is very clear.That unmoving mind is\"silent,\"and that clarity of mind is\"illumination.\"This is themeaning of \"silent illumination.\"  \nFaith in Mind,a poem attributed to the Third Patriarch of Ch'an,Seng-Ts'an(d.606),begins something like this:  \n\"The highest path is not difficult,so longas you are free of discrimina-  \ntions.\"“Discriminations”can also be translated as\"choices,\"“selections”or\"preferences.\"The highestpath is not difficult,if youare free from choosing,se-lecting or preferring.Youmust keep the mind freefrom discrimination and at-tachment.The method inwhich the mind is kept freefrom discrimination and at-tachment is what is called“si-lence”here.But\"silent\"does notmean the mind is blank and cannotfunction.The mind is free from at-  \ntachment,clear,and yet it still functions.  \nand feel that time passes very quickly.In anordinary state we may feel that time passesquickly or slowly.However,in the mind of wis-dom there is no such thing as slow or hurriedtime.If we can say there is thought in the mindof wisdom,it is an endless thought which neverchanges.This unchanging thought is no longerthought as we usually understand it.It is the  \nWe also read in Faith in Mind that,“This prin-ciple is neither hurried nor slow.One thought forten thousand years.”“This principle”is the mindof wisdom,and from its perspective time doesnot pass quickly or slowly.When we meditate orwork,we may fall into a worldly samadhi state  \nDrawing by Nora Ling-yun Shih\"In utter clarity,things appear  \nunmoving mind of wisdom.  \nIn the Song of Samatha of Master Yung-chiaHsuan-chueh(665-713,also the author of theSong of Enlightenment),two Chinese terms areused which can be translated as“quiescence”and“clarity.”Master Yung-chia uses them intwo phrases,\"quiescence and clarity,\"and \"clar-ity and quiescence.”They describe a personwhose mind is both clear and unmoving.Whenan ordinary person's mind is clear and alert,it isusually also active and full of scattered thoughts.Quiescence of mind is difficult to maintain.Whenthe mind is quiet,it usually is not clear,even ina samadhi state.But Yung-chia describes thesetwo states,quiescence and clarity as well as clar-ity and quiescence,as goals.  \nMaster Hung-chi Chen-chueh(1091-1157),whoinvented the term “silent illumination”in his poemthe Song of Silent Illumination,said this:  \nIn silence,words are forgotten.In utter clarity,things appear.  \n“Words are forgotten”means you experience nowords,no language,no ideas,and no thought.There is no discrimination.This in combinationwith the second phrase,\"In utter clarity every-thing appears,\"means that although words,lan-guage and discrimination do not function","cbCaiqD53hxMuWx7","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiqD53hxMuWx7","pdf",2204035,"English","# Shikantaza and silent illumination\n## Meanings of the terms and key distinctions\n## Core principles from Ch’an teachings\n## Practical method: posture, body awareness, and mind observation","[{\"question\":\"What do “shikantaza” and “silent illumination” mean in the text?\",\"answer\":\"“Shikantaza” literally means “just sitting.” “Silent illumination” refers to silent practice without using a specific method, cultivating clarity where the mind is unmoving yet very clear.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the text explain the difference between “just sitting” in Japan and the earlier approach?\",\"answer\":\"In Japan the emphasis shifts toward maintaining the sitting posture and first paying attention to “just sitting,” while the “silent” state of mind still must be established. Silent illumination includes both the posture and the mental state that becomes unmoving and clear.\"},{\"question\":\"Is silent illumination the same as having “nothing there” or an empty mind?\",\"answer\":\"No. The text says everything is still present, but the mind is not moving. Even when gross wandering thoughts disappear, subtle wandering may remain, so practice should not stop from mistaking emptiness for the method.\"}]","Shikantaza and Silent Illumination | PDF",1790602618]