2025 Spring Term Monastic Retreat—Uncovering the Unchanging Primordial Awareness through Contemplation

Starting from February 17, 2025, LJM commenced the annual Spring Term Monastic Retreat. This year, we welcome returning students from Germany and Austria. Their journey from such distant lands is truly precious and commendable. I sincerely hope that everyone can gain deep insights and experiential understanding during this retreat, and more importantly, develop consistent mindfulness of our primordial awareness.

The Chan School expounds in simple, uncomplicated terms. Its teachings are direct and straightforward without twists and turns. The pursuit of practice is, in fact, extremely rigorous—a peaceful living with refreshing solitude. It is my heartfelt hope that everyone will make the most of these forty-nine days, practicing mindful deportment in daily activities of walking, standing, sitting, reclining, and so forth. Avoid gathering to chitchat, as idle conversation tends to distract one from dharma focus. This is something to be mindful of in daily life.

The primary objective of this retreat is to contemplate the marvelous mind of Nirvana and the notionlessness of the ultimate truth. This is what we must observe. In our contemplation, we see that the mind is notionless and that nothing can be grasped in the ultimate sense. Contemplation is mind training that improves awareness, which eventually uncovers the luminosity of the mind. The nature of the mind is luminous and perfectly clear, not obscured by ignorance or afflictions, but radiant with clarity.

We contemplate the original face, which has no form, no beginning, and no end. Therefore, one should abide with understanding in such awareness. Through contemplation and training, one will realize that primordial awareness, alternatively termed the "original face" in Chan, is the non-duality of luminosity and emptiness. "Luminosity" is one aspect of primordial awareness, while "emptiness" refers to the absence of inherent existence. Through training mindful awareness, one comes to realize the nature of emptiness—the essence of awareness. Awareness is clarity, while its nature is emptiness.

I hope everyone practices diligently during these forty-nine days. Do not stray from awareness and observation. Through consistent reflection, our mind will uncover its clarity. We will no longer waste time dwelling on the past or imagining the future. The present moment is now, the time for us to become acquainted with our original face and to align with it. 

Alignment comes through contemplation to realize primordial awareness. The "original face" is the unchanging nature that every being possesses even before our parents gave birth to this lifetime. One may loosely term it "spirituality." The state of primordial awareness has always existed before the arising of anything. Since we are not yet enlightened, we fail to recognize the unchangingness of primordial awareness—devoid of disintegration, arising, or cessation. Through Chan practice, we will understand, see, and deepen our insight into this clearly. Thus, we must abide in an undistracted state to improve our awareness. 

The Four-step Technique of Peace Meditation is the method for uncovering the original face, the nature that neither arises nor ceases. Through these four steps, we will gradually stabilize, abide in, and clarify our mind. Eventually, we will become intimately familiar with our original face.