This is an inspiring guide to the practice of Chan (Chinese Zen) in the words of four great masters of that tradition. It includes teachings from contemporary masters Xuyun and Sheng Yen, and from Jiexian and Boshan of the Ming Dynasty(1368–1644). Though the texts were written over a period of hundreds of years, they are all remarkably lucid and are perfect for beginners as well as more advanced practitioners today. All the main points of spiritual practice are covered: philosophical foundations, methods, approaches to problems and obstacles — all aimed at helping the student attain the way to enlightenment.

"In meditation, we go from phenomena to emptiness by progressively voiding our mental states". This sentence from Getting the Buddha Mind succinctly summarizes the purpose of practicing Chan meditation. What does it mean? This slim volume, now in its third printing, provides some of the answers to the question of how the practice of Chan retreat is integral to the path of realizing "emptiness" -- the enlightened state of bodhi, or Buddha Mind. Compiled from lectures by Master Sheng Yen during 7-day retreats in New York City and Long Island, this volume is recommended for beginning as well as seasoned practitioners of Chan and Zen Buddhism.

Drawing its title from the famous ox-herding pictures that symbolize enlightenment as the search by an ox-herder for his wayward ox, Hoofprint of the Ox is an inspirational guide to the self-discovery that is possible through Chan practice. Master Sheng Yen shares his wisdom and teachings in this first comprehensive English primer of Chan -- the Chinese tradition of Buddhism that inspired Japanese Zen. Often misunderstood as an obscure system of paradoxes, the Chan path leads to enlightenment through apparent contradiction. While demanding the discipline of traditional Buddhism, Chan asserts that wisdom (Buddha-nature) is innate and immediate in all living beings, and thus not achieved through the strictures of religious practice, but through dropping all attachments and clinging that obscure our true self-nature.

This comprehensive work provides an unusual introduction to the practice of Chan by Master Sheng Yen based on talks given during two intensive retreats at the meditation center of the Western Chan Fellowship in Wales. It provides a basic handbook for all concerned with an effective training of Chan for the West with especial reference to the little known practice of Silent Illumination. In his foreword Stephen Batchelor writes: "The discourses are lucid and direct, drawn widely on the sources of Chinese Buddhism, and speak in a refreshingly modern idiom. Perhaps because the settings were relatively small and intimate, the gentleness, warmth and humor of Master Sheng Yen radiate throughout the text".

Huatou is a skillful method for breaking through the prison of mental habits into the spacious mind of enlightenment. The huatou is a confounding question much like a Zen koan. Typical ones are "What is wu [emptiness]?" or "What was my original face before birth-and-death?" But a huatou is unlike a koan in that the aim is not to come up with an answer. The practice is simple: ask yourself your huatou relentlessly, in meditation as well as in every other activity. Don't give up on it; don't try to think your way to an answer. Resolve to live with the sensation of doubt that arises, and it will pervade your entire existence with a sense of profound wonder, ultimately leading to the shattering of the sense of an independent self.

Master Sheng Yen, a Dharma descendant of the founders of Buddhism in China, considers the concepts of suffering, enlightenment, and, compassion, and briefly recaps the history of Buddhism in China. But he goes beyond these issues to discuss contemporary matters and questions he has encountered in his years of teaching in the United States. Sometimes personal and always instructive, Mater Sheng Yen's introductory work is perfect for those just coming to Buddhism, and for those who are already very familiar with the Tibetan and Zen schools.

Here is a spiritual practice uncomplicated enough for anyone to learn, yet rich enough to be worked with for a lifetime. The traditional Chan (Chinese Zen) practice called Silent Illumination begins with nothing more than putting aside all thoughts except the awareness of oneself “just sitting.” It’s so simple in execution that it has sometimes been called the “method of no-method”—yet simple as it is, the practice is subtle and profound, with the potential for ever subtler refinements as the practitioner moves toward mastery of it. When fully penetrated, this radical form of emptying one’s busy mind-stream leads to perception of the vast ocean of pure awareness.

"To my knowledge there are no anthologies of Chan poetry in Chinese, Japanese or English which describe in detail the method of practice and the experience of Chan. Furthermore, there are few prose sources in English dealing with the same topics. The purpose of these poems is to specifically show you how to practice, what attitudes to cultivate and what pitfalls to beware of. Finally, they attempt to describe the ineffable experience of Chan itself. These poems flow directly from the minds of the enlightened Chan masters. They include works by Shih Wang Ming, Master Fu, Seng Ts'an, Niu T'ou Fa Jung, Yung Chia Hsuan Chueh, Shih T'ou Hsi Ch'ien, Tung Shan Liang Chieh, and Han Shan Te Ch'ing." We get a glimpse into their experience at the time of, and after their enlightenment. -- Chan Master Sheng Yen