Wu Jyh Cherng - Daoist Meditation: The Purification of the Heart Method of Meditation and Discourse on Sitting and Forgetting (Zuò Wàng Lùn) by Si Ma Cheng Zhen

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DAOIST MEDITATION

The Purification of the Heart Method of Meditation and Discourse on Sitting and Forgetting (Zu Wng Ln) by S M Chng Zhn

TRANSLATED FROM THE CHINESE INTO PORTUGUESE, AND WITH A COMMENTARY BY WU JYH CHERNG

with Marcia Coelho de Souza (for transcription, editing, and adaptation of texts)

Foreword by Eva Wong

English translation by Benjamin Adam Kohn

LONDON AND PHILADELPHIA

First published in 2015

by Singing Dragon

an imprint of Jessica Kingsley Publishers

73 Collier Street

London N1 9BE, UK

and

400 Market Street, Suite 400

Philadelphia, PA 19106, USA

www.singingdragon.com

Copyright The Estate of Master Wu Jyh Cherng 2015

Front cover image source: from the picture archive left by Master Wu Jyh Cherng

Transcription of the classes, editing and adaptation of the texts: Marcia Coelho de Souza, licensed Daoist priestess, disciple of Master Wu Jyh Cherng

Coordination of the publication of the works of Wu Jyh Cherng, proofreading and photographs: Lla Schwair

Transliteration of the Chinese terms into the Pn Yn system and ideograms: Tong Harr Lee

English translation: Benjamin Adam Kohn

For more information about Daoism or related topics, please visit: www.taoismo.org.br

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Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

Medita??o taoista. English.

Daoist meditation : the Purification of the Heart Method of Meditation, and Discourse on Sitting and

Forgetting (Zuo Wang Lun) by Si Ma Cheng Zhen / translated and with a commentary by Wu Jyh Cherng

; foreword by Eva Wong.

p. cm.

ISBN 978-1-84819-211-9 (alk. paper)

1. Meditation--Taoism. 2. Sima, Chengzhen, 647?-735. Zuo wang lun. I. Wu, Jyh Cherng, 1958-2004.

Medita??o taoista. English. II. Sima, Chengzhen, 647?-735. Zuo wang lun. English. III. Title. IV. Title:

Purification of the Heart Method of Meditation, and Discourse on Sitting and Forgetting (Zuo Wang

Lun) by Si Ma Cheng Zhen.

BL1923.M4313 2014

299.514435--dc23

2013035505

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN 978 1 84819 211 9

eISBN 978 0 85701 161 9

In Daoism, the crane is the bird-symbol for Immortality. Legends tell that when someone attains realization on the Daoist Spiritual Path, he leaves the manifest world to inhabit the Sacred World, ascending while mounted on a crane, which opens its wings and flies towards Heaven, transporting the Immortal to the dimension of the Absolute.

CONTENTS

Passages from books of the Daoist Canon

Compilation, translation and commentary: Wu Jyh Cherng

S M Chng Zhn

Commentary: Wu Jyh Cherng

FOREWORD

Although I never met Master Wu Jyh Cherng in this lifetime, I felt a strong connection to him and his teachings the moment I stepped into the Daoist temples he had founded in Rio de Janeiro and So Paulo. What I experienced there was simplicity, humility and clarity the virtues embodied by Daoist sages. I think that, had we met in person, we would certainly have become good friends. The fact that we did not meet in this mortal realm, however, did not diminish our connectedness.

I was informed by Master Cherngs students that he had told them to approach me for advice should the need arise. That need occurred when he passed away several years ago, and fulfilment of that need emerged during my visit to Brazil in early 2008. What started as a casual meeting with fellow Daoist practitioners became a friendship with the community he had left behind in Rio de Janeiro and So Paulo.

Now, Master Cherngs lifetime of work and teachings on Daoist meditation are being published in this book, and I have the honour of being asked to say something about it.

First, Daoist meditation has often been cloaked in mystery and secrecy. As a result, much of the teachings have been misunderstood and practised improperly. This book presents a fresh and straightforward approach to Daoist meditation that integrates a faithful rendition of the original teachings with modern practicality and application. The teachings in the book are based extensively on the Tng Dynasty Shng Qng Patriarch S M Chng Zhns text Zu Wng Ln ( Discourse on Sitting and Forgetting ). Zu Wng Ln is not only one of the most important Daoist texts ever written; it is the definitive work on the method of Daoist meditation known as Ni Gun (internal observation). Ni Gun as a method of meditation is simple and profound at the same time. It is very effective in diminishing discursive thinking and in dissolving the sense of the permanence of ego or self. Thus, S M Chng Zhn titled his work Discourse on Sitting and Forgetting . Whether Ni Gun is practised simply as a way of relaxing body and mind or used as the foundation to enter, cultivate and stabilize stillness in the more advanced stages of Daoist meditation, this form of meditation is invaluable.

Second, Master Cherng has made a monumental contribution in not only translating and explaining the Zu Wng Ln but also in teaching Ni Gun in a practical, safe and accessible way. This text gives the reader a background of the language and philosophy of Daoism, and the clear and concise way in which the technique of Ni Gun is taught and guided throughout the book will give both the beginning student of Daoist meditation as well as adept practitioners a valuable path to strengthen their practice.