Venerable Master Sheng-yen's teaching of Chan (Zen) can be seen as one of the most influential dharma practices in contemporary Taiwan. His teachings and practices combine both the hua-tou meditation practice of the Linji lineage and the Silent Illumination meditation (Soto) practice of the Caodong lineage. While Dahui Zonggao (大慧宗杲1089~1163) of Linji sect criticized the chan practice of the Silent Illumination sect as "a silent illumination chan practice that goes astray," Tiantong Zhengjue (Hongzhi Zhengjue 天童正覺1091~1157) considered that chan practice "should not play with reasoning and speeches, nor should it resort to random beating with the rod or yelling." Although Zonggao and Zhengjue were two masters that knew each other extremely well, they seemed to insist on their respective practices of chan. Since Venerable Master Sheng-yen claimed that he inherited chan lineage form both sects, we could not but wonder about the following questions: how did he inherit both lineages and their conflicting ways of practices? Did he inherit them respectively, or did he integrate both ways and come up with a new way of chan practice? Tiantong Zhengjue of the Caodong sect usually uses the following methods to guide his disciples to contemplate on the implications of ancient teachings: "to select ancient teachings and praise ancient teachings, "to circulate and reinforce practices," to constantly engage oneself in "the Five Levels of Primary and Auxiliary Practices," etc. His major teaching focuses on "silent illumination," and he asks his followers to completely "stop, and rest." He thinks that only when one is able to "completely stop and rest, and keep constant and steady practice" can one really attain enlightenment. However, what he means by "stop, and rest" is not to ask the practitioners to abandon everything and do nothing. On the contrary, he compares the practice to such delicate needlework as weaving the jade threads through a gold needle, and suggests the practitioners to keep such constant and ever refining practices that they "become aware of all the subtle details of the practices, and all these practices become so densely and continuously connected" throughout whole process. Through such steady, constant, non- stop, and ever refining prac
