The Zennist: Hua-t’ou: A Method of Zen Meditation by Stuart Lachs

This paper discusses a form of meditation practice known in Chinese as hua- t’ou. It was popularized by the Chinese Zen master Ta-Hui (1089 – 1163) a member of the Lin-Chi sect of Zen. While Ta-Hui did not invent this method of meditation, he popularized it in that he was the first to teach a theory of why hua`t’ou should be practiced, and also taught how to use it in Zen practice.2

In particular, this paper will discuss what a hua-t’ou is, why Ta-Hui placed so much importance on it, and why this practice could be of interest to people today. I will give examples of well known hua-t’ou, describe one way to practice this method, describe some states of mind that may arise when doing the practice, offer some personal experience from my own thirty years of practicing the hua-t’ou, and consider what it means to have a Zen awakening. I will then list Ta-Hui’s ”Ten Defects” of hua-t’ou practice, and finally offer some concluding remarks and cautions related to having an awakening experience and the importance of continuing practice thereafter.

For the rest of Stuart Lochs' paper please download:

Download LachsZen_2012_02_11.docx

Post script. The hua-t'ou has not been ignored by The Zennist. I am glad to see Stuart gives it some well deserved ink. I think The Zennist blog readers will find a lot in Stuart's paper that is spiritually beneficial to their own practice. Needless to say, the hua-t'ou method is all but ignored in most circles of Zen today. Zazen is the method or the same, just sitting (shikataza). But in China, Korea, and Vietnam the hua-t'ou is the preferred method—and a good method it is.