Buddhist-Meditation-Systematic-and-Practical

First, Tathagata Chan of holy instruction;
Second, Patriarchal Chan of pointing out the
essence;
Third, "Offspring Chan" of opportunity and function;
and
Fourth, Multitudinous-sands-of-the-Ganges Chan of
mouth.
This system is according to the prophecies of the
ancient gurus. They have indicated that the highest
Chan must pass through the feet of the offspring and
that after these five lines of transmission there will be
multitudes who know about Chan. In my opinion this is
not praise but blame. It does not mean that Chan
realization has pervaded everywhere, but refers to
widespread Chan of learning but not realizing. Today, it
is like this; multitudes of ordinary people like the sands
of the Ganges can speak of Chan: boys, girls—all of
them.
Our yogi's face was serious and his tone of voice
expressed great concern.
Each of the four types of Chan mentioned above is
liable to be mistaken in a particular way. For instance,
in Tathagata Chan, "xin"—meaning in this context
"heart" or "essence," as it does in the Vajrayana—is
taken instead to mean "mind." This leads to confusion
of Chan with the Idealist and Tian Tai schools.
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