The Six Subtle Dharma Gates of the Sublime.

Master Zhiyi and Norman Fischer.

(Maintain a light touch. Never harsh. Six compassionate helpers).

 1.      Counting. Count exhales up to ten. Until the numbers seem a little crude and bothersome to the subtlety of the breath. (Shu: Quietly counting the breath from one to ten to stabilize a restless, wandering mind).

2.      Following.  Be with the breath in the belly. Which results in stopping. (Sui: Dropping the numbers to closely trace the physical sensation of the breath moving inside and outside the body).

 3.      Stopping.   The mind is very quiet, peaceful, deep. (Zhi: Moving from active focus to complete stillness (Samadhi), where the mind rests calmly in a state of tranquil concentration).

 4.      Contemplating.  Recognize that the mind has become too tranquilized. Enquire with a koan, or a phrase. Or investigate every part of the breath. Or investigate the body very carefully in detail.  Is there any such thing as this body at all. Is there any experience that remains. Is the body separate from the rest of the environment or not. How long does the experience of the body last. Enquiring with deep curiosity. Notice finally that the body is not you, is not  a discreet object, but is a flow of impermanence. You then let go of that practice and then take up the next practice which is called returning. (Guan: Observing the breath and mind to realize that everything is impermanent, conditioned, and empty of a permanent self).

 5.      Returning.  It’s a little more subtle because when you are contemplating you have something to contemplate - the phrase, the breath, the body. But now you stop looking at any object and instead you turn the mind around and Look at the mind that is looking: Take the backward step, turn the mind around, follow the stream back to the source. So really, you are trying to see directly what is mind, what is consciousness itself, who is sitting here doing this practice. Everything that we think and understand and suffer in our lives are all based on a completely unexamined set of assumptions, about who we think we are and what we think the world is. The point of this subtle dharma gate is to directly, experientially, confront all those assumptions.  Remember as a kind of understanding point, that we are making these assumptions and that all our suffering is built on these assumptions and that these assumptions may be untrue.  There is literally  no way to do it and nothing to do. There is no mind. The essence of this practice is illustrated in the story of Bodhidharma and his disciple Huike. (Huan: Turning the awareness backward to inspect the mind that is doing the contemplating, moving beyond the illusion of a separate observer).

6.      Purity. This is like the 3^rd  (stopping) in that it’s not a practice that we do, it’s a marker for the fruition of the 5^th subtle dharma gate and it’s called purification. It’s not something we do, it’s just something that arises when we make the effort to practice investigation of the nature of mind. The mind is purified, the mind is healed, the mind is pure. Our life is okay, at least for a moment. (Jing: The ultimate dissolution of all concepts, entering a state of unconditioned awareness or Nirvana (which master Zhiyi defines as "the sublime").

 

The text outlines six progressive steps or "gates" centred around breath awareness (anapanasati) and calming-and-insight (samatha-vipasyana):

• Counting (數 Shu): Using the breath as an anchor by counting inhalations and exhalations to quiet the scattered mind. Counting the breath to anchor the busy mind.
• Following (隨 Sui): Letting go of numbers and simply tracking the natural flow of the breath as it enters and leaves the body. Following the breath naturally without counting it.
• Stopping (止 Zhi): Reaching a state of mental stillness, settling the mind and letting distractions drop away. Stopping discursive thoughts and resting in deep concentration.
• Observing (觀 Guan): Developing clear insight into the impermanent, conditioned nature of thoughts, body, and phenomena. Analysing the breath and mind to realize impermanence.
• Turning Around (還 Huan): Turning awareness back upon itself, recognizing that the observer and the observed are not separate. Turning the mind away from the object of contemplation and toward subjective wisdom.
• Purifying/Reaching the Absolute (淨 Jing): Ultimate liberation, freedom from defilements, and resting in sublime awakening. Pure awareness free of defilements, realizing inherent Buddha-nature.

 Zhiyi outlines the sequential progression of the six gates as follows:

1. Counting (Gaṇanā / 數):
• Regulating and harmonizing the breath.
• Quietly counting the inhalations and exhalations from one to ten to anchor the wandering mind and prevent scattering.
2. Following (Anugamaḥ / 隨):
• Dropping the mental effort of counting once the mind settles.
• Single-mindedly tracking the natural flow of the breath entering and leaving the body without interruption.
3. Stabilization (Sthānam / 止):
• Allowing the mind and breath to come to a rest (śamatha / stopping).
• Reaching a state of calm absorption (dhyāna) where the mind no longer fluctuates or chases external distractions.

4.    Contemplation (Upalakṣaṇā / 觀):

o    Applying active wisdom (vipaśyanā / insight) to examine the breath and the mind.

o    Seeing through the impermanent, conditioned nature of physical and mental phenomena.

5.    Turning (Vivartanā / 還):

o    Utilizing insight to turn back toward the root source of the mind rather than looking outward at objects.

o    Generating realizations of emptiness, signlessness, and the Middle Way.

6.    Purification (Pariśuddhiḥ / 淨):

o    Reaching a clear, unhindered, and luminous state of mind free of mental defilements.

o    Achieving direct entry into liberation and the path of the Three Vehicles.

 

 

What the Text Is About

 Core Practice: It provides a progressive framework for traditional breath-focused meditation (ānāpāna-smṛti) combined with calming and insight (śamatha-vippaśyanā).

• Goal: When properly cultivated, these six practices lead the practitioner from basic concentration through the dhyānas and formless absorptions all the way to the realization of cessation (nirodha), the third/fourth of the Four Noble Truths.
• Mind-Centric Framework: Zhiyi emphasizes that all six gates can ultimately be condensed into "Contemplating the Mind," asserting that all phenomena arise directly from the mind.

 

 

The Six Dharma Gates To the Sublime by Sramana Zhiyi (Chih-i) (538-597CE).

https://everydayzen.org/teachings/invitation-of-the-patriarch-book-of-serenity-case-3/