❖ Establish the sect by strict rules and precepts.
❖ Create the principles by practicing stillness, eliminating love, and separating from family.
❖ Build the essence by sitting meditation and begging for food.
❖ Set the use by virtuous deeds and beneficial deeds.
This meditative sect was established in conformity with the sect of the patriarchs, which followed the guidelines of the Shakyamuni Buddha exactly. Therefore, in view of the form of the Tao’s place and the establishment of Buddhist temples or pagodas, the practitioners are called Buddhist monks or nuns, and they wear Buddhist clothing similar to that of the time when the Buddha was incarnate. They carry a bowl in front of their chests with both hands, and walk and stand solemnly, aiming to escape secular life. However, because of their lost orientation and the unsuitability of this practice for current times, these monks and nuns cannot correctly follow the strict rules and precepts, so the establishment of this sect has not been achieved.
When the sect has not been accomplished, the principle, essence, and use are false, and the practice becomes the practice of stillness. Meditation of isolated stillness aims at enlightened stillness. The enlightened stillness must leave the ego to reach the still enlightenment. Otherwise, when one does not leave one’s self-importance but still expects to achieve enlightenment, one’s ego has added mere dharma colors and forms. Consequently, one’s way of practicing becomes illusory about Buddha’s form. From the Buddha form’s position of accumulated stillness, they essentially obtain darkly isolated stillness. They are vague about the truth. Therefore, their practiced outcome is negligible.
There is another sect of this meditation. This sect still follows the above sect and principles exactly, but they pursue their objectives in a more flexible way. They find solutions to error and intransigence. They adopt strict rules to fit each conscious level of the practitioners so that the practitioners’ morale is less constrained. This sect is called the original.