Entering Meditation 
The purpose or goal, is to reduce confusion and thinking, to keep your attention from wandering and to stabilize the mind when it starts sinking, floating, straining or becoming too diffuse.

Sinking mind is dull, confused and untraceable. Even dozing may occur. Therefore, to remedy this, you are advised to fix your attention on the tip of your nose.

Floating mind drifts; you feel uneasy and are concerned about externals. Therefore, you are advised to fix your attention on your navel because this has been found to keep thoughts from arising. This accomplished, the mind is said to be stabilized and is calmed easily. It then becomes a regulated mind.

Sustained Meditation 
Meditation ultimately is simply awareness without intention. However, you are encouraged to be constantly aware and to know whether your body, breath and mind are properly regulated. If, after having regulated your body and having sat for awhile, you notice that your sitting has become strained or loose, that you are inclined to one side, drooping, holding your shoulders up or pulling them backward or forward, or that you are somehow not just right, you should make the proper adjustments in order to maintain a regulated mind.It might be possible, however, that even though your body is regulated, your breath is not, even after you have already dealt with various unregulated aspects of the breath, which may be audible, gasping or coarse. It may also happen that, even though the body and breath are regulated, the mind is either floating, sinking, loose, strained or unsettled, in which case the methods mentioned earlier should then be used to regulate the mind. Although these methods are to be used expediently, rather than in succession, they may, nevertheless, seem very willful. Actually, it is a little like learning to ride a bicycle; once learned, it takes care of itself.

Coming Out of Meditation 
Before your meditation session is over, you should, in a manner of speaking, put it aside and exhale, using your mouth while visualizing the air leaving your psychic centers. Then gently rotate your shoulders, arms, hands, head and neck; next wiggle your toes to relax them. Having done this, rub your body with your hands, and then rub your palms together and put them over your eyes, cupping them for a while. Finally when you feel that you have cooled down sufficiently, you can leave your seat. To come out of meditation abruptly, even though everything may have been stabilized while you were sitting, can cause headaches and all sorts of illness.

The Practice of Chih-Kuan in Relation to Coarse and Distracted Mind 
When a beginner sits down to practice, his or her mind is usually coarse and unsettled. Practicing Chihis conducive to mind control, but, failing that, one can switch to Kuan.Let us see what it all means. 
The first approach, called Chih,has three components, as follows:

1. According to the sutra, a fixed mind that cannot stray is like a bound monkey. As applied to practice, it means fixing your attention on the tip of your nose, on your navel, or an inch and a half below it.
2. The sutra further says that the five sense organs are controlled by the mind. To stop a wandering mind, you restrain it through observation as it moves.
3. Understanding is of primary importance. Referring to the sutra again, we find that the causes that create phenomena are ownerless and empty. Whoever calms his/her mind, has the foundation for monastic practice. Stopping all arising causes and ensures the attainment of Absolute Reality by means of the realization that all things (dharmas) arise from the mind, that their existence is due to circumstantial causes and that they are devoid of separate self. If this is understood, the mind will not grasp at anything, and its stirred-up condition will simply come to a complete stop. The term Chihmeans just that--stopping.

The second approach, called Kuan, has two components, as follows:

1. If you find yourself caught in sexual desire, for example, you should cultivate the opposite view, seeing sex as dirty and ugly. When you are consumed with anger, you have to find a way to express compassion instead. The opposite of an attachment to the ego's concerns would be to call to mind how everything is an illusion. When you are deluged with thoughts, you count your breaths. The effect of this strategy is, ultimately, to call a halt to discrimination.
2. This consists of looking into the nature of things and seeing that they have no inherent existence and that their apparent existence is dependent upon apparent causes, which, in turn, are dependent upon past experiences and what is presumed to be present circumstances. In other words, causes, also, have no inherent nature; and so they are actually identical with the undifferentiated reality from which they seemingly arise. Since the objects, thus contemplated, are unreal, it then follows that the mind which contemplated them will cease to arise.

The Chih-Kuan Dharma Gate 
To recapitulate, remember that in order to prepare for meditation you should sit properly and regulate your breath to stabilize and control your mind. This requires a great deal of patience for most practitioners because the mind is, ordinarily, quite unruly. Not succeeding at it should not keep you from doing Chih-Kuan,however; nor does it mean that you should quit your practice of regulating your body, speech and mind. As it is, you soon discover that the mind's activity is like a monkey, never stopping for an instant. The advice that is traditionally given is to limit this monkey's movement. The Chih,in Chih-Kuanmeans stoppingand refers to stopping the false or misleading activity of the mind. To do this-i.e., to tether the monkey mindby practicing Chih--the first step is to fix the mind on a single object to keep it from wandering from one object to another. Having accomplished this, you look withinto contemplate your thoughts. There, you discover anew that they arise in great number and often without any relatedness, appearing, for the most part, randomly. You also realize that future thoughts have not yet come. When you ask yourself which of these thoughts is your mind, you realize that your false mindrises and falls and is, thus, also devoid of reality. If you continue in this way, you become familiar with this unreality, and your false mind comes to an end by itself; and with the false mindat an end, reality is evident.

When you first sit down to practice, your mind is often unsettled. This is appropriately called unsettled mind,and to set it at rest, stopping,or Chih,is used. If it is stopped again and again, the thinking process gradually comes to an end. While meditating, you may find yourself getting drowsy. This is  called sinking mindand the way to awaken it is by contemplation, or Kuan, which involves closing your eyes and looking inward, as it were, to the source of your thoughts. There are three kinds of Kuan, or contemplation: contemplation of the void; contemplation of the unreal; and contemplation of the mean.

Contemplation of the Void 
You look into all things within the universe, from the largest-including the earth, mountains and rivers-to the smallest-including your body and mind. Doing so, you perceive that everything changes in every instant and is non-existent and void; and when your mind looks into this voidness, that is called contemplation of the void.

Contemplation of the Unreal 
When you are familiar with this contemplation of the void,you look into your mind or the place, as it were, from which thoughts arise, and you find that each thought has its object. You then realize that every phenomenon owes its existence to a union of an inner cause and an outer concurring circumstance. For instance, a grain of rice sprouts because of the union of an inner direct cause, which is the seed, with an outer concurring condition, in the form of the water and mud that moisten and nourish it. If the grain of rice is not sown and is left in the warehouse, it will never sprout because there is only an inner, direct cause without an outer condition. Also, if there are only  water and mud, without the seed being sown, they, alone, cannot produce the sprout because there has been no union with an original cause-namely, the seed. Every phenomenon in the world is created by the union of direct and circumstantial causes and vanishes as soon as they are separated. This includes thoughts that arise and disappear in the mind and that cannot be grasped. Such contemplation is called looking into the unreal.

Contemplation of the Mean 
There are two contrasting attitudes connected with contemplation of the void,on the one hand, and looking into the unreal,on the other. When you reach this stage, your achievement is still incomplete. Having succeeded with contemplation of the void,do not cling to the void; and when you have achieved contemplation of the unreal,do not grasp at the unreal. When you succeed in keeping from the extremes of the void and the unreal, your non-relying and non-clinging mind will be extraordinarily clear, and this stage is called, contemplation of the mean.

At first glance, the Chih-KuanDharma Gate seems to imply diverse or successive stages. In practice, the use of either Chih or Kuandepends solely on the inclinations of the mind during meditation. As a matter of fact, the purpose of Chihis to return all thoughts to one, the one mind,and that of Kuanis to attain  clear insight into the truth, which is to be free of illusion. Whenstopping,or Chih,is practiced, it should not stray from stopping.Do not cling to the printed word, but practice intelligently, according to the circumstances.

The breath is the source of life. When the breath stops, the body is just an inanimate corpse. With the nervous system no longer functioning, the mind vanishes and life comes to an end. That is why life is said to be preserved by the breath, which links the body with the mind. Thus, we see that a human being is composed of body, breath and mind and that the breath plays the important role of uniting the other two components.

The T'ien T'ai meditation manual, entitled The Six Profound Dharma Gates (T'ung Meng Chih-Kuan), focuses on breathing as a comprehensive practice that may be preceded by training in the Chih-Kuanmethod, or it can be used independently of it. The consecutive stages are as follows:

1. Counting the breath
2. Following  the breath
3. Stopping (Chih)
4. Contemplation (Kuan)
5. Returning
6. Purification

The Method of Counting the Breath 
The breath-counting method offers two possibilities, as follows: After you have regulated your breath, so that it is neither too tight nor too loose, count slowly from one to ten on eitheryour inhalation or exhalation. Do not count on both. For example, breathing in, count one; then exhale and upon inhaling again, count two, and so on. Your mind soon becomes fixed on the activity and does not wander as readily. If it wanders off before you have reached the count of ten, return gently and without further thought to one, and resume counting as described above. This is the method of meditation known as Breath-Counting.

Realization Attained Through Breath-Counting 
As you grow accustomed to the method just described, your breath becomes finer and finer, until it seems to be non-existent. This stage is called Realization By Breath-Counting.

The Method of Following the Breath 
This method is both easy and simple:  Just focus on your breath and follow it mindfully, holding on gently, until it is no longer an issue. Then mind and breath become one.

Realization Attained Through Following the Breath 
As it follows the breath, your mind becomes increasingly subtle. You may notice, at first, the length of your breath; but as it gets more refined it becomes almost undetectable, and at that point it feels as though it is occurring through the pores of your skin. The effect on your mind is stilling or calming. At this stage of practice, you may wish to cultivate your breath further. Your next step will be the practice of stopping,also consisting of two phases:  Chihand Kuan.

The Practice of Stopping, or Chih 
Focus lightly on the tip of your nose; it leads to stopping.In the course of this simple practice, you may suddenly feel as if your body and mind have vanished; you will, thereby, enter a state of stillness called dhyana.

Realization Attained Through the Practice of Chih 
At this stage, clarity develops through awareness. You feel no longer attached to anything, and there is no longer a sense of subject and object while sitting; then you proceed to the stage called Kuan.

The Practice of Contemplation, or Kuan 
This practice consists of a gentle, passive observation of your refined breathing, regarding it as a movement in a void that has no reality of its own.

Realization Attained Through the Practice of Kuan 
This is a further refinement of practice in which you come to feel as though you are breathing through the pores of your skin. To a bystander, you may appear as if you are not breathing. When you reach this stage, Chihand Kuanbecome indistinguishable. As a point of interest, the Samatha Vipasyanafor beginners differs from Chih-Kuanin intent, in that the former develops mindfulness, while the latter develops absorption. An extended session of contemplation should be followed by Returning.

The Method of Returning 
Contemplating your breath, you may realize that there is an apparently subjective mind that contemplates an apparently objective breath and that these very clearly constitute the two poles, the essence, of duality. However, they are to be returned, as it were, to the one, fundamental Mind.

Realization Attained Through the Method of Returning 
This method develops the awareness of the knowerthat contemplates the breath as rising and falling with the mind. This rising and falling mind is experienced to be like the waves that rise and fall in the sea, and this leads to a realization of the illusory nature of it all. The waves are not the water, the fundamental face of which can be seen only after the waves have subsided. Similarly, the mind that rises and falls, like the waves in the water, is not the True Mind. Now look into this True Mind, which is uncreated. Because it is uncreated, it is beyond isand is not;and it is, therefore, void. Because it is void, it follows that there is no subjective mind that contemplates. Because there is no contemplating mind, it follows that there is no object contemplated; and because knowledge and its object vanish, this is called The-Realization-of-Returning Method.Following that realization, the idea of returning remains; to relinquish it, one should meditate on purity.

Realization of the State of Purity 
The practice of purification consists of contemplation on discriminating views. When the mind is still like calm water and there is an absence of false thinking, the Real Mind, which does not exist apart from false thinking, manifests. This water-without-waves sort of Mind is called The Realization of Purity.

These Six Profound Dharma Gatesmay be seen as consisting of a preliminary set of methods, involving countingand followingthe breath, the two main practices of Chihand Kuan,and the concluding practices of returningand purifying.More specifically, stopping (Chih) is the chief practice, while contemplation (Kuan) is its support, until perception is realized, which means that one is no longer involved in making distinctions or having attachments. This reference to perception refers to the five skandhas,wherein it is seen that distinctions are made at the level of conception. Thus, no longer being at that level is to be at the more subtle level of perceptions(again relating to the five skandhas).

To realize Great Dhyana and Great Prajna, the mind must be at ease. The-Six-Profound-Dharma-Gatesprocess contains methods that are designed to regulate the mind, enabling it to relax. This is paramount, for if you do not know how to relax, you cannot even begin to practice. Having learned to relax, then, and with mind and breath regulated, meditation can take place. It is then that you can practice The Six Profound Dharma Gatesof counting, following, stopping, contemplating, returning and purifying, going through all of them over and over again, slowly and patiently, putting your mind ever more at ease as you let gomore and more. To follow any strict order of practice at this time is counterproductive. If you find that counting the breath goes well for you, count your breath. If the purifying method seems called for and works well for you, do that. Then, in only a few days, you may be able to understand your mind easily as never before.

Meditation and Ch'an Ting 
Suffice it to say that there are many approaches to meditation in Buddhadharma that are to be found under the headings of Ch'anand Ch'an Ting.Ch'an Tingalone is an umbrella name for many methods:  the Four Dhyanas, the Four Infinities, the Four-Void Worldly Ch'an, the Nine Observations, the Samadhi of Nine Degrees (supramundane), the Ch'an of Self-Nature and the Ch'an Ting. These approaches can lead one to deep dhyana, where real wisdom is to be found; and with real wisdom, there can be self-enlightenment, enlightenment of others and the Ultimate Perfect Enlightenment.

It has been suggested that to sit alone in a forest or on some remote mountainside to meditate would seem to abnegate the Bodhisattva vow of saving all sentient beings. In answer to that, consider that even a Bodhisattva who is far away from all sentient beings still retains them in his mind. Therefore, it is in this way, when you meditate in the quiet placeof Ch'an Tingand have acquired real Wisdom,  that you can trulyhelp sentient beings. If you are still curious as to why you must practice in solitude, consider this analogy. It is somewhat like trying to light a lamp in a strong wind, as opposed to taking it to a room where the air is still. Just as it is so very difficult, if not impossible, to light a lamp in a storm, it is equally hard to find wisdom in a disordered mind. Thus, even Bodhisattvas live apart from sentient beings and stay in quiet places, so that they can practice Ch'an Tingand develop and purify their wisdom.

You have to concentrate or focus your attention on whatever you do in the everyday world, if you want to do it properly. The same applies to the quiet inner world, as well, although not in quite the same way. To make another analogy, let us say that you have a lamp that is in good working order and that all the surrounding conditions contribute to its producing a good, bright light. It is only then that you will have a good, bright light. However, the practice of Buddhadharma assuredly is far more subtle than the act of lighting a lamp. The mind of confusion is much lighter than even the lightest feather and moves so swiftly that it is gone before anything can be done about it. It cannot be controlled, because any such attempt is, in itself, an act of confusion. As quickly as lightning, the objects of the mind appear and disappear, and this frenetic activity does not stop. Indeed, it cannot stop! The only way out of this tangle is made possible through meditation.

In The Commentary on the Dhyana Paramita, it is written that a Bodhisattva must abandon his family and all his worldly possessions, be ready to give up his very life, and then stay in a quiet place to prepare his mind for dhyana by remaining still and calm in body and mind. When he is free of thought, there is no way for evil to arise. In preparing for dhyana, one must endure whatever happens, never tiring, always persevering. When confronted with evil (an obstacle to samadhi), he must exercise great patience in not responding with the defilement of anger. This is accomplished by not discriminating and by neither grasping at nor rejecting anything. In his quest for dhyana, he concentrates on the one Mind (the one mind being no-mind). Nothing sways him from his course. He sits, never lying down, sits even though tired, never resting; and, though seemingly gaining nothing by his apparent efforts, he, thereby shows, indeed, his great progress. A Bodhisattva practices and completes all of the Six Paramitas, concentrates on the one Mind, which is no-mind, and can finally understand all the aspects of birth and death in the world through Prajna.