Quote Originally Posted by Scott R. Brown View Post
One other interesting tidbit, the earliest sources of chan actually do not mention meditation, but "wall examining"; no one really knows what it refers too. It was presumed by later generations to mean meditation, however some of the earliest chan writings actually criticize meditation!
Buddhist Faith and Sudden Enlightenment by Sung Bae Park is a great little book I read years ago which has an interesting chapter on "Bodhidharma's Wall Meditation". The book's central concept is how sudden enlightenment occurs through the awakening of patriarchal faith. This is the non-dual affirmation that one is already Buddha as opposed to the doctrinal, dualistic faith that one can become Buddha. By making a distinction between ordinary and saint, one creates a false gap that one then must attempt to cross by practice. The book covers the concept of Patriarchal Faith in various Mahayana schools. It's a good read.

Anyway, why is it that "no one really knows what it means"? Bodhidharm's Errusixinglun is pretty straightforward on the concept of "ningzhu biguan" (firmly abiding in observation like a wall).

Other translations seem to be too colorful and poetic, which imho can obscure the meaning and lead to imagination and incorrect interpretation by the reader. Classical Chinese can certainly infer much broader meaning, but is very succinct in 4 characters. So this is just my unadorned translation on "entrance through principle";

舍伪归真，凝住壁观。无自无他，凡圣等一。坚住不移，不随他教。与道冥符，寂然无为，名理入也 。
"Abandoning the false and returning to the true, firmly abiding in observation like a wall, wherein there is not self nor other, ordinary and saint are one, firmly abiding without waver, not led by other teachings, in deep communion with the path, serene and non-acting- such is called the entrance of 'principle'."

In Chinese it is not "wall observation", with a superficial understanding and emphasis on 'wall' as the object of seeing, but the emphasis is on 'observation' or the act of seeing like a wall. Since a wall sees both sides but does not take part in either, as it were, it is a symbol of non-duality and nondiscrimination, "serene and non-acting".

Further, "firmly abiding" is directly related to the Buddhist concept of faith, or sraddha, which is the act of sustaining confidence, remaining steadfast, or retaining one's trust in the sense of abiding firmly. "Firmly abiding in observation like a wall" therefore means remaining steadfast in a state of non-duality and nondiscrimination. It is a combination of "abiding firmly" (or faith) and "observation" (or practice), which indicates the inseparability of the two.

A wall sees the emptiness of all things and the emptiness of self as well as others. So in this sense, any meditation in which one's mind can be like a wall as defined by Bodhidharma can be called "wall observation", regardless of posture or place of practice. In other words, "wall observation" is not a specific kind of meditation but establishes the criteria for meditation and right practice, namely (1) that all sentient beings have the same true nature, (2) a state of mind like a wall, i.e. "abiding firmly" in a state of non-dualism, and (3) a constant mindfulness of the fourfold practice in one's daily life (explained further in the treatise).