in a quiet place, immersed in tranquillity, is widely
　　   practiced. This kind of tso-ch'an,  which   Shih- t'ou
　　   practiced until he learned of his error,　　 was  also
　　   criticized by Hui-neng in the Ching-te ch'uan teng lu
　　   景德传灯录， The Transmission of the Lamp.  In it, he
　　   said, "if you hold the mind and contemplate silently,
　　   this is a disease and not Ch'an.   Constantly sitting,
　　   restraining   your  body,   how  does  this  help  the
　　   principle  (of attaining   enlightenment)?" Using this
　　   kind of tso-ch'an, one can enhance  health and mental
　　   calmness,  even  attain   samadhi.   But  for  a
　　   practitioner who has become attached to such peaceful
　　   meditation, the habit can become an obstacle.
　　　　  Both of these anecdotes are critical of  certain
　　   kinds of attitudes in practicing tso-ch'an.   Insofar
　　   as they are similar to "outer path"   methods,   they
　　   are not correct Ch'an. The masters were not critical
　　   of tso-ch'an itself, which is a  necessary   practice
　　   to make progress in Ch'an, especially for beginners.
　　   The great masters practiced tso-ch'an, even if   they  
　　   were sometimes critical  of   practitioners  who  had
　　   "Ch'an sickness." And most continued practicing even
　　   after becoming enlightened, sometimes very intensively.
　　　　   In the Biography of Eminent Monks 高僧传, it  is
　　   said that that Master Pai-chang Huai-hai 百丈怀海
　　   (720-814)  established  the   design  for  the  living
　　   quarters  of his  monastery.  In the meditation  hall
　　   there were long, connected  sleeping   platforms.  Its
　　   purpose was for people who had been meditation   for a
　　   long  time to take a break  and lie down.  From  this
　　   description  we can infer  that   the  intent  was for
　　   monks to spend most of their time in tso-ch'an, and
　　  
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　　   only minimal time in sleeping. This in spite of   the
　　   fact that Pai-chang was a disciple of Ma-tsu, who as
　　   a master, advocated non-sitting methods.   This  same
　　   design was used in many future monasteries.
　　  
　　   The Tso-ch'an of Ch'an
　　  
　　　　  At the beginning of the article we said that the
　　   term tso-ch'an had both a comprehensive and a
　　   specific meaning. The comprehensive meaning refers to
　　   any type  of meditation  based   on sitting, including
　　   the  fundamental   methods　　 and  the  "outer   path"
　　   approaches  described  above.   The  specific  meaning
　　   refers to the specific methods developed   and used by