the  Ch'an  masters  to attain   the  state  of seeing
　　   Buddha-nature.  This  is also   referred  to as seeing
　　   self-nature, wu 无, or in Japanese, kensho.   The  two
　　   major methods of Ch'an which have come down to us are
　　   the method of Silent Illumination 默照 and the method
　　   of the kung-an 公案. Each of these methods ultimately
　　   led  to  the  founding  of a major  branch  of  Ch'an
　　   Buddhism, respectively the Ts'ao-tung 曹洞 (Soto) and
　　   the Lin-chi 临济 (Rinzai) schools.
　　  
　　   Silent Illumination Ch'an
　　  
　　　　  The term Mo-chao Ch'an 默照禅, Silent Illumination
　　   Ch'an  is associated  with  the Sung  Dynasty  master
　　   Hung-chih Cheng-chueh 宏智正觉 (1091-1157).   However,
　　   the practice  itself  may be traced   back at least as
　　   far as Bodhidharma.  In his treatise   The Two Entries
　　   and the Four  Practices, the Entry   by Principle  was
　　   described as "leaving behind the false, return to the
　　   true: make no discrimination  of self and others.  In
　　   contemplation, one  is stable  and   unmoving, like  a
　　   wall."
　　　　  In his verse Hsin hsin ming  信心铭,   Affirming
　　   Faith in Mind, the Third Patriarch, Seng-Ts'an, 僧灿
　　   (?-?) Says:

　　　　  The ultimate path has nothing difficult.  Simply
　　   avoid discrimination  and selection...The   mind
　　   endures out thought for ten
　　  
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　　   thousand years.
　　　　  "one thought" refers to the mind which is
　　   completely  clear  and  free   from  attachment.  "The
　　   thousand  years"  is simply   a very long time without
　　   interruption.  We can read similar passages  in later
　　   descriptions of Silent Illumination.
　　　　  Master Shih-shuang Ch'ing-chu 石霜庆诸 (805-888)
　　   lived on a mountain called Shih-shuang for 20 years.
　　   His disciples just sat continually, even sleeping in
　　   the  upright  position.　　 In  their  stillness,  they
　　   looked  like so many dead tree stumps, that they were
　　   named  "the  dry wood   sangha."  Shih-shuang  has two
　　   famous phrases of advice. One was, "To sit Ch'an, fix
　　   your mind on one thought for ten thousand years". The
　　   other was, "let yourself  be like cold ashes, or like
　　   dry wood."
　　　　  Hung-chih himself studied for a while with Master
　　   K'u-mu Fa-ch'eng 枯木法成.  He was called K'u-mu (dry
　　   wood) because when he sat, his body resembled a block
　　   of dry wood. In the hands of Hung-chih, this practice
　　   evolved  into what he called Silent Illumination.  He