Meditation under Huineng’s guidance isn’t about mastering rigid postures or counting breaths like ticking off items on a checklist. It’s more like flipping on a light switch, instantly illuminating the mind’s innate clarity. Rather than grinding through effortful concentration, practitioners are invited to rest in “no-thought” (wu-nian)—a state where thoughts arise and dissolve of their own accord, without clinging or aversion.

This approach hits the nail on the head by cutting straight to the heart of awareness. Since every being already harbors Buddha-nature, meditation simply peels away the layers of delusion obscuring that truth. Sitting still becomes an opportunity to notice how ideas about self and other float by like clouds, revealing the sky-like openness beneath. In Huineng’s words, there’s “no place for dwelling,” so the very moment thought-stories are seen for what they are, soterific insight sparks naturally.

Rather than separating meditation from daily life, Huineng weaves them together—no strings attached. Washing dishes, walking, even chatting with friends become seamless extensions of practice. When every action arises from that awakened clarity, formal sitting and everyday tasks dance together in harmony. This “sudden” style suggests that liberation isn’t a distant summit reached only after years of toil, but an ever-present reality glimpsed whenever the mind drops its prejudices.

At its core, Huineng’s meditation is a mirror held up to one’s own nature. It invites a fearless gaze into the mirror, revealing that nothing outside needs changing—only the shaky belief in separation. In that instant of seeing, practice and enlightenment become one and the same, like two sides of a coin that never split apart.