In this lucid and gentle guide, Rebecca Li presents Silent Illumination, a Buddhist practice from the lineage of Chan Master Sheng Yen.

Like many spiritual concepts, Silent Illumination --- or the “method of no-method” --- can be expressed simply, but putting it into practice is not easy. It is “a way of clear and total open awareness, moment-to-moment experience that simultaneously reveals our intrinsic enlightenment.” In this practice, Silent does not refer to a blank mind, but rather to nonreactivity to the activity of our minds. And Illumination is “simply” (ha ha) “[r]eality as it is. It is all here.” Silent Illumination is more a way of being than a series of steps or a state of mind. But only practice can lead us there.

"Reading this book is like having a wise and compassionate companion at your side, encouraging you to make progress on the path towards a wiser, more expansive view of existence, for the benefit of all."

Why do this, or any other Buddhist practice for that matter? As Li reminds us, our habitual, default ways of thinking and reacting often cause us to suffer. “Most of the time, no matter what else is going on, we want something else.” Everyone who has engaged in a serious mindfulness practice can vouch for the truth of that! We resist accepting what is, as it is. As Li puts it, “the present moment + vexation = suffering.”

The practice of Silent Illumination is to allow “whatever is in the present moment to be, while maintaining and cultivating clear awareness and recognizing and releasing the compulsive habitual reactivity again and again to fully experience each unfolding present moment as it is. It is easy to describe but less easy to do.”

Li’s teachers taught this process as “let through, let be, let go.” Li expounds on these steps of recognizing and allowing our thoughts and emotions while refraining from reactivity. And after explaining what Silent Illumination is, she spends several chapters explaining what it is not. This is helpful because we can recognize ourselves in the descriptions of common modes of operation and begin to unlearn unhelpful habits. Some of these modes are craving mode, aversion mode, trance mode, problem-solving mode and intellectualizing mode. Many meditators will observe their own tendencies in these chapters. I realized that I’ve used meditation to achieve a calm, peaceful state of mind and called that success. (Trance mode.) “[Y]ou may find the foggy mind state pleasant and attach to it because it feels better to obscure unpleasant thoughts and emotions from your awareness.” Um, guilty!

Another mode that resonates with me is intellectualization. Reading and conceptualizing can seduce us into fitting our experience into neat categories. It is comforting to believe we have it all figured out! But as Li reminds us, if we substitute concepts for “directly experiencing each emerging present moment, we are not gaining insight into the subtle habits of the mind.” Li’s teacher, Master Sheng Yen, used the analogy of studying the menu instead of eating the food. “If we mistake reading Dharma books for practicing, for directly experiencing each moment as it is, we will be like the hungry person who reads a menu without eating.”

Buddhist meditators will discover a wealth of valuable wisdom in ILLUMINATION. Li’s prose is friendly, accessible and patient. Reading this book is like having a wise and compassionate companion at your side, encouraging you to make progress on the path towards a wiser, more expansive view of existence, for the benefit of all.