聖嚴法師的禪法可謂是當代臺灣最具影響力的法門之一。他分別繼承了臨濟宗的話頭禪與曹洞宗的默照禪，同時也教授這兩種禪法。這兩種禪法對他而言，不但是他個人修行上的利器，也是他接引眾生重要的法門。但吾人若回顧歷史可以發現臨濟宗的大慧宗杲曾抨擊默照一派為「默照邪禪」，而曹洞宗的宏智正覺也認為修行「不要作道理，咬言句，胡棒亂喝」，宗杲與正覺在修持方法上各有堅持，那麼聖嚴法師說他自己同時繼承了兩派的修行法，究竟如何繼承？是各行其是的繼承？還是以一為主以一為從的繼承，抑或是調和二者，從中提煉出一種新的禪法？曹洞宗的宏智正覺通常是利用「拈古頌古」、「回互」、「偏正五位」等方式，來教導學生參究古則意蘊。他的修行法門主要為「默照」，要求學習者徹底的「休歇」「揩磨」，他認為只有「歇得盡、修得穩」才可能見性。所謂的「休歇」是萬事拋下，什麼都不作。但「揩磨」卻是如金針引玉線般的「細細行將去，密密其中來」，利用綿密的工夫徹底的刮垢除塵，這二者間有無矛盾？聖嚴法師如何面對「休歇」與「揩磨」間的背反？大慧宗杲卻認為「四料簡」、「偏正五位」、「功勳五位」等，這些都只是方便法門，最直接、最徹底的方法是「參話頭」，這種方法完全避免分析或理解，直接將修行者引入一個「意識不行、思想不到、絕分別、沒理路處，驀然噴地一下，自然明心見性」之處。宏智正覺的「休歇」主張萬緣放下、萬念皆休，始得見佛性；而大慧宗杲則認為必須恆切努力，抱著話頭不放，甚至要鑽進疑團中，在那密不透風中，緊咬話頭不放，方才能夠明心見性。由此觀之，這的確是兩種完全不同的修行法門。若仔細的觀察聖嚴法師對話頭禪與默照禪的繼承，我們可以發現，不論是對主張萬念休歇的默照禪或緊咬話頭不放的話頭禪，聖嚴法師都認為開悟的過程應該都具備「收心」、「集中心」、「統一心」與「無心」四個階段，在默照禪中，聖嚴法師直接將休歇萬念的過程，分為「收心」、「攝心」、「安心」與「無心」四階段；而話頭禪中「念話頭」的過程，屬於「收心」的階段，「問話頭」則為「集中心」的階段，至於「參話頭」則屬於「統一心」到「無心」的階段，最後的「看話頭」則是對「無心」的保任。將禪修的方法以「四心」來說明的方式既不是傳統的默照禪，也不是話頭禪，而是聖嚴法師親證這兩種禪法之後自己的體悟。因此我們可以說在採用默照或話頭的方法上，聖嚴法師是繼承了宏智正覺與大慧宗杲二人；但在親證的過程中，歷代祖師都有他們個別的開悟經驗，這是無法依樣畫葫蘆的，聖嚴法師便以他親身的經驗，化為清楚的四心來說明開悟的歷程。聖嚴法師對默照禪的繼承在於徹底的掌握「默」與「照」的精神，卻不採用「拈古頌古」、「回互」、「偏正五位」等方式，他將宏智的「休歇」詳細的分為「收心攝心、集中心、統一心、無心」等四個過程。同樣的，他對話頭禪的繼承也不在「四料簡」、「偏正五位」、「功勳五位」等，而是將大慧宗杲的參話頭分為「念話頭、問話頭、參話頭、看話頭」等四部分。將此與宗杲原本的「緊緊咬住一個話頭」、「製造疑情」、「參破疑情」三部分加以比較，可以得知聖嚴法師將宗杲「緊咬住一個話頭」的階段視為「念話頭」的部分，而將「製造疑情」的階段，細分為較淺的生起疑情的「問話頭」階段和較深的生起疑團的「參話頭」階段外，還添增了參破話頭後的保任階段─「看話頭」，使得修行者能夠保持在明心見性的光景中。若將聖嚴法師提煉過的默照禪與話頭禪對照來看，可以發現修行者在「念話頭」的階段尚未產生疑情，他只是利用「話頭」來集中紛然雜陳的念頭，相當於默照禪「收心」的階段；到了「問話頭」時，雖然偶有妄念出現，但由於疑情已經產生，所以心已經可以集中於一處了，這就相當於默照禪的「攝心」階段；到了「參話頭」時，修行者以能綿綿密密、一句接一句，如泉水湧出般的參問，遺忘了身體或環境的存在，這就進入「集中心」的階段，等到全人進入了一個大疑團當中後，就已進入「統一心」了；最後的「看話頭」則是打開悶葫蘆之後的保任階段。修行者雖然已到達明心見性的階段，但由於習氣未斷，所以仍須時時提撕，方能維持開悟的狀態，此即相當於默照禪「無心」的階段。

Venerable Master Sheng-yen's teaching of Chan (Zen) can be seen as one of the most influential dharma practices in contemporary Taiwan. His teachings and practices combine both the hua-tou meditation practice of the Linji lineage and the Silent Illumination meditation (Soto) practice of the Caodong lineage. While Dahui Zonggao (大慧宗杲1089~1163) of Linji sect criticized the chan practice of the Silent Illumination sect as "a silent illumination chan practice that goes astray," Tiantong Zhengjue (Hongzhi Zhengjue 天童正覺1091~1157) considered that chan practice "should not play with reasoning and speeches, nor should it resort to random beating with the rod or yelling." Although Zonggao and Zhengjue were two masters that knew each other extremely well, they seemed to insist on their respective practices of chan. Since Venerable Master Sheng-yen claimed that he inherited chan lineage form both sects, we could not but wonder about the following questions: how did he inherit both lineages and their conflicting ways of practices? Did he inherit them respectively, or did he integrate both ways and come up with a new way of chan practice? Tiantong Zhengjue of the Caodong sect usually uses the following methods to guide his disciples to contemplate on the implications of ancient teachings: "to select ancient teachings and praise ancient teachings, "to circulate and reinforce practices," to constantly engage oneself in "the Five Levels of Primary and Auxiliary Practices," etc. His major teaching focuses on "silent illumination," and he asks his followers to completely "stop, and rest." He thinks that only when one is able to "completely stop and rest, and keep constant and steady practice" can one really attain enlightenment. However, what he means by "stop, and rest" is not to ask the practitioners to abandon everything and do nothing. On the contrary, he compares the practice to such delicate needlework as weaving the jade threads through a gold needle, and suggests the practitioners to keep such constant and ever refining practices that they "become aware of all the subtle details of the practices, and all these practices become so densely and continuously connected" throughout whole process. Through such steady, constant, nonstop, and ever refining practices, one may be able to completely clear out the dirt and dust that cover the mind, to attain the subtle wisdom of prajna and enlightenment, and to realize/experience in person the true Buddha nature within. By contrast, Dahui Zonggao thinks that "the Four Liaojian," "the Five Levels of Primary and Auxiliary Practices," and "the Five Levels of Achievement" are all flexible measures during the practice stages while the most important objective of chan practice is to lead the practitioners directly to enlightenment. For him, the most effective way is to "contemplate the hua-tou." This method completely avoids analyses or rationalization, and guides its practitioners directly through to a state where "the conscious mind work stops working, the thinking and thoughts stop entering, the discriminating jobs of the mind come to an absolute end, where there is no room for logical reasoning, when all of a sudden enlightenment explodes, and spontaneously the mind becomes clear, and the true Buddha nature is seen." Venerable Master Sheng-yen does not inherit the Silent Illumination Chan by copying the format of its practices; rather, his inheritance lies in his application of its methods. He does not use its traditional methods "to select ancient teachings and praise ancient teachings, "to circulate and reinforce practices," or to go through "the Five Levels of Primary and Auxiliary Practices." He does not take in the whole set of Silent Illumination practices without any change or adjustment. Instead, he divides Zhengjue's teachings about "stop, and rest" into four more detailed processes to "bring the scattered mind together and remain mindful, to concentrate the mind, to proceed until the mind is unified into one-mind, and then to break apart one mind and realize no-mind." As for Zonggao's teaching about the contemplation of hua-tou, which includes three parts—to intently stick to a hua-tou, to create a doubt sensation, and then to penetrate and break through the doubt sensation—Master Sheng-yen divides it into four stages: "to repeat the hua-tou, to query about the hua-tou, to contemplate the hua-tou until one truly desires to penetrate the hua-tou, and then proceed to be deeply engaged in the investigation of the huatou." Such a division further differentiates Zonggao's stage about "doubt sensation" into a more surface stage of doubt sensation that just arises, and a deeper and more intensive stage where the mind is filled with a mass of profound doubts. Besides, after the stage where one penetrates and breaks through the hua-tou, he adds a stage to keep the practitioner constantly engaged in the practice —the stage to "can hua-toua" (to investigate the hua-tou). This enables the practitioners to stay within the state where the mind is enlightened and the Buddha nature is seen. If we compare the four stages of Silent Illumination chan practice refined by the Master with the four stages of Hua-tou chan practice he taught, we can find that at the stage of "repeating the hua-tou," the doubt sensation has not arisen within the practitioners yet. They just use the hua-tou to bring the wandering thoughts of the scattered mind together, so it is similar to the stage in the Silent Illumination practice where one tries to "bring the scattered mind together and remain mindful." When one starts to "query about the hua-tou," since the doubt sensations have arisen, the practitioner's mind can stay concentrated despite occasional occurrences of wandering thoughts. Therefore, it is equivalent to the stage of the Silent Illumination practice "to concentrate the mind." As the practitioners enter the stage "to contemplate the hua-tou," by means of the uninterrupted series of questioning and contemplation that come one after another, like the spring water which pours out so spontaneously, their whole being will become so wrapped up in the big mass of doubts that they will forget about the existence of the body or the environment. This stage is similar to the stage in Silent Illumination practice where the practitioners "proceed until the mind is unified into one-mind." Finally, the stage to "investigate the hua-tou" includes penetrating and breaking through the big mass of doubts, breaking open the suffocating state that overshadows the mind, and staying engaged in constant practices after the breakthrough. Although the practitioners may attain enlightenment and see the Buddha nature, as their accumulated habits have not been disconnected, they still need to constantly remind themselves to keep practicing so that they can remain in the state where the mind is clear and enlightened. This stage can be equivalent to the stage of "no-mind" in the Silent Illumination practice. Therefore, we can understand that the Master's integrated teaching of the Silent Illumination and Hua-tou chan practices does not just combine Tiantong Zhengjue's and Dahui Zonggao's teachings of chan. Instead, through his own solid practices, he found out the basic principles of chan practices, modified the teachings of the two early masters, and then provided his integrated teaching of chan for modern practitioners.