Let not a single thought arise.
Be mindful of the present.

Investigation is similar to drilling wood; you do not stop until the drill makes a hole all the way through the wood. If you stop halfway, then all your earlier efforts will be to no avail. The first priority in Chan meditation is patience. When you can be entirely patient, then you can reach a state of “not even one thought arising”. When not even one thought arises, you can get enlightened. As the saying goes, “Take one more step from the very top of a hundred- foot pole.” At that time, when you can take yet another step from the very top of a hundred-foot pole, the worlds throughout the ten directions manifest in their entirety. To gain success, however, you must apply yourself constantly, in thought after thought, without any laziness or slacking off.