Answers to Questions on the Contemplative Practice of the Four Foundations of Mindfulness 21

Question: What should I do if my mouth becomes dry during meditation? 

Answer: When there is no saliva in the mouth, it means the upper and lower parts of the body are not connected, and water and fire are not harmonizing with each other. You can visualize according to the Taiji Eight Trigrams diagram: fire descends from the right side of the chest down to the dantian, and water rises from the left side of the dantian up to the chest and throat, circulating back and forth. Then water and fire will harmonize, and saliva in the mouth will increase. Swallow it down to moisten the body, lungs, and internal organs. Visualization is very useful—the better your meditative concentration, the more effective the visualization. Visualization can almost solve all problems; it depends on whether you know how to visualize, on the quality of your meditative concentration, and also on your merit and virtue. 

Question: While meditating, my cranial nerves seemed to be flicked with a jolt of vibration—what is going on? 

Answer: This is the qi channels reaching the brain, unblocking the qi and blood in the brain. There is a blockage in that area, so when the qi passes through, you feel a vibration. The stronger the qi movement, the more obvious the sensation, and the better the unblocking effect. The same applies to other parts of the body: the more obvious the sensation, the more severe the blockage, and the stronger and more forceful the movement of the qi channels. 

Question: After meditating, my body feels as light as if I had lost several pounds of flesh—what is going on? 

Answer: This is because the qi channels in the body are flowing smoothly, which has transformed the four great elements within the body. Qi tends to float upward; when the qi is abundant, it pushes the body upward, so you feel very light and no longer heavy. You walk with a buoyant, effortless step, silently and briskly, appearing spirited and vigorous, and naturally you acquire dignified bearing. 

Question: My body is especially lazy and I don't want to work—what should I do? 

Answer: Laziness and unwillingness to move are caused by cold-damp qi pressing down inside the body. When there is too much water and too little fire among the body's four great elements, the body feels heavy and lacks the strength to move, and you cannot get up after waking in the morning. Find a way to expel the cold-damp qi and you will be fine.