Q&A on the Contemplative Practice of the Four Foundations of Mindfulness (35)

Question: In my last two meditation sessions while contemplating emptiness, the pressure on my body was extremely intense—I could not move and almost lost control. Moreover, today the qi is blocked in both arms, and now both of my forearms are sore and numb without cease, as if I had done heavy labor. Do I need to make adjustments? 

Answer: Soreness, numbness, and swelling in the arms indicate that there are places of blockage where the qi and blood cannot easily pass through. When you are not sitting in meditation, the qi circulates poorly, so you do not feel anything; but once the qi becomes abundant, when it encounters a blockage there will be a reaction, and the obstruction of illness will appear. Once the blockage is cleared through, the illness obstruction will disappear. The feeling of pressure on the body and the inability to move show that the qi is abundant; the more abundant the qi, the easier it is to clear through the body and both arms. If you can persist, then persist—most likely the meridians in your arms will be cleared through very soon. Know that any phenomenon arising in the body during meditation is a matter of the qi meridians, a matter of the circulation of qi and blood. No matter what phenomena appear in the body again, there is no need to be surprised or puzzled; regulate it slowly and everything will get better. Do not pay too much attention to these matters. 

Question: During meditation, if the qi mechanism keeps activating and stays in the head without passing through, what will happen?  

Answer: That means the qi that has arisen is abundant and powerful, and at the same time there is an obstruction in the head that the qi mechanism cannot yet pass through. If there were no obstruction and the qi meridians were unobstructed, there would be no such thing as a qi mechanism. At this time, if you can endure, then endure; when you can no longer endure, visualize the qi going out from the Baihui acupoint at the crown of the head, or get off the cushion and pat the head to disperse the qi. But even after it disperses, it will still strike the head again; only when it is completely cleared through will the problem be solved. Even if it is not completely cleared through, the qi mechanism will eventually pass through or dissipate, and then it will circulate to the front along the Ren meridian, from the Ren meridian to the Du meridian, and then to the crown of the head. Until it enters the central meridian and goes out from the crown of the head, the qi meridians of the whole body will be completely cleared through, and the body will have no more obstructions; from then on, the practice of meditative concentration (samādhi) will proceed unimpeded. 

If the qi meridians in the head can be cleared through and the qi and blood circulate well, thinking will be extremely clear and energy abundant; wisdom can be opened, and even clearing through a portion is quite good. When the qi meridians are cleared through and the mind attains purity (viśuddha), the body will emit a fragrance—very fragrant—the mood will be pleasant, joyful and free of worry. All of these are conditioned phenomena subject to arising and ceasing; do not be attached to them. Now that meditative concentration has already arisen, it is enough to be able to engage in contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā). Do not pay too much attention to matters of the qi meridians—just let them be.