Only in Samādhi Can Dharma Be Realized

The experiential practice of Venerable Wei Ru's Four Foundations of Mindfulness: Over the past two years, the focus has primarily been on contemplating the Four Foundations of Mindfulness, practicing the contemplation of impurity and the skeleton visualization. In the last six months, the body has continuously manifested various reactions. My master's teacher instructed me on some methods, such as tapping the head, and also taught me moxibustion and washing my hair with ginger water. Wearing the moxibustion hat has improved things significantly, but recovery is not yet complete. It feels as if wind is penetrating the top of the head. Now, there's still a small area about the size of an egg on the crown that feels tight and uncomfortable, as if the hair is being pulled, slightly warm, yet simultaneously light, tranquil, and comfortable. The eyes have also improved considerably.

The house I lived in when I got married collapsed. At first, I felt quite sad and regretful. Then, upon reflection, I realized that houses and the human body are fundamentally no different—both will decay and perish. With this realization, I let go of the attachment. When I visited my father-in-law in the hospital, I saw that all the inpatients were elderly people, each relying on tubes to breathe. Since recently, whenever I see any physical form, I generate doubt. Therefore, right then, I contemplated the impurity of the physical body and persisted in this doubt. Suddenly, I became dazed, and images appeared in my mind: these elderly people were all skeletons, some lying down, others reclining. Then, the image of my father's cremated, shattered bones, like dust, appeared in my mind, only to disappear afterwards.

Upon careful reflection, relatives are only close in this present life, yet they become obstacles to our practice. Recognizing this point, the attachment to familial bonds immediately weakened, and the mind was able to settle down for diligent cultivation. By contemplating with the mind, one sees that the essence of relatives and houses is also empty and unreal. Thinking this way allows one to let go, free from attachment and sorrow. The more one personally witnesses the impermanence of all people and events, the more resolute the inner mind becomes, the stronger the faith grows, the easier it is to perceive the emptiness of phenomena according to the Dharma, and the less deluded thoughts arise.

During the period approaching the New Year, there were family matters requiring my help. I kept forgetting after hearing instructions, repeatedly mishearing and making mistakes, unable to remember. I felt my mind becoming increasingly dull and slow to react, constantly causing errors. Moreover, it felt as if wind was entering the top of my head. When my scalp touched water or encountered wind, my head felt as if splitting open, causing discomfort. My eyes and nose ran continuously; my eyes felt gritty and tired when looking at things; my ears buzzed incessantly, and I even thought my auditory faculty was damaged. Strangely, however, even though my body was like this and my ears were buzzing, making other sounds unclear, it seemed as if the sound of the Buddha's name permeated my entire being, inside and out. Previously, I could hear the Buddha's name in my mind only when my mind was pure. Recently, however, the more I tried to recall it urgently, the less I could, and the dazeder I became. Yet, it felt as if a force was propelling the sound of the Buddha's name in my mind, making it even clearer, louder, and continuous without interruption.

Commentary: These phenomena manifesting in the body during practice indicate that through cultivating the Four Foundations of Mindfulness, the meditative concentration (dhyāna) is very deep, abiding in the Buddha-Recitation Samādhi and a subtle Skeleton Visualization Samādhi. The inner sound of Buddha recitation arises automatically and spontaneously; it is difficult to prevent it from appearing. This is the state where the mental faculty (manas) is abiding in the Buddha-Recitation Samādhi, uncontrolled by the conscious mind (mano-vijñāna). Simultaneously, there is also profound contemplative wisdom. Calm abiding (śamatha) and insight (vipaśyanā) are equally maintained. At this stage, it is very easy to sever the view of self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi), or one may not even know when it was severed.

The reflections on the house and relatives belong to the understanding and analysis of the conscious mind; they are not direct realization. The component of the conscious mind predominates over that of the mental faculty, therefore it is not a direct perceptual state (pratyakṣa-pramāṇa). The skeleton visualization that appeared in the hospital, however, contained a greater component of the mental faculty, along with some conscious mind. The samādhi state was relatively shallow, and the power of concentration was not yet fully sufficient. Therefore, upon seeing the elderly, it was still necessary to generate doubt on the spot; the skeletons did not appear immediately. If the meditative concentration deepens further and the samādhi state becomes deeper, the skeletons will appear spontaneously and automatically, making it very easy to sever the view of self. Therefore, severing the view of self and realizing the mind (seeing the true nature) both occur within profound meditative concentration, within the samādhi state. Wisdom manifests automatically, without deliberate contemplation or analysis, uncontrolled by the conscious mind. This is the directly perceived state (pratyakṣa-pramāṇa) of realizing the Dharma. States dominated by the conscious mind belong to the non-valid (apramāṇa) or inferential (anumāna-pramāṇa) realms.

The phenomena in the head indicate that the subtle energy channels (nāḍī) are close to fully penetrating the entire head. Once penetrated, the body will be free from obstructions. I just don't know if this means the Conception and Governor Vessels (Ren and Du Mai) have been opened, or if the Central Channel (Suṣumṇā) is also close to being opened—there's no data to determine this. However, this state is not far from severing the view of self. After severing the view of self, the meditative concentration will deepen further, and more auspicious signs will appear.