The Principle Behind Seeing Light with Closed Eyes

Ru Chun: The day before yesterday, after finishing meditation, I wanted to try sleeping meditation. As I lay down and began to feel drowsy, in that hazy state I felt as if my heart were breathing, with qi being expelled—it felt so comfortable. Last night during meditation, suddenly a brilliant light appeared before my eyes, and I thought, "It's the middle of the night—how can it be so bright?" The moment this thought arose, the light immediately vanished. Could it be that some states can only be touched by the manas and cannot be reached by the mind consciousness?

Assessment: When the qi meridians pass through the supreme faculty at the back of the brain, the obstruction of the aggregate of form is reduced, allowing one to see light even with the eyes closed. The purer the mind and the better the meditative concentration, the more unobstructedly the qi meridians can pass through the back of the brain and even the whole body, and the brighter the light one perceives. When the eyes are closed, the brighter the light before one's eyes, the smaller the obstruction of the aggregate of form, the smoother the flow of qi and blood, and the better one's meditative skill.

When merit increases, one naturally lets go of worldly dharmas, and meditative concentration naturally improves. Skill is cultivated through practice, and it is also the result of an open mind-nature. In cultivation, do not fear being slow-witted; fear only heavy greed and petty cleverness that refuses to make genuine effort. However good your cultivation may be, why cling every day to the unreliable worldly dharmas of arising, ceasing, and change? Through cultivation, one can attain any sublime worldly dharma—fame, power, status, wealth, and so on—there is nothing that cannot be attained. But clinging to worldly dharmas not only prevents one from attaining the sublime world-transcending dharma; one cannot even hold on to one's pitiful worldly dharmas. The two are simply not comparable. Why is it that so many people still cannot see this clearly and remain greedily attached to worldly dharmas, unwilling to let go?

Ru Chun: The manas always seeks benefit and avoids harm. The ignorance and afflictive habits accumulated over beginningless kalpas have led the manas to believe that obtaining material form is a gain for the self, while losing it is a heavy loss and damage to one's own benefit. The more one pursues worldly gain, the greater the merit one consumes, the less wisdom one has, and the farther one strays from the Path.

Hai Qing: Over time, when lying down in meditation, under certain circumstances my breathing changes—I don't know how it happens. It shifts from breathing through the mouth and nose to abdominal breathing, and my whole body feels warm and cozy, like the feeling of spring warmth and blooming flowers.
ADA: So that's how it is! Not only can I see silvery-white, golden, and purple light during meditation; even when not meditating, as long as I close my eyes for a few seconds, light appears before my eyes, just as bright as during meditation. Especially at night, in a room with the lights off, I can see with eyes open a thin layer of light filling the whole room, like colored glaze, making everything behind the light—furniture and such—appear extremely illusory. This began in 2020; at first I wasn't used to it, felt a bit afraid, and couldn't sleep, but gradually I got used to it. However, light is still a mark, isn't it? One must not cling to it. Without awakening to the true mind and seeing one's nature, one is still an ignorant ordinary being. The key is still to diligently accumulate merit, rectify one's mind-nature, and improve one's meditative concentration; only afterward can there be genuine wisdom.
Assessment: Your mind is pure, your meditative concentration is good, your qi meridians circulate well, and the obstruction at the supreme faculty is small, so you can see light and are not limited by darkness.