Why Must One Possess Preparatory Concentration (anāgamya-samādhi) to Attain the Path of Seeing?

Ru Chun: Brother Lan Tian, being able to unblock so many parts of the body within three years is truly enviable. I am quite dull-witted; after seven years of sitting meditation, I still cannot tell which parts of my body are unblocked and which are not. What left a deep impression on me was one time when I went to sleep right after meditation and dreamed that I picked a small bee-like insect out of my nose. In a dazed, half-asleep, half-awake state, I felt my entire nasal cavity was extremely refreshed and comfortable. There was also a period when, as soon as I sat in meditation, a stream of qi would rise up, making my throat itchy and dry, and it would dart toward my ear roots, making the entire area around the ears crackle and pop—it was very uncomfortable. During this recent period, this has basically stopped happening.  

There was also a period when I would break out in a sweat all over my head as soon as I sat in meditation. Since childhood I have also had a cold constitution and never sweated even on scorching hot days, but during that period, shortly after I sat down, my head would be covered in sweat. I heard the Master say that all kinds of bodily phenomena arising during meditation are normal and need not be minded, so I just continued practicing as usual. Nowadays, whenever I enter a state of thinking, the top of my head feels swollen and tight, and I enjoy thinking very much. I am a bit afraid that overly active thinking will affect my cultivation of meditative concentration, but sometimes the thinking arises spontaneously, so I can only let nature take its course.

Comment: When the qi meridians are unblocked through the brain, the eyes, ears, nose, and tongue will expel diseased qi, and once it is expelled, one becomes healthy. Wherever the qi meridians are unblocked, there are problems there, and once the qi passes through, it will be resolved. Sweating is a manifestation of expelling damp qi; once it is expelled, all is well. When the qi meridians pass through the head, the body has basically been cultivated to a considerable degree, and both body and mind will be transformed; at this point, seeing the Path is not far off. Seeing the Path is inseparable from the transformation of body and mind. For body and mind to be transformed, the qi meridians must be unblocked: the Ren Meridian must be opened through, and the Du Meridian must at the very least reach the crown of the head, or else both the Ren and Du Meridians must be fully opened. At this point, meditative concentration will be cultivated to preparatory concentration (anāgamya-samādhi) and be complete, and the conditions for seeing the Path are basically fulfilled. There is also one prerequisite: the Dharma principles required for seeing the Path must be thoroughly understood. This is the reason why seeing the Path requires the full attainment of preparatory concentration (anāgamya-samādhi).