Cultivation and Zen Practice for Attaining Enlightenment (Part Two)
Chapter 3: The Relationship Between Meditative Concentration and the Physical Body
1. The Relationship Between Bodily Feeling and Meditative Concentration
The feeling of the body consciousness can only disappear after one cultivates to the fourth dhyāna, so that one is no longer affected by tactile objects. Even non-Buddhist practitioners can overcome and eliminate the feelings of the physical body, as long as they have the fourth dhyāna. The feelings of the mind consciousness can only be subdued and eliminated by eradicating the view of self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi); the feelings on the five consciousnesses can be eliminated through meditative concentration alone, while the feelings of the mind consciousness must be eliminated through wisdom. The feelings of the five consciousnesses can also be suppressed by shifting one's attention; shifting attention is also related to meditative concentration—if the attention is not on the place of pain, one cannot feel the pain. Some matters can be resolved through meditative concentration alone, while some matters must be resolved through the wisdom of eradicating the view of self and the wisdom of enlightenment upon seeing the mind, and some matters can only be resolved through the combination of meditative concentration and wisdom.
2. What Sustains the Physical Body in the Fourth Dhyāna
When one has cultivated to the fourth dhyāna, what phenomena occur in the body? We originally breathe through the mouth and nose, but now the breathing stops; not only does breathing stop, but the beating of the heart and pulse also stops, and all phenomena of the circulation of qi and blood cease. What function do the heart and pulse serve? With each contraction and expansion of the heart, blood is delivered throughout the body, moistening it. For the body to function normally, it needs qi and blood; qi drives the blood to circulate back and forth throughout the body. Blood is nutrition, the nourishment required by this machine of our body; without nourishment, the machine cannot run. Under normal circumstances, the faster this machine of the body runs, the more nourishment it needs, the more qi and blood it requires, and this demands a more robust function of the heart, so as to ensure the body's normal operation. This qi and blood are the four great elements the body needs, composed of the seeds of the four great elements.
When meditative concentration is very deep, the body's operation slows down, the internal organs consume less nourishment, and not so much qi and blood is needed. When the body consumes only a minimal amount of nourishment, with slow metabolism, and no longer needs so much nourishment of the four great elements, breathing stops, and the beating of the heart and pulse also stops. But at this time a small amount of qi and blood is still needed to maintain the existence and operation of the living organism; only it no longer relies on the coarse nourishment of the four great elements such as breathing and eating—the four great element particles absorbed from the surrounding air through the body's pores are sufficient, and the waste in the body is also discharged through the pores. If a person in meditative absorption were placed in a sealed jar, they would suffocate to death due to the lack of supply of the four great elements from the air.
The physical body is also composed of the four great elements; the body and the surrounding environment mutually merge, interconnect, and influence each other. Material things can also transmit particles of the four great elements to one another, so the four great elements of matter are constantly radiating outward, with a mutual permeating quality. That is to say, external matter can, through every cell of the body, transmit these material particles, which are then absorbed and become matter within the body, while the matter in the body simultaneously sends out particles of the four great elements outward. When this input and output reach a state of balance, the body can function normally. The physical body can absorb the nourishment of the four great elements from the external environment to sustain the body's operation, so the external material environment can influence the physical body; likewise, the body's four great elements also radiate outward, and the body can also influence the external material environment. Thus there is a certain connection between the bodies of sentient beings, and they can influence one another—let us tentatively call this phenomenon shared karma.
After sentient beings of the desire realm enter the fourth dhyāna, the body relies on the surrounding environment for nourishment; sentient beings of the form realm in concentration also rely on subtle four great elements for nourishment; sentient beings of the formless realm have no physical body and thus no longer need the nourishment of material four great elements. Without meditative concentration, the body consumes a great deal of the four great elements; the more bodily and mental activity, the more of the four great elements is consumed, and the more qi and blood is needed. People with many wandering thoughts consume more qi and blood and need to eat more food than others; those with few wandering thoughts consume less, and those with less bodily activity also consume less.
We should regard the physical body as a machine—in fact, it is a machine. The operation of this machine requires the consumption of nourishment; for it to function normally, it must be replenished with nourishment. The faster the machine runs and the greater the workload, the more nourishment it needs and the more energy it requires. The energy humans need comes from food and drink, from the material living environment; the machine needs lubricating oil to run. If you want this machine to last long, you must reduce its operation and reduce its workload. Because when the machine runs, there is wear and tear, which consumes the machine; the more it runs, the more it wears down, and the machine gradually grows old, with various functions declining. It is the same with people: the greater a person's activity, the more this machine of the human body wears down, and the shorter the lifespan will be.
In meditative concentration, a person has very few wandering thoughts, or none at all, and the body is not active; the nourishment needed is little, the activity of the internal organs is less, the wear is less. People with meditative concentration generally have healthy physical bodies and longevity. Modern people do not understand this; they all emphasize living well, eating well, and having fun, wanting to enjoy food and drink, not knowing that the more one eats and the richer the nutrition of what one eats, the greater the workload of the body's internal organs and the more severe the wear, so the body becomes worse and less likely to be long-lived. Therefore, eating much and eating highly nutritious food makes it very difficult for the internal organs to digest and absorb, requiring an enormous workload, so the internal organs are greatly consumed, and longevity is not easy to attain. To live long, one must reduce the body's wear, reduce the workload, reduce the amount of exercise, and further cultivate meditative concentration to reduce delusive thoughts.
Meditative concentration can calm the mind; both bodily and mental activity are reduced, wear is less, and lifespan is longer. After one has cultivated the fourth dhyāna, the length of one's lifespan is determined by oneself. If one wishes to relinquish one's lifespan early and go to other worlds, such as the heavenly realms, one can decide for oneself; if one does not wish to relinquish one's lifespan early, or wishes to live for a thousand or ten thousand years, that too is decided by oneself, because within the fourth dhyāna there are supernatural powers, and one can freely decide whether to keep or leave the body, with the time of birth and death determined by oneself. But one still cannot be completely at ease, because the view of self has not yet been eradicated and one cannot escape the cycle of the six realms of rebirth; it is only that the birth and death of this life are up to you. Without the fourth dhyāna, one is not at ease regarding the birth and death of this life; to relinquish one's lifespan early, one would have to commit suicide, and whether you want to live one more year, half a year, one day, or one hour is not up to you either.
The body is merely a tool for our cultivation. View it objectively, regulate it well, but do not cling to it, do not regard it as self or belonging to self; then one can make good use of the body to cultivate the Path, and at the very least not let the body become a burden that drags us into endless birth and death in saṃsāra.
3. The Relationship Between Cultivating the Body and the Path
When the body develops obstructions that affect meditative concentration, then one should deliberately cultivate the body. If the body is healthy without obstructions, there is no need to deliberately spend time and energy cultivating the body. When meditative concentration is not affected or hindered, one need not attend to the body; only by forgetting the body can there be meditative concentration. If the mind always holds the notion of the body, first, it hinders meditative concentration, and second, the view of the body is difficult to eradicate. Only by emptying the body, forgetting the body, not dwelling on it or attending to it, will meditative concentration easily arise and the view of the body be easily eradicated.
Modern people practice in exactly the opposite way from people of ancient times. Ancient people did not care about the body, did not attend to it, did not spend time and energy on it, and as a result their meditative concentration was deep and they realized the Path quickly. Modern people almost all follow the body alone, treasuring it beyond measure, making excuses that caring for the body is for the sake of cultivating the Path, with the result that the Path is not cultivated and the body is not necessarily well cared for either. After all, karmic obstructions are there; no matter how one maintains and nurtures the body, it still has heaps of problems. Even if the body is well maintained, the view of the body in the mind has increased considerably; because the view of the body is not eradicated, there will still be endless suffering in future lives. Think about it—is it worth it? For the sake of a body of a few decades, one delays the enterprise of the Path, rejecting pearls and picking up grains of sand—how foolish!
4. Why Does One Still Feel Pain Even When Knowing the Body Is Illusory?
Sometimes when there is pain, for example when the legs hurt, one tells oneself: what you are touching is clearly a shadow, why do you keep feeling it over and over again? But the mind consciousness just will not obey and still goes to feel the pain, grimacing at a shadow. Why is this? Because many problems are resolved through meditative concentration; without meditative concentration, the physical body does not transform, and the problem cannot be solved—meditative concentration is a hard requirement. For example, the problem of pain in the five feeling aggregates must be resolved through meditative concentration, not merely suppressed by wisdom; moreover, this wisdom is still the wisdom of the mind consciousness—the manas has no wisdom. Without realizing the body is illusory, even if one has realized it, meditative concentration is still required to eliminate the sensation of pain. The realms of the aggregate of form, the aggregate of feeling, the aggregate of perception, and the aggregate of volitional formations all need to be broken through one by one with meditative concentration, so that the body of the five aggregates can be emptied, and then all kinds of feelings will be emptied and gone.
5. Why the Tighter the Legs Are Crossed, the Better the Concentration
Generally speaking, when sitting in meditation, the full lotus position produces better concentration than the half lotus, the half lotus better than the loose cross-legged position, and the loose cross-legged position better than sitting with legs stretched out. This is because when the legs are crossed, most of the qi and blood in the legs gathers in the upper body; with the qi and blood gathered, energy is concentrated, its circulation is smooth and forceful, the meridians of the whole body become unobstructed, and the body is easily adjusted well. When the body is adjusted well, the mind becomes comfortable and joyful, thoughts are concentrated, and concentration is attained quickly and deeply. With legs stretched out, it is not easy to have such an effect; with the legs extended, a portion of the qi and blood is distributed in the legs, the force of circulation is dispersed and insufficient, the meridians are not easily opened, the body is not fully adjusted, and of course the mind is not so peaceful.
Then, when the legs are crossed, is there no circulation of qi and blood in the legs, leading to paralysis? Of course not. When the legs are crossed, there is still some circulation of qi and blood in the legs to ensure their normal existence. Moreover, when the qi and blood circulate in the upper body, they also flow toward the legs; with a strong force of circulation, the leg meridians are easily opened, leg diseases are expelled, and concentration is attained quickly and deeply.
6. The Feelings After Both Body and Mind Are Unobstructed
Question: After all the meridians of the body are unobstructed, is the force of the contraction and expansion of the dantian during breathing reduced?
Answer: After all the meridians are unobstructed, the body will be extremely at ease, without any burden, to the point of not even feeling the body's existence—just like the great ocean, which though flowing is silent and waveless on the surface, profoundly immovable. This is the result of meditative concentration; combined with the wisdom of contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā), meditative absorption (samādhi) easily arises. For example, when riding an electric bike, if there is no wind, one does not feel resistance; the stronger the wind, the greater the resistance felt, and the stronger the sense of the physical body's existence. Similarly with the human mind: the less one seeks, the more open, the more relaxed, the fewer the entanglements, the less one feels the existence of self. Conversely, the mind will have many entanglements, and the sense of self-existence is stronger. The stronger the sense of self-existence, the more one cares about oneself, the more one cares about others' views and attitudes toward oneself, the more self-esteem, self-regard, and pride one has, the more disputes and gossip, and the less peace. When the mind is obstructed, there are many disputes; when the body is obstructed, there are many sensations.
7. The Relationship Between the Flesh Body and the Four Great Elements
Time, this illusory dharma, is quite marvelous. If a person could fly to a heavenly realm, stay a few minutes, and return, hundreds of years might have passed in the human world—several lifetimes of human lifespan would have gone by—yet this person would still be as young as before, not aged at all.
Why is this? Aging or not depends on the flesh body. The flesh body is composed of particles of the four great elements, arising and ceasing, changing, and impermanent, so the flesh body constantly matures, develops, and changes. The four great elements constitute the qi and blood needed to sustain the flesh body; if the qi and blood are vigorous and flowing, the flesh body receives ample nourishment and does not easily mature and age, and the person appears young. Qigong and various practices can make the qi and blood active and flowing, nourishing the flesh body, so people who practice well generally look young. Time reveals the arising, ceasing, and changing of the four great elements; the longer the time, the more evident the arising, ceasing, and changing, and the more mature and aged the flesh body. In short, youth and aging lie in the development and change of the seeds of the four great elements.
Why do the physical bodies of heavenly beings not age? Because the constitution of the four great elements in the bodies of heavenly beings differs from that of human bodies. The four great elements of humans are coarse and heavy, while those of heavenly beings are subtle and refined; heavenly beings can fly, but humans cannot. When humans ascend to heaven, following the living environment of the heavenly realm and absorbing the particles of the four great elements there, the four great elements of the physical body will also change, and the flesh body becomes close to that of heavenly beings. When heavenly beings come to the human world and absorb the particles of the human world's four great elements, their bodies draw closer to those of humans, and the four great elements also change, becoming close to those of humans. For example, when heavenly beings of the Light-Sound Heaven of the second dhyāna come to the human world and eat the flavor of the earth of the human world, the four great elements of their physical bodies immediately change, they can no longer fly freely, and they cannot return to heaven.
When qi is full, one does not think of food. Qi is material energy composed of the four great elements. After sitting in meditation and cultivating concentration, when the qi is full, one does not feel hungry and can eat no food or eat less, and the body is light and comfortable. Because the four great elements of qi differ from those of food: the four great elements of qi are fine and light, and full qi can make the flesh body float upward, while the coarse and heavy four great elements of food make the flesh body heavy. Therefore, eating less and cultivating concentration more will make the body healthier. No matter how nutritious food is, it is still coarse material form, not the best thing, not as good as the nourishment of qi.
8. The Results of Regulating the Breath
Ordinarily, in an environment with relatively fresh air, do more deep breathing and use the breath-recollection-of-the-Buddha (buddhānusmṛti) method to regulate body and mind; this easily opens the qi channels, purifies the mind, clears the head, and sharpens thinking. It can be practiced while walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, without restricting body posture. A person lives on one breath; when the breath is well regulated, it is equivalent to replenishing the nourishment of the four great elements, and the body becomes healthy. At the same time, combine it with meditation, contemplating the qi circulating through the whole body and the Buddha's light shining over the whole body, so the whole body is relaxed and healthy, and the qi of illness and karmic obstructions is expelled from the body. Both the breath and the body are composed of the four great elements; regulating the breath is equivalent to regulating the body, and contemplating the breath is equivalent to contemplating the body. Contemplating the body ultimately leads to an empty body, a bodyless state.
9. When Qi Sinks to the Dantian, Wandering Thoughts Are Few
Much talking and many wandering thoughts will plunder the dharma wealth of merit. Cultivate the qi to sink into the lower dantian, and the mind will be unwilling to think about things; wandering thoughts decrease, speech decreases, the mind is quite focused, and memory improves. When the qi has sunk into the lower dantian, whether walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, the qi remains in the lower dantian, without needing to deliberately regulate the breath or guide it with intention; even when sleeping, the qi remains in the lower dantian. When the qi is in the lower dantian, the mind is very steady, unruffled by waves, thoughts are deep, consideration of problems is thorough, and afflictions are few.
10. The Difference Between Buddhist and Daoist Cultivation of Concentration
Buddhist cultivation of concentration differs to some extent from Daoist cultivation of concentration, because the purposes of cultivating concentration differ, so the methods must differ to some degree. The purpose of Daoist practice is the health and longevity of the physical body; they do not seek liberation from the suffering of birth and death in saṃsāra, so in cultivating concentration they pay great attention to the physical body, with all their attention on the body, not caring about the wisdom of liberation. Buddhists should, on the basis of cultivating concentration, put more effort into wisdom; when cultivating concentration, do not pay too much attention to the body. Just a little exposure to those Daoist body-cultivation theories is enough. We Buddhists cultivate concentration to gain wisdom and attain liberation; as long as the body does not create obstructions and does not affect thinking and investigating Chan, we need not attend to it—spending too much energy on the physical body is not worth it.
11. The Relationship Between Concentration-Wisdom and the Qi Channels
One often hears people say: only by opening the central channel can one become enlightened, or that opening the central channel naturally brings enlightenment. These claims are incorrect; there is no necessary connection between the central channel being open and enlightenment and seeing the Path, but seeing the Path is not unrelated to the qi channels either. So what is the relationship between the qi channels and seeing the Path? Cultivation cannot be separated from the physical body; making full use of the body and removing the body's obstructions makes it easy to see the Path. Seeing the Path is the product of complete concentration and wisdom, and the arising of concentration and wisdom cannot be separated from the harmonization of the four great elements of the body. The more harmonized the four great elements, the more unobstructed the body, the stronger the power of concentration, the more focused the mind, the stronger the thinking capacity, and the greater the wisdom.
The circulation of the body's qi channels is divided into three: the Conception Vessel (rèn mài) at the front of the body, the Governing Vessel (dū mài) along the back, and the central channel running through the middle of the front and back of the body. When the front Conception Vessel is blocked, the internal organs always have ailments and obstructions; when the mind enters concentration and the qi channel is blocked, the internal organs will have pain, the mind is immediately drawn away by the pain, the power of concentration disappears, and investigating Chan and contemplative practice are interrupted. When the back Governing Vessel is blocked, pain and discomfort appear from the entire back to the nape and the crown of the head; when the pain is severe, one will exit concentration, and investigating Chan and contemplative practice will be interrupted; even if not interrupted, energy is dispersed and the power of wisdom weakens. But back pain is easier to endure than pain in the internal organs, and concentration is weakened less, so blockage of the Governing Vessel is better than blockage of the Conception Vessel.
To enter deep concentration, to have stable meditative concentration, and for contemplative practice and investigating Chan to be effective, the Conception Vessel must be open; the Governing Vessel is best opened too, and at the very least must not have severe blockage; the central channel need not be opened. When the mind becomes pure and one can frequently enter concentration, the qi channels will also circulate smoothly, the four great elements will be relatively harmonized, major illnesses of the body will be eliminated, and the factors affecting meditative concentration and contemplative practice will gradually be removed. When the body's qi channels are unobstructed, it is easy to forget the body and not be distracted by it; at this time meditative concentration is deep, and all one's energy can be applied to thinking and investigating, so wisdom grows quickly. Understanding the relationship between concentration-wisdom and the qi channels, in the course of daily study and practice one should try to remove the body's obstructions, keep the body healthy and the qi channels unobstructed; then concentration and wisdom will continually grow, and ultimately one can see the Path.
12. The Principle of Cultivating the Body
The human body originally has innate qi, but it is mostly blocked by the acquired food and drink and cannot fully exert its due function. The more one eats, the more severe the blockage, the more waste and garbage, the heavier the body, and the harder it is to cultivate meditative concentration. To mobilize well the innate qi one inherently possesses, one must keep the mind on the dantian, letting the qi gather there; when the dantian qi is full, the qi mechanism will be activated, supplying qi to the whole body, driving the blood to circulate back and forth, and the body's functions are stimulated and employed.
Countless people in a lifetime never make good use of the true qi and functions the body inherently possesses, all suppressed by dietary habits. When a baby is first born, the body's functions run very well, and the body is soft and elastic; in early childhood, the body's suppleness is high, and both legs can be crossed very well; the older one grows, the harder the body becomes, the harder it is to cross the legs, the more garbage in the body, and the worse the circulation of qi and blood. This innate qi in the body can only be released and exert its due functions through reducing food intake and practicing cultivation methods. Therefore, if one can fully mobilize the body's qi channels, one can cultivate meditative concentration well, improve one's constitution, and extend one's years. Only by cultivating the body and meditative concentration well can we ensure that our enterprise of the Path is unobstructed and continually progresses. Otherwise, if the body is unhealthy, the mind is not at ease; if the mind is not cultivated well, how can there be the Path?
We cultivate body and mind through bigu (grain avoidance/fasting). During the fasting period, one cannot eat, yet the body still needs energy, so we must transform and absorb other energies, such as light energy and qi energy. Light energy must ultimately be converted into the qi energy the body needs; qi energy drives the blood's circulation and flow to maintain the body's energy balance. To absorb light energy, one way is to sunbathe, and another is to sit in meditation contemplating sunlight entering the body, becoming energy the body can use. One can also recite mantras while contemplating the Buddha's light entering the body to supply the body with energy. At the same time, one must expel the qi of illness, cold, dampness, and toxins from the body. If this contemplation is cultivated well, it will be greatly beneficial to health—purer than food and drink, more beneficial, and without side effects.
Then practice some exercises to supplement the body's energy and increase yang qi. Specifically, one can practice as follows: (1) Clasp the two hands together behind the back and lift them upward; this can lift the qi of the stomach and lungs, stretch the bladder meridian, and straighten the back. (2) Raise the two hands and clasp them above the head; keeping the body still, rotate the upper body above the chest. (3) Hold the two hands in front of the lower abdomen with palms facing up in a ball-holding posture, slowly lift them upward while breathing deeply, lift them above the head, rise onto the toes, turn the palms over, pause a moment, fill the breath with qi, then lower the two hands down along the sides of the body, exhale the breath, and lower the heels. This increases lung qi.
13. How to Contemplate to Remove Illness
All dharmas arise from mental thought; the mind can create all dharmas and can also change all dharmas, including the present physical body. As long as merit, the power of concentration, and the power of wisdom are sufficient, changing the physical body can happen as fast as in a single thought, or as slow as in a lifetime. This is the result of the eight consciousnesses operating in combination, with the sixth and seventh consciousnesses giving rise to delusive thoughts and the five aggregates moving accordingly. If the physical body produced by delusive thoughts does not suit one's wishes, then one transforms it again through delusive thought. When one's mental power is insufficient, one can, through reciting the Buddha's name, reciting sūtras, and reciting mantras, invoke the blessings of the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Dharma-protecting good deities to change the physical body and remove illness; among these, the power of mantra is the strongest, and the mind can concentrate best.
How does one recite mantras and contemplate? First, one must choose a good mantra. There are many mantras that can remove illness—one could even say all mantras can remove illness, with only some difference in effect. Among them, the Medicine Buddha mantra is the mantra of the Medicine Buddha's skillful means for removing beings' illnesses; reciting it has very good effect. The Śūraṅgama mantra is the king of mantras, able to resolve all problems, and its effect in removing illness is also excellent. One may choose either, reciting slowly and single-mindedly while combining with contemplation. When reciting mantras with contemplation, the mantra may be long or short; it is not necessary to recite the entire mantra—reciting any number of lines is fine. Once the intention is sent out, the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas receive the signal and will come to bestow blessings. Just recite the lines of the mantra slowly and attentively; the slower the better, because when slow, one has the energy to contemplate.
Contemplation is the most important part. Only when the mind's intention moves can the current state of the physical body be changed. When the sixth and seventh consciousnesses move, one's own tathāgatagarbha will cooperate with the intention, and what is thought of comes to be. The tathāgatagarbha, of course, cooperates with the seventh consciousness, the manas; so when the mind consciousness recites the mantra, the power of concentration must be deep, drawing the manas to recite as well, and then the matter is mostly accomplished. If the power of concentration is insufficient and cannot draw the manas, then there is little effect. If one's power of contemplation is very strong, even without reciting the Buddha's name or mantras, one can change oneself and change others—the key lies in one's power of recollection. If one only recites the mantra well but has no power of contemplation and the mind's power of recollection is not strong, there is also little effect; it mainly depends on the power of contemplation.
How to contemplate? Contemplate white Buddha-light or yellow Buddha-light shining on the afflicted part of one's body, mainly the internal organs, or shining over the whole body; contemplate the Buddha-light entering from the Baihui acupoint at the crown of the head into the whole body, the four limbs, all the way to the soles of the feet. As the Buddha-light enters through the Baihui point, the head is filled with light, especially the area of the supreme faculty (indriya), all filled with light; thus the functions of the eyes, ears, nose, and tongue will be sound, and the head clear and healthy. Further down, the neck and all the internal organs of the whole body are filled with light, and the ailments gradually dissolve. Wherever the contemplation reaches, light appears, the qi of illness recedes, and the physical body improves. If the illness in a certain part is rather serious, then concentrate the mind on contemplating only that part. For example, if the nose is blocked, contemplate the lungs: the Buddha-light enters from the chest into the lungs, the entire lungs become a field of light, the qi of illness inside is gradually expelled outward, and breathing becomes normal. The spleen, stomach, and other organs are all contemplated in this way.
For example, if there is a tumor, mass, or cyst in the body, or cancer cells, contemplate the Buddha-light shining on that place, the black qi and qi of illness being expelled bit by bit; the tumor or mass will become smaller and smaller, and the color of that place becomes the same as healthy skin color, or appears as a luminous color, and the illness is cured. Even stones in the body can be eliminated through contemplation: contemplate the stones becoming smaller and smaller, finally exiting from the nearest part of the body, and the stones disappear without a trace. For a person with strong power of contemplation, the stones will, with a few gurgling sounds, miraculously vanish without a trace, never to be found. All illnesses can be handled this way, but there is no fixed dharma; the contemplation methods are not limited to this one. Explore slowly, and you will discover many methods, though the underlying approach is largely similar.
With this method, one can successfully contemplate for people far away at the edge of the sky. Whether the person is at any location on Earth, or has left the Earth in the sky, in the universe, or in one of the six realms of rebirth, contemplation is possible. As long as one remembers the person's appearance and the power of contemplation is sufficient, the person can receive benefit, can change their current situation, and can even escape the three evil realms. This method can be used continuously and can benefit countless people, but taking on others' karma is certain. When one's own karmic obstructions are still rather heavy, or when one's cultivation is at a critical juncture, it is best to attend only to oneself—the enterprise of the Path is most important; after all, when one person achieves realization, countless people can be saved.
With such contemplation, once the mind becomes refined, on the basis of the concentration power of this contemplation, one can then practice contemplation of the Buddha's image and contemplation-recollection of the Buddha, contemplating the Buddha's image clearly and meticulously, and can then realize the recollection-of-the-Buddha meditative absorption (buddhānusmṛti-samādhi) of the equal cultivation of Samādhi and Prajñā, thereby seeing the mind and attaining enlightenment.
14. How to Make Contemplation More Effective?
To make contemplation more effective, of course direct contemplation with an actual object works best—having a real object to touch and refer to, close to direct perception experience, without laborious imagination; this saves mental energy and is more relaxed. That is to say, it is rather difficult for the solitary consciousness (mano-vijñāna-eka-citta) to contemplate apart from the actual five sense objects; if there is a real object to touch and refer to, and the five consciousnesses and the consciousness accompanied by the five senses (pañca-sahagata-mano-vijñāna) also join the contemplation, this is closer to reality, the matter appears easier, and the contemplation effect is more evident and rapid.
For example, in contemplation of the Buddha's image, if there is no actual Buddha statue before one for comparison and reference, relying solely on the imagination of the solitary consciousness is quite laborious and requires very strong concentration. When the power of concentration is clearly insufficient, in order to save mental energy, one should place a Buddha statue before oneself for reference; then contemplation easily takes hold. With the five consciousnesses and the consciousness accompanied by the five senses joining the contemplation, the power is greater and more realistic, which helps to enhance concentration; the contemplation skill will gradually strengthen, and finally, using the solitary consciousness alone to contemplate, one will handle it with ease and progressively enter a finer state.
Another example is using the contemplation method to open the Conception Vessel. When the power of concentration is insufficient, relying solely on the solitary consciousness to imagine the Buddha-light or some other light energy shining from the lungs and pouring all the way into the dantian, the seabed wheel (sacral center), and other places is rather strenuous; often the consciousness becomes scattered and the contemplation is ineffective. It would be better to place the hands on the Conception Vessel, letting the palms emit light shining on the various internal organs, pouring in from the lungs downward, or letting the Buddha-light pass through the palms into the internal organs; this more easily opens the organs, makes the Conception Vessel unobstructed, and the body can be regulated quickly. Removing illness through contemplation follows the same principle: place the hands on the afflicted part, letting the palms emit light to shine on it; the six consciousnesses (the body consciousness and the consciousness accompanied by the five senses) follow the palms, adding the sense of touch, targeting precisely, being rather effortless and direct, and easily producing effects. In short, the principle is to first use the six consciousnesses to assist and strengthen concentration, and finally, when the concentration is sufficient, use only the solitary consciousness; adjust the state well and enter the contemplative realm step by step—success comes easily.
15. Why Can Cultivating the Body Nourish the Nature?
Some people have certain psychological obstructions and afflictions, such as heavy suspicion, timidity, anxiety and unease, worry, a bad temper, and so on. These are all afflictions and also psychological obstructions. Among them, some people have these problems purely due to psychological factors, that is, karmic obstructions and habitual tendencies brought from past lives; another portion of people are directly related to physical health, caused by bodily reasons—possibly due to illnesses such as spleen deficiency, heart deficiency, liver constraint, gallbladder disease, and so on.
People in the world often speak of cultivating the mind and nourishing the nature. A person's character, temper, and disposition are manifestations of the mind-nature; temperament is psychological emotion. Some psychological emotions are connected with physical health; if the various internal organs have problems, it will lead to problems in psychological emotion, which in ordinary people's eyes appears to be a problem of cultivation. In fact, as long as physical fitness improves, psychological quality improves accordingly, and cultivation improves. It is bodily problems that cause psychological problems—this is temporary, not the fundamental issue. As long as a person has not cultivated to the fourth dhyāna and has not transcended the realm of the aggregate of form, they will be affected by the physical body of the aggregate of form and by environmental factors such as the surrounding magnetic field. After passing beyond the realm of the aggregate of form, no matter how the body is, it will not affect the mind—being cut by knives or hacked by axes is no problem, with an unchanged countenance and unperturbed heart.
Therefore, there is another saying in the world: cultivate the body to nourish the nature. But there are extremely many people with particularly good physical fitness whose mind-nature is nevertheless not good; such people truly have psychological problems and truly have a bad mind-nature. Whereas people whose emotional problems arise from bodily influence are not necessarily people with a bad mind-nature, nor necessarily people without cultivation. For example, a person originally of extremely gentle temperament, if suddenly physically disabled, unable to accept this cruel reality, will undergo a great change in temperament with a fiery temper; once the body is healed, they will again be that person of gentle temperament. The same applies to a person suffering from liver constraint: it affects temperament and temper; a person with liver fire will also be irritable, fiery, and bad-tempered; once the symptoms of liver constraint disappear and the liver fire is gone, they will return to their original gentle temperament. The physical body needs meditative concentration to nurture it, and the mind-nature also needs meditative concentration to harmonize it. As long as there is meditative concentration, both the physical body and the temperament will transform into a considerably good state.
16. Changes in the Physical Body When Deep Meditative Concentration Is Attained
Question: These recent days when going out, I cannot hear noises—for over half a month now, whether at home or out, if I am not careful I am greatly startled by sounds. The first two days were especially severe; I felt as if this body were about to float away, unable to maintain balance, as if the body were out of control, and I felt as if there were a hole at the crown of my head with wind entering. Usually I dare not go out, fearing fright. My daughter says I no longer pay attention to them, and that I look as if my soul has departed, listless. She also took me to the hospital for a checkup, but nothing was found. Sitting in meditation contemplating the dharma meanings in my room at home is much better, but sometimes I feel flustered at heart. This has never happened before. Is something wrong with me?
Answer: You may not understand the circulation of the body's qi channels, so you do not know whether the qi has passed through the Conception Vessel at the front of the body, through the Governing Vessel along the back, and finally, after circulating a full cycle through the front and back of the body, entered the central channel, with the qi about to rush out through the crown of the head. When the Baihui acupoint at the crown is about to open, the crown is very soft and also sensitive to cold, and one feels wind pouring into the crown. The feeling of lightness in the body is because meditative concentration has changed the coarse four great elements of the human body, making the four great elements more subtle, close to the physical body of desire-realm heavenly beings. After the first dhyāna is attained, the body's four great elements become even more subtle, the body lighter, close to the physical body of form-realm heavenly beings. When the fourth dhyāna is attained, because the body's four great elements become extremely subtle and the body feels especially light, one can fly up to heaven and into the earth, attaining the supernormal power of traversing space, and at the same time the mind is also extremely subtle, and the telepathic power arises.
Your current state belongs to a state of extreme inner stillness, unable to attend to the external at all; realms outside the mind and outside the body can no longer be attended to, and you dwell only in the inner world, so any movement outside startles you. At this time, try not to go out and avoid people, so as not to be frightened. After the crown opens, there are still some matters that require avoiding people; at this time you must carefully protect yourself from being startled, and let others handle errands as much as possible.
Your meditative concentration and samādhi are already very deep. Because the qi channels now circulate smoothly and there are no blocked places in the body, the body has no illnesses. In terms of meditative concentration, you will go even deeper in the future. As long as you know that these conditions are all caused by states of meditative concentration, let the mind not attach to marks, dwell in concentration according to conditions, and take nothing to heart—then there is no problem. Because you are unclear about these matters and feel uncertain, you feel flustered.
