Compilation of Daily Discourses

Chapter 13: Bigu Fasting and Health Cultivation

I. The Benefits of Bigu Fasting

Bigu fasting has many benefits: it can eliminate various diseases in the body including cancer, expel toxins and waste, clear out the garbage and toxins clogging the blood vessels, improve blood circulation, renew the blood with fresh blood, break down from the cells and tissues the essential nutrients the body needs, make the skin glow radiantly with a rosy fairness, nourish and preserve one's youthful appearance, beautify the skin, promote health and longevity, reverse aging, and make life more vibrant. The qi channels flow smoothly, the body becomes supple, full lotus posture comes easily, meditation is more effective, meditative concentration (samādhi) increases quickly, body and mind are joyful, the manas' craving for and dependence on food is reduced, afflictions decrease, the mind becomes sharp, thinking becomes active, wisdom is developed, and both samādhi and wisdom grow.

Food and drink are coarse great elements, containing filth and toxins; they increase the burden and workload of the internal organs, wear down the organs, and shorten lifespan. During bigu fasting, qi is the mainstay; qi is subtle great elements, primarily the wind element, which makes the body rise and become light and agile. Immortals and devas all feed on qi and ingest qi, and their bodies are so light and agile that they possess the superknowledge of psychic power (ṛddhi-abhijñā) and can fly. During bigu fasting, meditation is remarkably effective; when sitting quietly, one does not want to leave the seat. Make good use of this time to cultivate samādhi: the body is supple, the legs can easily hold the sitting posture, the mind easily settles, discursive thoughts are few, and the mind is clear. When the qi channels run well and qi flows through in all directions, the body's microcirculation and metabolism are both good.

II. The Preparation Period for Bigu Fasting

Semi-bigu lasts about three days, more or less; its main purpose is to accustom the body and the manas to eating little or no food. When formal bigu begins and there is no food in the stomach, the cells and tissues will rapidly break down and metabolize, expelling toxins and garbage and providing highly nutritious substances. On the first day of semi-bigu, drink only one bowl of millet porridge, seventy percent full, or half full; on the second day of semi-bigu, also one bowl of millet porridge, slightly less in quantity, sixty percent full is enough; on the third day, half a bowl of millet porridge, forty to fifty percent full. Formal bigu then begins with drinking only water—drink plenty of water to promote cellular breakdown and metabolism, and to promote the expulsion of toxins and waste.

III. Formal Bigu Fasting

If you work, choose Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday for semi-bigu, and begin formal bigu on Friday. Saturday is the second day of bigu; the stomach is not yet accustomed to going without food, so you will feel rather hungry. At this time, staying at home without contact with people means you will not expend too much energy. On the third day you will also feel a bit hungry, somewhat better than the second day; likewise rest at home, without contact with people or affairs. By the fourth day you will have more or less adapted and things will be normal; the energy broken down from the cells and tissues will also be greater, and you will feel energetic and mentally agile. This applies to people without special illnesses and whose illnesses are not too serious. Those with blood sugar that is too high or too low had best not do bigu—if problems arise, no one can take responsibility. Only with a doctor or TCM physician nearby to care for you may you do bigu. Those with serious heart disease or stomach disease should also not do bigu. Generally, group samādhi retreats also do not allow people with serious illnesses to participate, in case something happens and the responsibility cannot be borne.

Only after three or four days of bigu can stomach ailments begin to be regulated. The longer the bigu period, the more illnesses are regulated and the more thoroughly, the better the metabolism of the internal organs, the more the blood is renewed, the healthier the body, the younger the person, and the finer and smoother the skin—better than cosmetic treatments, with no side effects whatsoever.

In formal bigu, eat nothing at all. Only when there is no food in the stomach will the cells and tissues break down, expel toxins and garbage, and break down highly nutritious substances for the body to absorb—this is many times better than food. For the first bigu, three to seven days is enough; more than three days is best, for only then are there some effects; a shorter time is of little use. From the fourth to the seventh day, the stomach becomes accustomed to having no food and you no longer feel very hungry; apart from craving, if you can resist the craving and avoid contact with food and drink, generally the bigu will succeed.

In bigu, what we mainly need to learn is visualization. If you can visualize sunlight shining on you, entering your body and your stomach, you will not feel hungry. Then visualize the Buddha's light shining on your body and on the afflicted parts, and the body's hunger will be relieved; the stomach feels very comfortable, and the body feels very relaxed, light, and at ease. Then breathe some fresh air; the air also contains the four great nutritive substances, mainly oxygen. At night you can also visualize moonlight and absorb the moon's energy. Light energy and qi energy are both more beneficial to the body than food; both are subtle material great elements, whereas food is coarse material great elements. Devas feed on subtle material great elements, so their bodies are light and can fly; humans feed on coarse great elements, so their bodies are heavy and cannot fly. When devas of the second dhyāna descended to the human world and ate the "earth fat," they could no longer fly and could not return to heaven. We Buddhists who cultivate should try to take qi as our food; when qi is full, one does not think of food, and the body becomes healthy and vibrant. The immortals in the mountains all feed on qi and other subtle great-element substances, so they are healthy and long-lived, with lifespans of tens of millions of years. Those who sit in meditation and cultivate samādhi, if they cultivate it well, will also be healthy and long-lived; with the fourth dhyāna samādhi one can also live tens of millions of years or for one kalpa.

Formal bigu lasts three to seven days; seven days is still fairly easy to sustain. Doing bigu two or three times a year will effectively regulate the body. The second bigu will be easier than the first; in the first, the "illness of craving" outweighs the "illness of hunger," and the manas' habit of craving food is not so easy to overcome. If the mouth can produce more saliva, swallowing the saliva can also serve as food and drink, even more nutritious than food. Hold some fruit pits or the like in the mouth to induce the production of saliva, then swallow it, and the nutritional energy will be sufficient. Saliva is more nutritious than bird's nest.

IV. Resuming Food Intake

After seven days of bigu, you may resume eating. This is a crucial point: if the resumption of food is done well, the body will be completely renewed and gain a new life.

Resumption of food relies on millet porridge, which is easy to absorb and digest and regulates the spleen and stomach. After bigu, the stomach is like an infant's stomach; you must eat liquid foods that are easy to absorb and digest, and must not eat cold, hard, or dry foods, must not drink milk, and must not eat until full or overeat—this is the best period for nourishing the stomach. For the first three days of resuming food, drink only millet porridge, in small amounts over multiple meals, so as not to strain the stomach. From the fourth day onward, millet porridge plus well-boiled leafy vegetables, or yam, carrot, or potato steamed until very soft, eaten dipped in honey.

Seven days after resuming food, add other easily digestible foods. After ten days, you need to tonify the qi: boil water with red ginseng, longan, jujubes, and goji berries and drink it. Tonify for at least a week; longer is fine. Avoid sour, spicy, and salty flavors, so as not to irritate the stomach and intestines. After resuming food, the stomach will form new habits; at this time pay attention to cultivating and forming new eating habits, correcting bad habits—the amount of food and the flavors can both be changed at will.

V. Points of Caution

Some group bigu participants eat some fruit during the period, or spend several thousand yuan buying enzymes to drink—all of these fail. Some TCM qigong practitioners assist with bigu, charging fees of twenty to thirty thousand yuan. Our bigu costs not a penny, requires eating nothing, and needs no one to care for you. If you eat even a little food, the cells will break down a little less, expel a little less toxin, and break down less nutrition—not worthwhile.

During bigu, do more sitting meditation to cultivate and nourish the mind; have less contact with, or no contact with, rotten people and rotten affairs; try to avoid people who easily provoke your emotions. Speak little or not at all, to preserve physical strength and energy. During bigu, if hunger is truly unbearable, you may drink a little honey water, or hold a bit of rock sugar in the mouth, but it is best not to eat anything. The first bigu is prone to craving; hunger is easier to endure and get through, but the illness of craving is hard to cure. During bigu, be sure to drink plenty of water, large amounts of water, to promote the expulsion of toxins, waste, and illness.

During bigu, body weight will decrease by one or two jin per day, averaging 1.5 jin. If food resumption is done well and the stomach is regulated well, the weight will become normal. From the fourth day after resuming food, you may eat a tiny bit of salt; eating it after seven days is best.