Chapter Five: Questions and Answers on Discernment Practice (2)

21. Question: During my sitting meditation this afternoon, the vital energy quickly activated. I felt my body light and buoyant, as if merging with the void, without distinction between inside and outside. My body, eyes, chest, and other places seemed to be breathing—an open, expansive breathing—as if I were floating in the air. With a single thought, I returned to my hometown. A force pushed me, and I flew backward. A thought arose that I felt I had died. But I paid it no mind, unconcerned even if I died (mentally intending to leave it to the seventh consciousness to handle). Later, the backward movement stopped. I saw bright moonlight illuminating the earth, yet I still paid it no mind. Finally, I ended the sitting. My body remained in a floating, ethereal state throughout.

Answer: These bodily sensations are states within meditative concentration (dhyāna). When the mind quiets down, the Four Elements (mahābhūta) of the body naturally transform, leading to a feeling of lightness and ease (prasrabdhi), as if floating in the air. The transformation of the physical body (rūpakāya) further induces changes in the mind. When the mind is turning within the state, it is a state of concentration (samādhi), a condition that arises only after the mind becomes empty. Not paying it attention is correct. Do not remain in the concentrated state for too long. Focus primarily on discernment practice (vipaśyanā) within concentration, making discernment the main thread.

22. Question: While practicing discernment, I reached a point where most bodily sensations ceased to exist, and my breathing became very faint. Continuing the discernment practice, I could no longer perceive my body or breath and entered complete darkness. How should I continue the discernment practice at this point?

Answer: You have entered a state of concentration. Consciousness has become subtle, making it impossible to observe the breath. If you wish to continue discernment practice, you must pull the mind out of the concentrated state and bring it back to the breath. The mind must still focus on (ālambana) the breath, observing its condition. No matter how weak the breath becomes, persist in observing it, progressing from observing coarse breathing to observing fetal breathing (garbha-śvāsa). Do not enter the concentrated state. Only when concentration (samādhi) and wisdom (prajñā) are equally maintained can the view of self (satkāyadṛṣṭi) be severed and the fruit (phala) realized. Concentration alone benefits the cultivation of the body but is not the goal of Buddhist practice.

23. Question: While observing the breath, consciousness simultaneously observes and monitors other distracting thoughts. Is this practice correct?

Answer: This is consciousness chasing after thoughts and being turned by them. Thoughts are fundamentally illusory and cannot be held onto. Monitoring distracting thoughts is useless effort; there is no need to pay them attention. Let them arise and cease on their own. Apply the mind to the crucial point, doing useful work. If consciousness does not monitor other distracting thoughts but focuses solely on the breath, try it and see if meditative concentration improves faster?

24. Question: Yesterday while observing the breath, during exhalation, the breath felt very long, as if it reached the location of the mūlādhāra cakra. Is this normal?

Answer: This is a normal phenomenon. It means the breath energy (prāṇa) has passed through the dantian (elixir field) and reached the mūlādhāra cakra. The energy channels (nāḍī) are flowing well, indicating the mind is clear and the body has no obstructions. The breath energy disperses throughout the entire body and also permeates inward from all parts of the body; the pores on the body's surface can both expel and intake breath energy. Not only the breath energy, but the substances within the body and the substances in the surrounding environment—the Four Elements—mutually exchange, influence, and permeate each other. This is what is called the magnetic field, a bidirectional magnetic field. Therefore, each person is responsible for their surrounding environment, should radiate positive energy, virtuous energy. At the same time, one must also avoid negative energy and unfavorable magnetic fields to be filled with upright energy.

25. Question: During sitting meditation, I feel bloated with gas in my abdomen, which neither passes nor dissolves. What should I do?

Answer: Sitting meditation regulates the body. Waste, toxins, and impurities in the body are expelled through waste gas. If you feel the need to pass gas but cannot, it's because there are still blockages in the body, possibly some dampness obstruction. Eat foods with high thermal energy or drink hot water/ginger water to warm the body and dispel cold. The bloating and gas will then be expelled.

26. Question: While sitting, I merely observed the breath, trying not to participate or guide it. Suddenly, I had a slight realization: this respiratory system is like an automated machine; I faintly sensed it was like a piece of dead flesh. What is this phenomenon?

Answer: This is progress on the path, a preliminary effect of practice. This is precisely the effect sought in discernment practice within concentration. There will be more new discoveries in the future. When this quantitative change accumulates to a certain degree, it will lead to a qualitative change. The qualitative change is the arising of the illuminating insight of wisdom (prajñā). You will gradually discover that the five aggregates (skandhas) body is like an automated machine—false, illusory, involuntary, impermanent (anitya), and without self (anātman)—ultimately enabling the severance of the view of self (satkāyadṛṣṭi). Therefore, discernment practice is simply pure observation, direct perception (pratyakṣa) observation. Do not add the assertions and ideas of consciousness. Slowly, you will discover facts and truths not perceived since beginningless kalpas (anādi-kalpa). To discover the truth, you only need to observe attentively, focus solely on the dharmas being discerned. With time and deep practice, it will come naturally; the facts contained within the dharmas will be revealed.

27. Question: In the latter part of breath observation, I felt my spine pulled taut. Sometimes there was a flow of energy at the baihui point (DU20). What is happening?

Answer: This is because after the mind quiets down, there is no obstruction to the flow of breath energy. The breath energy flows smoothly. The energy channels run from the dantian to the wei lü point (coccyx), then surge up from the wei lü point along the governing vessel (dū mài) on the back, straightening the back. Eventually, the energy channels surge up to the head, impacting the baihui point, and finally exit the body from the baihui point. This indicates that the conception vessel (rèn mài) and governing vessel (dū mài) in the body are clear and unobstructed, the body is relatively healthy, the mind can quieten, and meditative concentration is good. This is beneficial for the practice of the four foundations of mindfulness (smṛtyupasthāna).

28. Question: Focusing on the breath, maintaining a state free from verbalization; or visualizing the breath entering the nose, internal organs, dantian, etc. What are the respective advantages and disadvantages of these two discernment methods?

Answer: The first method conforms to the rules of the four foundations of mindfulness practice and easily gives rise to meditative concentration. The second method involves more mental movement, easily leading to a scattered mind. Beginners with shallow concentration and weak wisdom-power cannot apply it effectively; the visualization will be weak, the mind easily scattered and restless, making it difficult to increase concentration. Those with deep concentration and strong discerning wisdom will cultivate deeper concentration and stronger wisdom through this method. Although the second method can guide energy flow, if guided improperly, the body can easily develop problems. The safest method is to follow the natural flow of breath energy, not worrying about how the energy flows. Experienced practitioners can do it. When starting discernment practice, try not to use consciousness to guide the breath energy; just observe. Observe the process of the breath's movement and changes. The more subtle the observation of the entire process, the easier it is to generate concentration and wisdom.

29. Why can discernment within meditative concentration give rise to wisdom and lead to liberation?

Question: How can discernment give rise to wisdom? For example, observing the breath: initially, one can only observe the dynamic traces of the breath, which only enhances the power of attention and does not generate wisdom. Only after extremely deep concentration is attained and coarse breathing stops does one realize that breathing is an impermanent dharma (anitya-dharma). Yet, everyone knows that human breathing will eventually stop; it is an impermanent dharma. Another example is the contemplation of the impure (aśubha-bhāvanā), like the skeleton meditation. We don't need to sit in meditation to contemplate it; everyone understands that one day, a person's skeleton will turn to dust and return to emptiness. What I don't understand is why contemplate principles that everyone already knows? What wisdom is gained from it?

Answer: Consciousness understands everything, but what use is this understanding? Consciousness understands that there should be no afflictions (kleśa) of greed, hatred, and delusion, and that creating karmic actions (karma) with afflictions will bring negative retribution. But what use is such understanding by consciousness? Consciousness also understands how to become a Buddha. What use is such understanding? What substantial problems do all the understandings of everyone's consciousness ultimately solve? Everyone knows that sentient beings die and are reborn, reborn and die, that the physical body (rūpakāya) cannot be grasped and is unreliable. Yet, don't they still greedily cling to the physical body? Therefore, all the various understandings of consciousness are false understanding and true confusion, utterly incapable of solving any substantive problems.

If the manas (mind-root, the seventh consciousness), which is the master of bodily, verbal, and mental actions, does not understand, how can it refrain from being the master creating karmic actions tainted by greed, hatred, and delusion? How can it be the master choosing the correct, principle-aligned direction and goal for studying the Buddha Dharma? If manas does not understand that the activities of the five aggregates (skandhas), like breathing, are arising and ceasing, impermanent, how can it realize the selflessness (anātman) of the five aggregates? If manas does not realize the selflessness of the five aggregates, how can it be the master creating karmic actions of selflessness? Without pure karmic actions, how can one become a Buddha? Although consciousness understands that people ultimately become a skeleton, manas does not understand. It will cling to the body, take the body as self, causing the cycle of birth and death (saṃsāra) to continue without cease.

Therefore, without diligently cultivating meditative concentration, diligently observing the breath, diligently practicing the skeleton meditation, even if consciousness understands everything, one will ultimately be unable to attain selflessness (anātman) and become the master to gain liberation (mokṣa). All the cultivation of meditative concentration and the effort of discernment practice are meant to permeate manas, prompting manas to understand. Once manas understands, the wisdom state of samādhi arises. With this kind of wisdom, the mind is liberated (citta-vimukti), wisdom is liberated (prajñā-vimukti), and one becomes a Buddha through wisdom. If manas does not understand, there is no samādhi wisdom state, and liberation cannot be attained. If one does not wish to cultivate concentration, does not wish to diligently practice discernment, and is satisfied only with the intellectual understanding of consciousness, this is no different from an ordinary being bound by karmic obstructions. If the karmic seeds (bīja) are not transformed, at the end of life, one will still follow the karmic seeds to suffer retribution within the cycle of birth and death, fulfilling the law of cause and effect.

30. Question: During sitting meditation, after about forty minutes, tears flow from both eyes, reaching the corners of my mouth. Previously, only one eye teared. What should I do?

Answer: The eyes are closely related to the liver. Tearing eyes can be a phenomenon of expelling liver disease, or it can be that the energy channels have passed through the brain's subtle root (胜义根, śūnyatā-indriya?) and expelled eye ailments. If there is eye discharge, it means liver fire is being expelled. You can address it according to the specific situation, or simply ignore it. Strengthen your sitting meditation, let the energy channels flow naturally, and expel all disease obstructions.

31. Question: During sitting, I feel an ice-melting sensation at the bone joints, or a feeling like melted ice water slowly flowing from one place. I can't tell if it's a cool sensation or what, but it feels quite comfortable. What is this situation?

Answer: This is a natural reaction of qi and blood passing through the joints to regulate the body. Originally, there might have been cold-dampness stagnation or waste blockage at the joints. When qi and blood flow there, they carry away some cold-dampness and waste, clearing the joints, hence the comfortable feeling, mixed with some discomfort brought by the expelled pathogenic qi. Your body is relatively healthy; the disease obstruction is not severe. If severe, one would feel pain, even unable to sit cross-legged.

32. Question: During my breath observation, the entire physical body felt very large and solid, but I could no longer perceive the state of the breath. However, a Buddha image jumped out, and I could recite the Buddha's name. This situation has occurred twice during breath observation in recent days. After ending the sitting, I felt very relaxed, but I became more sensitive to cold than before. What is happening?

Answer: Feeling the body large and solid means you have entered the meditative concentration of the desire realm (kāma-dhātu dhyāna). With desire-realm concentration, the body of a desire-realm deva appears. The deva body is large, solid, light, comfortable, and buoyant. Upon entering the concentrated state, perceptual objects appear, such as a Buddha image, because the pure mind sensed the Buddha. After entering the concentrated state, because attention is focused on the phenomena appearing within concentration, you can no longer observe the breath. All states are illusory; do not greedily cling to them. Otherwise, you are prone to deviate, being led by the state, not knowing the way back. Even if a Buddha appears in concentration, it is equally illusory and should not be clung to.

The ancient Chan Master Wēn Xǐ was cooking when Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva appeared above the rice pot. He swung the rice paddle to drive Mañjuśrī away. Mañjuśrī said: "Cultivated for three great asaṃkhyeya kalpas, yet disliked by this old monk." This praised Master Wēn Xǐ's empty mind, free from attachment to appearances. However, those whose minds are not empty and who have not realized the Way must absolutely not do this. If the mind is not empty, there is an appearance of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. Disrespect towards Buddhas and Bodhisattvas incurs fault. Those who have realized the Way have no appearance in mind; what they drive away is a false appearance, without the fault of disrespect.

When a person is in meditative concentration, manas does not cling to the body. The entire body is clear and unobstructed, pores slightly open. Cold air then enters the body, causing a feeling of coldness. The sensitivity to cold is because during concentration, qi and blood flow has cleared, opening the pores, making contact with the air in the void more intimate, hence the feeling of coldness. At this time, wear more clothes. During sitting meditation, cover your waist and legs well. Once the energy channels are completely clear, you won't feel cold anymore.

33. Question: Why do I feel my breath becomes shorter and slower as soon as I quiet down? When the mind was not quiet initially, the breath felt relatively longer. After quieting down, letting the body breathe by itself, I observe the breath energy cannot reach the dantian. But if I control the breath, deliberately inhaling longer, I can't quiet down again.

Answer: When the mind quiets down, it focuses on the breath. At this point, there might be some involuntary control of the breath, or excessive attention to it, making the breath feel shorter and slower. Only after naturally entering concentration and the mind becoming quiet will the breath become longer. When the natural breath is short, it indicates the body's energy channels are not yet flowing smoothly, and the effort in sitting meditation and cultivating concentration is insufficient. You need to strengthen your sitting meditation and concentration practice.

When there is no concentration power or it is very weak, controlling the breath can cause mental activity to become scattered, and the mind cannot quieten. Controlled breathing is not natural breathing, not the normal state of breathing. Uncontrolled breathing is the normal state. However, to regulate the body and allow the energy channels to flow smoothly, you can consciously practice deep breathing exercises with more focus, letting the breath energy clear the internal organs, which can also help deepen concentration.

34. Question: During sitting meditation and discernment practice, when the airflow passes through the junction of the nasal cavity and throat, there is a friction sound, followed by throat inflammation that doesn't heal. What should I do?

Answer: That area is blocked; qi and blood are not flowing, hence the inflammation appears. Use the method of deep breathing while reciting the Buddha's name to treat it; this can clear the nasal and throat passages. You can also pat or scrape (guā shā) the throat area. Sometimes, if the mental focus is too intense, fire can accumulate there without dispersing, causing inflammation due to excessive heat. You can shift the focus of observation to another place or observe with a slightly flowing focus, not overly concentrated or forceful.

35. Question: Disciple, recently when sitting, I enter a state very quickly. My body seems to completely merge with the void. I deliberately tried to feel it: the back, shoulders, head, and other parts of my body seemed imperceptible; the legs and lower dantian area, when deliberately focused upon, felt faintly present or absent. I contemplated observing the breath; the breath was also transparent, merging with the void. Is this contemplation correct?

Answer: This is a good state of meditative concentration; you have entered the desire-realm concentration (kāma-dhātu dhyāna), with a physical body like that of a desire-realm deva. The breath energy flows well, and the physical constitution is relatively good. The whole body is clear and unobstructed, hence the absence of the coarse, heavy feeling of the body. Not feeling the body in concentration is correct; the body is originally empty. Only when the body's matter is coarse and heavy is there a feeling of the body; the coarser and heavier, the more pronounced the feeling. The more subtle the body's material form (rūpa-dharma), the less feeling there is. This shows that material form is an obstruction to the mind. Therefore, in concentration, do not concern yourself with the physical body, nor overly tax your mind with the physical and mental sensations and feelings that arise. Turn the light of awareness inward (回光反照, huí guāng fǎn zhào), focus solely on discernment practice. Whether the breath merges with the void or not is neither the direction nor the goal of discernment practice. The ultimate result of observing the breath is realizing the selflessness of the physical body and the selflessness of the five aggregates (skandhas), which is the severance of the view of self (satkāyadṛṣṭi).

36. Question: I can't get past the leg obstacle now. Every time I sit in half-lotus (siddhāsana) for about 50 minutes to an hour, I feel my spirit entering a state. At that point, the ankle joints, knee joints, and hip joints hurt unbearably. I can't hold on for long and have to release them, which affects my discernment practice. Is there any way to get past this obstacle?

Answer: This is because the qi in your body is blocked in your posterior hip triangle area, around the bā liáo points (BL31-BL34), near the hip bones. Generally, it's due to cold-dampness and waste blockage. You can try the following remedial methods:

1. Hip Swinging (Huǎng Hǎi): While sitting cross-legged, perform hip swinging movements. First swing forward, then backward. Do both clockwise and counterclockwise directions. Pressing and relaxing alternately can open the qi and blood channels and remove blockages.

2. Acupuncture: Use acupuncture needles on the blocked points to clear the obstruction, combined with hip swinging and standing meditation (zhàn zhuāng). Acupuncture is relatively fast.

3. Massage: In the lower back triangle area and around the bā liáo points, use mugwort essential oil ointment for repeated massage.

4. On the backs of both knees, at the wěi zhōng points (BL40), use a not-too-hard small stick to press and massage, promoting qi and blood circulation. Massage the areas with blockages in the waist, legs, and hip bones. You can also use an empty fist to tap the legs. Tap and massage the gallbladder and liver meridians on the inside and outside of the thighs to facilitate qi and blood flow.

5. Appropriate moxibustion on key points to dispel cold-dampness, then the meridians will clear.

6. Another method is fasting (bì gǔ), letting the body self-regulate. Cold-dampness and blockages will be eliminated; the waist and legs will become soft, making cross-legged sitting effortless. It is suggested that after some time, when the temperature is not too hot, you can fast again to regulate the body. Fasting two or three times a year will tune the body very well.

37. Question: Can sitting meditation make life more splendid?

Answer: If there is a thought of making life more splendid, isn't this a heavy view of self (satkāyadṛṣṭi)? Isn't the thought of 'I' the suffering of birth and death? Taking the five-aggregates life as self, delighting in the five-aggregates body, clinging to the five-aggregates body, wanting to prolong the five-aggregates body, giving rise to grasping—this prevents the cessation of craving (taṇhā) and the extinction of suffering (duḥkha-nirodha). The suffering of birth and death will only increase, running counter to cultivation. Study the Four Noble Truths (catvāri āryasatyāni) well: suffering (duḥkha), its origin (samudaya), cessation (nirodha), and the path (mārga). Start by observing suffering. Only by knowing suffering can one arouse the mind to cultivate the path and enter the path. Actually, once established in breath observation, one can conclude the suffering of the burning afflictions of the five aggregates (pañca-upādāna-skandha). All conditioned actions are suffering. Almost every mental state of an ordinary being contains an 'I', manifests an 'I', unaware that having an 'I' is suffering.

38. Question: During breath observation, which consciousness (vijñāna) is operating the breath? How many consciousnesses are observing the breath? Why does the body feel hot and sweat during breath observation? Which consciousness controls the heat and sweating?

Answer: In autonomous breathing, both consciousness (mano-vijñāna, the sixth consciousness) and manas (the seventh consciousness) simultaneously regulate the breath. Generally, consciousness doesn't need to regulate it. In the fourth dhyāna (caturtha-dhyāna), the breathing phenomenon ceases. This shows that because the concentration is extremely deep, manas no longer regulates the breath, so breathing stops. If breathing did not involve manas, the breathing state should always remain the same and never change.

During breath observation, it is consciousness (the sixth) that observes. There is perception by the body-consciousness (kāya-vijñāna, the fifth consciousness), hence perception by the five-sense-accompanied consciousness (pañca-vijñāna-sahita-manas). If concentration is strong, manas accompanies consciousness in simultaneous observation. If concentration is weak, manas only lightly attends; because it's not focused, there won't be much feeling or thought. When the mental focus follows the breath to the dantian during observation, the dantian will feel warm, heat will disperse, and perhaps sweating occurs spontaneously. If you can cause the qi to reach the dantian and have the phenomenon of sweating, it indicates that the mental focus (念, thought/attention) of manas has already reached the dantian, and the qi followed it there. Consciousness alone does not have this power. These dharmas are manifested dependently by the ālaya-vijñāna (storehouse consciousness); they are dependently originated (pratītyasamutpanna). It's not necessarily that a specific consciousness controls them. If there is a controlling mind, the mental focus will scatter, and concentration will become shallow.

Some dharmas are very profound and difficult to observe; they are also not very useful for our current stage of practice. There's no need to insist on investigating them. Focus your energy on doing well what you are capable of now. "Two birds in the forest are not as good as one bird in the hand." Being able to sever the view of self is true skill.

39. Question: After diligent cultivation, why does a reversal phenomenon appear in the mind?

Answer: When cultivation becomes very diligent, karmic obstructions (karmāvaraṇa) manifest. The mind is entirely on cultivation, not on worldly dharmas. This goes against one's former habits. Manas is greatly suppressed and cannot keep up with the progress of cultivation. Feeling mental discomfort and not wanting to cultivate, a reversal phenomenon appears. This is manas rebelling; it does not want to be so diligent, does not want to differ too much from former habits, too contrary to its own inclinations. Consciousness cannot suppress manas, so in behavior, phenomena of laziness, slackness, or irritability appear. When this situation arises, pay attention to observing your own mind, find the true underlying cause, and apply the remedy. You can mentally explain the principles again, contemplate the suffering of the world and the importance of cultivation; or temporarily yield to manas, relax a little, don't strain the nerves too tightly.

Cultivation is like playing a stringed instrument. The strings cannot always be taut; if too tight, they break. If body and mind cannot keep up with the progress of cultivation, you need to relax slightly. Rather than having the strings break and taking a long time to recover, it's better to relax temporarily. Playing the instrument requires appropriate tension; the sound is then beautiful. The Buddha spoke about this issue in the sutras. Therefore, we must always be aware of our own physical and mental condition, see if we can bear it. When it becomes unbearable, slow down a little. Diligence is good, but one must grasp the right measure.

40. Question: In the latter part of sitting meditation recently, my dà zhuī (GV14) and neck feel swollen and stiff. Do I need to tap them with a small hammer?

Answer: You can tap with a soft stick or massage and pat the acupuncture points with your hands, including the back of the head and the top of the head; all need to be cleared. Once the meridian channels are cleared, the neck won't feel swollen or stiff. The back of the neck is an important area, connecting the body and the brain. It is the only channel for supplying qi and blood to the brain. Once cleared, the brain can function normally. You can pat the head and baihui point (GV20) with your hands, an empty fist, or use a soft stick or silicone patting board. This activates qi and blood, provides ample nourishment, refreshes the mind, and sharpens thinking.