Four Mindfulness Foundations Observational Practice Experience
Chapter 2: Contemplative Practice Journal (3)
Twenty: Only Sequential Contemplative Practice Makes Realization Possible
Yaoling's contemplative practice journal: Yesterday I contemplated that the realms of the six sense objects are false and unreal; my mind no longer acknowledged the realms as truly existent. The sense objects are inherently empty; the objects do not name themselves, and thus the mind could gradually stop sticking to the realms of the six sense objects. I contemplated that this action of mine—"arising mind to grasp at and discriminate the realms of the six sense objects"—is impermanent, lacks self-mastery (avaśatā), consumes body and mind, and is suffering. Why must I pay attention to the realms of the six sense objects? Continuing the introspective contemplative practice, the mind neither grasped at nor discriminated the sense objects, nor did it give rise to deluded thinking.
Then I contemplated that all dharmas are without self and that all dharmas are consciousness-only. Here it felt like that line from the Diamond Sutra: "There truly are no dharmas; all dharmas are Buddha-dharmas." It is as if all phenomena are my own shadow—so why should I pay attention to my own shadow? Thus I completely stopped arising mind to recollect the various dharmas, and the mind abided in a state of ease and self-luminosity. If the mind does not give rise to a stimulus, phenomena will not respond.
The realm became clear and bright, and after a while I felt as if I had entered boundless empty space, unable to find the body's boundaries, unable to find any sense of space. At this time I held fast to the wisdom-contemplation of "all dharmas are without self," not grasping at the realm; though the mind was frightened, I could persist. This state took more than ten minutes to recede; each time my contemplative practice reaches this point this state appears, though sometimes my condition regresses and it takes several months before I can contemplate to this point. At this time I had a slight taste of "the path of words cut off, the road of mental activity ended"; at this time the breath also became seemingly present yet absent, with only slight breathing in the dantian; the body's qi channels were also changing rapidly, and mental energy recovered quickly.
Assessment: This contemplative practice looks quite diligent and seems to have some meditative concentration effects, but in fact this contemplative practice is disordered and without sequence—taking all the theories learned and contemplating them one by one. Calling it contemplative practice, it is actually impregnation (vāsanā); it all falls within the mind consciousness's thinking and analysis, and the conclusions reached are the mind consciousness's conclusions, all of them merely learned theories. There is no intermediate process of verification, no actual evidence, so it is merely theory. Too many people practice contemplation this way, and then all believe they have realized and confirmed it themselves.
In fact, for the theories here, to successfully contemplate even one and realize even one would require a measureless kalpa of time, because these belong to the category of the Ālayavijñāna seed-wisdom (gotra-jñāna) of bodhisattvas on the bhūmis. Can a ordinary being, by achieving contemplative practice, directly become a bodhisattva on the bhūmis? Obviously not. For example, contemplating that all dharmas are without self is the contemplative realm of bodhisattvas on the bhūmis; "all dharmas are consciousness-only" is also within the category of consciousness-only seed-wisdom; "all dharmas are Buddha-dharmas" is likewise within the category of consciousness-only seed-wisdom; "all phenomena are one's own shadow"—let us say for now that this "self" refers to the tathāgatagarbha—realizing this realm would mean the stage of full mind of the first bhūmi. Another example: contemplating the falsity of the realms of the six sense objects—there is no evidence proving the realms are false, yet one lets the mind consciousness forcibly refuse to acknowledge the realms as real; does that mean the six sense objects are indeed false? This is not contemplative practice; it is reciting the Buddhist sutras. In this way, even the mind consciousness has not realized and confirmed the falsity of the six sense objects, let alone the manas realizing it—that is even more distant.
Many people have learned too much theory; they know everything but have digested and absorbed nothing; it is all stuck in their minds, neither up nor down. They do not know the levels of wisdom corresponding to these theories, do not know how to actually realize them step by step from shallow to deep, and do not know the sequence of study and contemplative practice. Those without arrogance are still fine, but once such a person has arrogance, they will believe they have realized this and realized that, and will no longer be able to listen to others' words. Even without arrogance, not believing they have realized anything, such disordered, unsequenced contemplative practice brings little actual benefit to real cultivation and realization. Although temporarily there is some meditative concentration, that concentration is unstable and can regress at any time; even if the concentration does not regress, it will certainly regress after death. Without realizing the eradication of the view of self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi-prahāṇa), what benefit will all that meditative concentration and contemplative practice have at the time of death?
Nowadays people who study Buddhism, including those who teach the Dharma, because they lack realization, do not know the depths and levels of the theories they study; they only study and teach whichever theory sounds lofty and impressive, as if by studying and teaching something they could realize it—extremely busy and chaotic, with no sequence or method. If one wants to be impregnated with the Buddha-dharma and is interested in consciousness-only, being impregnated with consciousness-only is no problem; but to contemplate and realize consciousness-only, one must first eradicate the view of self and realize the third fruit (anāgāmin), and after passing the three gates of the Chan school and seeing the mind. Before that, there is absolutely no way to realize consciousness-only theory—it is absolutely impossible.
The sequence of study and cultivation is: contemplate the five aggregates as without self and eradicate the view of self; then investigate Chan and see the mind; after that, give rise to posterior wisdom and the first dhyāna, becoming a person of the third fruit, with the ability to pass the final barrier; the contemplation of illusion, the contemplation of mirage, and the contemplation of dream are achieved in sequence; only after that comes the content of consciousness-only seed-wisdom, such as the one true dharma realm, all dharmas are consciousness-only, all dharmas are without self, the mirror-image contemplation, the samādhi of suchness, and so on. If the preceding foundational dharmas have not been realized, no matter how one contemplates the later dharmas there will be no actual effect and no realization; it can only be called impregnation.
It is not as some people say, that right upon enlightenment one can observe how the eighth consciousness gives birth to the faculty-body and the material world, that right upon enlightenment one can observe that all dharmas are the seed-functions of the eighth consciousness. This is fundamentally impossible. Even with genuine enlightenment, genuinely realizing the eighth consciousness, one could work oneself to death and still not observe these contents; even at the levels of first, second, and third bhūmi bodhisattvas, one cannot observe how the eighth consciousness gives birth to the faculty-body and the universe's receptacle-world, nor observe how all dharmas are the seed-functions of the eighth consciousness. Because these all belong to the category of the wisdom of the varieties of paths; one newly enlightened cannot possibly have the wisdom of the varieties of paths. Speaking this way proves that such a person has not genuinely awakened at all and does not know what a newly enlightened person can actually observe.
Whoever truly wants to achieve cultivation in this life and no longer transmigrate through the three evil destinies must make great aspirations and great vows, and cultivate in a down-to-earth way starting from the most basic Buddha-dharma. Do not aim too high while lacking ability, eyes high and hands low, trying to build some castle in the air. First lay the foundation well, walk step by step, do not leap, and even less try to fly. Train the strength of your feet and the power of your legs. If in this life you can genuinely eradicate the view of self, that is very good—being spared the suffering of the three evil destinies is already fortunate. On that basis, then investigate Chan; if you can truly see the mind, that is already quite remarkable, with immense merit. Everything else need not be considered for now, because it is still far from you, and considering it is useless.
Twenty-one: The Goal and Result of Contemplative Practice Is the Emptiness of the Phenomenal Realm
Lantian's contemplative practice journal: This morning I sat in meditation contemplating the breath. The in-breath begins from the air entering the nose tip, following wherever the airflow reaches: nasal cavity, throat, windpipe, chest cavity, then downward past the upper abdomen, middle abdomen, finally reaching the dantian; when exhaling, it starts from the dantian, the airflow passing through the aforementioned channels and exiting. I could feel the airflow passing through every breathing location; when inhaling I could perceive the condition of the locations the head of the airflow reached; when exhaling I could perceive the tail of the airflow contracting upward from the dantian to the chest; where the airflow passed in and out, there was a tingling, numb sensation.
This morning's meditation had fairly concentrated attention; no phenomena like head pressure or qi surging appeared; the mind was clear, the breathing even and relaxed, without the resistance of some time ago. Not long after entering breath contemplation, the sternum area felt as if it had opened, somewhat warm and very comfortable; then both shoulders were the same, the bones felt as if they had opened, extremely comfortable—this may be what is called tranquility (praśama). The abdomen was warm, not as hot as before. As the breath contemplation continued, the depth of breathing increased; when inhaling the airflow could reach the bottom of the abdomen, and when breathing I could also perceive airflow entering and exiting at the ankles. Before I knew it, the time for the meditation session was up; now I feel the meditation time is a bit short. September 16
Assessment: What was contemplated above are all phenomena. The main question is: what truth did you discover in these phenomena? What feelings do you have about these phenomena? For example, a child playing with toys will, after playing for a while, feel bored and that it is no longer interesting. Why does it feel uninteresting? For example, doing one thing repetitively for a long time, after doing it for a while one feels it is uninteresting—why does it feel uninteresting? For example, eating every day, after eating and eating one should feel that eating is uninteresting, only that one has no choice but to eat. Of course the vast majority of people would not have such thoughts. For example, in this human life—birth, aging, sickness, death, love, hate, passion, enmity, the five desires unceasing—some people, living and living, will feel that life is just this, and suddenly feel it is uninteresting. Of course the vast majority of people would not have such thoughts.
These are still not ultimate. Inquiring further inward, there will be new discoveries: discovering that the contemplated dharma is empty—that is when wisdom is born. Being aware of the arising and ceasing of dharmas is wisdom; being aware of the emptiness of dharmas is true wisdom. A person without wisdom, even after a lifetime of setbacks, will not feel that life is empty. A person with wisdom, even with a lifetime of smooth sailing, will not feel that life is meaningful. Through long observation, one will realize the arising and ceasing of phenomena and realize the emptiness of phenomena. Once one phenomenon is seen as empty, other related phenomena will also be seen as empty, and further, all five aggregates are empty.
Twenty-two: Contemplative Practice Cannot Bypass the Seven Factors of Enlightenment and the Thirty-seven Aids to the Path
Rutao's contemplative practice diary: The qi channels in my legs are becoming more and more unobstructed; sitting cross-legged is very easy now; when getting onto the cushion almost no effort is needed—after slightly regulating the breath, I can enter a state of ethereal softness, and then I suspend the notion of "the five aggregates without self" in my mind to investigate. After getting off the cushion, both legs are filled with bliss, very comfortable. Upon waking in the morning, the whole body is joyful; the waist, hands and feet, chest, throat—energy is abundant, every cell of the body is blissful; the qi and blood are so abundant there is a feeling of swelling. When energy is too abundant it feels like a burden; at such times I usually get up and walk around to dissipate the gathered energy; the head also feels very light and clear, as if a stream of pure qi is rushing toward the crown.
I will continue to maintain the state of eating less; from today until the end of the holiday, I will not eat rice, noodles, and the like, to further empty the intestines. I feel the reason meditation has obstacles is mainly the obstruction of the five aggregates, that is, causes in both body and mind: first, the body's qi channels are not unobstructed enough, so energy cannot be effectively accumulated and raised; second, the mind is not pure enough, thoughts are chaotic, and I cannot single-mindedly contemplate the meaning of the Dharma, so progress is slow. Therefore I must remove obstructions from both body and mind. As long as one truly applies effort, there will surely be results; the fear is being swept up in daily affairs in ordinary times, muddled and unaware, and then cultivation cannot advance. So the mind consciousness's vigilance is very important: before the manas has been successfully impregnated, the mind consciousness must repeatedly remind and urge the manas to place its energy on the right path, and never let it graze freely everywhere.
Making the body more tranquil and clarifying the mind's thoughts are relatively not too difficult, but eradicating the view of self is truly very difficult, because the manas is really too stubborn. This can be observed from ordinary dreams: in dreams there sometimes still arise various mentalities and emotions of self-protection; during the day one can deceive oneself and others, and the mind seems especially pure, but when dreaming at night, one discovers that the manas's petty calculations have not stopped. So the skill is still at a superficial level and must continue to deepen; the road is still long. 2021-10-04
Assessment: This is cultivation reaching the stage of the factor of joy (rāmāṇa-aṅga). The seven factors of enlightenment are aids to the path: the factor of mindfulness, the factor of investigation of dharmas, the factor of effort, the factor of joy, the factor of tranquility, the factor of meditative concentration, and the factor of equanimity. The seven factors of enlightenment link one to another; without the preceding factors there are no subsequent factors. When the factor of joy appears, there is mental joy and physical bliss; later there are still the factor of tranquility and awareness, the factor of meditative concentration, and finally the factor of equanimity.
If you are at the initial stage of physical bliss, maintain it; do not rush to dissipate it; let the skill turn and advance on its own, without too much artificial intervention—naturalness is best. Just do not grasp at or dwell on these experiences to the point of obstructing the progress of the skill. When the factor of tranquility and the factor of meditative concentration have not yet arisen, the experiences cannot be emptied or relinquished. At this time one should still maintain a natural state, going along with the body's blissful contact and experiences; otherwise the later factors will not appear either. When young, with good physical conditions, cultivating the Way is very fast; the older one gets, the more difficult cultivating the Way becomes, so cultivating the Way, the earlier the better.
Also, when contemplating the five aggregates as without self within meditative concentration, the Dharma meaning suspended in the mind should not be too much or too complex; try to keep it relatively simple and single, deepening bit by bit—grasping for too much means it cannot be chewed or digested. In contemplating non-self, break apart all the components of the five aggregates and start contemplating from one aspect, suspending in the mind a relatively specific Dharma meaning; this way the contemplation will not be too difficult. At the beginning do not suspend in the mind such a large notion as "the five aggregates without self," because at this time both the mind consciousness and the manas have limited capacity and cannot chew such a huge thing. When capacity has improved and macro-level contemplative ability has strengthened, then contemplate the non-self nature of the five aggregates and eighteen realms as a whole or in totality—only then can you handle it.
May I ask those people who claim the mind consciousness has attained the fruits: have you experienced such experiences, had such experiences? I estimate you have not even dreamed of them in dreams, let alone had personal experience; probably not even the first of the seven factors of enlightenment has arisen, let alone seen any shadow of the factors of meditative concentration and equanimity. Bypassing the seven factors of enlightenment and attaining the fruit? Even bypassing the Noble Eightfold Path and attaining the fruit? Even bypassing the thirty-seven aids to the path and attaining the fruit? Without any shadow of actual practice, how could one sever the three fetters? How could there be realization? Without severing the three fetters, how could one see the mind and become enlightened? Every group and every person slaps the label of "actual practice and realization" onto themselves, skipping the cultivation of the thirty-seven aids to the path—how can there be actual practice? Only wanting the reputation, not caring about the consequences—this is the current mentality of Buddhist learners.
Twenty-three: The Four Right Efforts Are a Hard Indicator of Actual Practice
Bashi'erkou's contemplative practice diary: Usually I feel empty and hollow inside, without root, without flavor; paying more attention inward, less attention outward. Now I have fewer feelings toward sentient beings than before; I speak less in daily life; although I still like studying the Dharma meaning, I no longer have much interest in debating the Dharma meaning; when discussing problems with others, halfway through I no longer want to speak. In the past, encountering troubles in work and life would cause insomnia; now I eat when it is time to eat, sleep when it is time to sleep, forget as soon as I say forget; sometimes when entering samādhi it comes to mind to disturb me a bit, then is forgotten again. When the manas stirs, I can feel fabrication beginning. The most obvious sign of the manas stirring is when greed and anger arise; one must observe carefully—before doing anything, the manas moves first.
Assessment: When meditative concentration arises and contemplative practice keeps up, the mind will change; the difference between having meditative concentration and not having it is great. With meditative concentration, outward grasping decreases, attention to trivial matters decreases, interest in many things wanes, afflictions lighten and attachments lessen, and wisdom gradually arises. The benefits of meditative concentration are inexhaustible to describe. Without cultivating meditative concentration, that is not cultivation; studying Buddhism is mere conceptual proliferation (prapañca), and realization is impossible. Only with meditative concentration can there be contemplative practice, and only then can contemplative practice be detailed and thorough, able to grasp the important and let go of the trivial, discard many unnecessary things; a person also becomes accommodating and skillful, stubbornness weakens, thoughts of anger lighten, greed diminishes.
After having meditative concentration and cultivating contemplative practice, one can introspect inward, afflictions in the mind can be discovered in time and subdued at any moment, unwholesome thoughts become fewer and fewer, wholesome thoughts and thoughts of relinquishment become more and more, and the four right efforts are cultivated: unarisen wholesome states are made to arise, arisen wholesome states are increased, unarisen unwholesome states do not arise, arisen unwholesome states are eliminated. If some people still have heavy afflictions, with the mind having more unwholesome than wholesome thoughts, the four right efforts have not been cultivated well, the mental disposition has not changed, and there is no hope of eradicating the view of self and attaining the fruit.
Therefore, attaining the first fruit requires eradicating coarse afflictions (dausthulya); the mental disposition is already that of a sage. If someone says they have eradicated the view of self, or says they have become enlightened, yet their afflictions still appear very heavy, their mental disposition has no fundamental change—greed, anger, jealousy, fighting everywhere, body, speech, and mind all impure—such a person's self-believed attainment of the fruit and enlightenment is not acknowledged by the tathāgatagarbha. Anyone who has not cultivated precepts and meditative concentration, has not contemplated in accordance with reality, has not cultivated the seven factors of enlightenment, the Noble Eightfold Path, the four right efforts, and so on, cannot have any seeing of the path of either the Great or Small Vehicle. So the four right efforts and the thirty-seven aids to the path are the hard indicators of actual practice.
Twenty-six: How to Introspect One's Own Habitual Greed
Bai Xuexiang's contemplative practice experience: When the mind has concentration, one can discover: I now have an affliction—this is a habit-seed manifesting. I have an experience regarding breaking such habits: for example, seeing a plaything like a bead bracelet, the mind suddenly gives rise to fondness, then possessiveness, and then I pick it up and fondle it. At this time I become aware: this is greed.
Then continue analyzing: the bracelet is just a piece of wood, nothing more than being polished by a machine or by hand, then painted with some lacquer—nothing else interesting about it. Then contemplate similar things, such as necklaces, bangles, pendants, and the like—they are the same. Contemplating as meticulously as possible, in the future the seed of greed for things like bracelets will be destroyed and will not arise again. This way the mind becomes purer and purer, it will not happen repeatedly, and one need not constantly struggle whenever habits manifest, which would only make afflictions heavier instead. Precepts are very important; they can make the mind calm down and become more refined; when the mind-water is clear, thinking is clear and lucid.
Assessment: Such contemplative practice is very good, but what contemplative practice is even better than this? It is contemplating the mind—that the mind rushes toward objects, giving rise to greed and possessiveness toward things. Why like bracelets and such items? It is not that the bracelet has some attraction that drew you in; liking objects, as if external things had some fault—in fact external things are just external things, mere matter of the four great elements; they have no fault and cannot attract you. Then why were you attracted? In the final analysis, it is still one's own mind being deluded and inverted. How is it inverted? How can one not be inverted? Liking external things is because one believes external things can be used by me, can adorn and beautify me; it is still because there is a self that one likes them—objects can satisfy one's greed, from which one can obtain a kind of experience and sense of satisfaction. Valuing experiences, there is greed.
Very often, people pursue a kind of experience, caring only that the feeling is pleasant, regardless of whether this experience is necessary, whether it has faults, whether it is obstructive, whether it is worthwhile—none of this is considered. This is delusion and inversion. Living in the world, the mind is full of ignorance, living blindly, doing whatever one is habituated to, following one's feelings, without the power of introspection (pratyavekṣā-bala), nor resisting habits, drifting with the current. Contemplating one's various feelings—what actual significance do they have? This contemplation is relatively ultimate. Contemplating back and forth, you will discover that all experiences have no actual significance; letting go of experiences, the world becomes vast. Only when greed is gone can the mind be comfortable, at ease, and liberated.
Twenty-seven: What Is Direct-Perception Realization
Lantian's contemplative practice diary: This morning I sat contemplating the breath. After a few breaths, breathing was smooth, chest and abdomen warm and comfortable, the qi channels' movement clear; I could perceive the airflow reaching the soles of both feet, and the perineum point opened. A warm current flowed into the waist. As breathing deepened, breathing pressure increased; the chin was slightly numb, but clearly lighter than some time ago; the right chest and right ribs had obvious sensations of swelling and blockage, radiating upward to the armpit, then extending up to the right shoulder blade, connecting through the right side of the throat to the right lower lip, faintly also reaching the right ear root; with each breath I could feel the points along this line pulling on one another; the left armpit was slightly swollen, with no other conditions. As the breath contemplation continued, this line centered on the right armpit gradually changed from swelling and congestion to comfort and warmth, extending backward to the rear shoulder.
After contemplating the sensations of the whole body for a while, I concentrated the mind on the nose, contemplating the in-and-out breath at the nose. I attentively listened to the friction sound of the airflow passing through the nasal cavity, carefully felt the sensation of the airflow passing through the nasal cavity and throat, and gradually perceived the changes in the head with each in-and-out breath: inside the head there was a continuously unblocking sense of comfort and ease; both shoulders and armpits also had a cool, refreshing sensation; besides the airflow at the nose, I could perceive airflow surrounding the front, back, left, and right of the neck; the chest cavity gradually opened; I could perceive the skin area participating in breathing expanding; body heat increased, whole-body comfort intensified; the right ear showed signs of wanting to connect with the nose and brain, but by the end of the meditation it had not fully opened.
In the meditations of previous days, the chin, lower lip, and tongue were severely numb and swollen, and the throat tight; so in the later part of meditation I often contemplated the Dharma meaning, which strengthened concentration and allowed me to quickly get past the above congestion. The Dharma meaning contemplated was still "the body is impermanent, form is without self"; later I made "without self" the main content of contemplation; after roughly contemplating, I emptied the brain, and found that concentration then clearly strengthened, manifested in deeper breathing, blocked places slowly dissolving, and bodily comfort increasing.
A few days ago, in the later part of one meditation, after contemplating the Dharma meaning and then returning to observing the breath, I could no longer feel the body, only feeling bundles of airflow interweaving; when inhaling, a large stream of airflow merged into them; when exhaling, a stream of airflow departed. Now I can faintly taste the flavor of the manas's direct perception.
Assessment: If the mind becomes even finer, you will feel that the material body is an illusory net woven from airflow; later still, you will feel that the airflow is also unreal, and the material body even more illusory. When I say this, if you think about it over there, you will feel it seems to be so, and indeed it is so; but no matter how much you feel it is so, no matter how much you confirm it, it is not real perception or direct perception, and not realization. What then is direct perception and realization?
Direct-perception realization is like Lantian's present observation: my material body right now is indeed like this, my perception right now is just like this, these dharmas are currently operating—being able to observe them as they truly are: this is direct observation and direct-perception realization. Anything else is not direct-perception realization; it can be called imagination based on concepts, which is inference and non-valid cognition.
So some people say: I can enter contemplation following the text, contemplating while listening to the Dharma—I have realized it. But if these dharmas have not yet occurred in your body and mind, and you cannot observe them presently as they truly are, then that is not entering contemplation following the text; that is imagination based on concepts, which is inference and non-valid cognition, not yet direct perception. Only when you observe something that is currently happening is it direct observation and direct-perception realization.
Many people without meditative concentration, who also cannot contemplate, listen to the Dharma, think it over, and feel these dharmas are taught correctly, that it is indeed so, very confirmed—"I have directly contemplated, I have eradicated the view of self." But this is merely speculation and deduction, not direct observation, and cannot eradicate the view of self; the distance from eradicating the view of self is unknown—perhaps in this life one still cannot eradicate the view of self, perhaps for hundreds or tens of thousands of years, even several kalpas, one still cannot eradicate the view of self. Regarding what constitutes direct observation and realization, everyone should carefully discriminate, and must not blindly trust themselves, leading to great false speech—that would be very bad.
Twenty-eight: The Basis of the Interfunctioning of the Six Faculties
Lantian's contemplative practice diary: This morning I sat contemplating the breath; the airway was unobstructed; chest, abdomen, shoulders, and back were warm and comfortable; after several breaths, a warm current surged into the head; today the head, face, and so on showed no obvious blockage; breathing pressure was not great; the mind perceived the changes in the body's qi channels and sensations; later I focused attention on the point before the eyes.
Occasionally contemplating the Dharma meaning, I suddenly remembered the master's instruction the day before yesterday: perceive the breath single-mindedly, without the mind consciousness's reasoning and guidance; directly observe the breath's movement, arising, and ceasing. So I single-mindedly observed the breath before my eyes. Before long, during an in-breath, suddenly with a "click," I felt the right eye and right ear root connected, and immediately afterward connected with the brain as well; the right brain area felt somewhat empty and luminous. Continuing to observe the breath for a while, the left eye and left ear also connected; the whole head became empty and luminous; the vision before my eyes became clear; the ears' sensitivity to external sounds decreased; I could clearly feel focus further enhanced; since all attention was in the head, I did not feel sensations in other parts of the body. The head had some changes in subsequent breathing, but they are hard to describe; this continued until the meditation ended. November 21
Assessment: During meditation, feeling that the eye faculty, ear faculty, and brain are all connected—this is meditative concentration causing the four great elements to change and become subtle, so the various faculties within the supreme faculties (indriya) became somewhat interpenetrating. In the future, when meditative concentration deepens further and all five faculties are connected, their functions can substitute for one another; especially the manas can substitute for part or all of the functions of the five faculties—the six faculties interfunction, and the six sense objects can be discerned by a single faculty: the eye faculty can not only see forms, but also have the ear faculty's function of hearing sounds, the nose faculty's function of smelling scents, the tongue faculty's function of tasting flavors, and the body faculty's function of feeling touch; likewise for the other faculties. Thus the supernatural and wondrous functions of the six faculties manifest.
Sentient beings originally could all have such wondrous supernatural functions, but because the mind has obstructions, the five-aggregate body is divided into six faculties, each faculty managing a portion of the functions, so their functions are obstructed and their use is not so wondrous. To return to the original and be restored, one must open up the mind's capacity and connect the functions of the various faculties; then the wondrous functions will appear.
Feeling the brain become transparent is a reaction that occurs when the mind is tranquil, thoughts are concentrated, and the qi channels run from the front Ren meridian to the rear Du meridian, reaching the brain area at the end of the Du meridian. The qi channels reach the rear brain's supreme faculty area, arrive at the crown of the head, then descend to the entire face; at the Yintang point where the Ren and Du meridians meet, one small heavenly circuit is nearly complete. Because attention is concentrated, concentration strengthens, and the mind's intentional function is also strong, the body will change according to intention—this is the function of the three consciousnesses of transformative agency (parināma); the manas's transformative function is obvious, showing a slightly active transformative function. If the manas's intentional function is very great, then whatever is thought of transforms, whatever is wished for comes, and everything the mind thinks of can be fulfilled as wished. At a certain point, even turning stone into gold is possible, and transforming certain realms is also possible.
Twenty-nine: What Is Neutral Feeling
Bai Xuexiang's contemplative practice insight: "She" (relinquishment) means letting go, not wanting it, or that it is gone. "Shou" (feeling) is the feeling of feeling, perception, volitional formations, and consciousness—the feeling of sensation, an emotional kind of experience. Neutral feeling (upekṣā-vedanā) means the emotions are rather dull, or there is no emotion. For example, with food, there is no "this is delicious" or "that is not delicious"; in most cases there is only edible or not edible.
Another example: at separation from or reunion with parents and siblings, the mind has no change; there are no emotions like excitement, joy, or dejection. Another example: regarding the warmth and coldness of human relations—being scolded, I do not get angry, or only pretend to be angry, or get a little angry. When others praise me, I do not have emotions like smugness. Toward others' scolding or misunderstanding, it is neither disdain, nor tolerance, nor indifference. It is like a knife slashing through air, or a fist punching into a sponge—no matter what others do, there is nothing there!
The essence of neutral feeling is non-self: "I am relinquishing, I am feeling." Without a self, there is naturally neither relinquishing nor feeling, because the subject of neutral feeling has disappeared.
Assessment: Cultivation should be cultivated exactly like this, not spouting theories all day while one's actual mental conduct is completely contrary to the theory. When one cultivates to the state of no-mind, there is no need to talk about precepts or not-precepts—precepts are superfluous. In the state of no-mind, virtue is highest; when there is nothing sought, virtue is highest. Only when virtue is high can one become a sage; there are no sages of low character.
