Methods of Bigu

I. The Benefits of Bigu (Grain Abstention)

The benefits of bigu are numerous: it can remove all kinds of diseases in the body, including cancer; it expels toxins and waste, clears the garbage and toxins clogging the blood vessels, improves blood circulation, and renews the blood with fresh blood; the cells and tissues break down into the essential nutrients the body needs; the skin becomes fair with a rosy glow, radiant and shining; it beautifies and preserves the complexion, beautifies the skin, promotes health and longevity, reverses aging, and makes life more vital. The qi channels become unobstructed, the body becomes supple, sitting in full lotus becomes easy, meditation is more effective, meditative concentration (samādhi) increases quickly, body and mind feel 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 dausthulya four great elements, containing filth and toxins; they increase the burden and workload of the internal organs, causing them to wear down and shortening the lifespan. During bigu, qi is the mainstay; qi is subtle four great elements, dominated by the wind element, which makes the body rise and become light and nimble. Immortals and devas all feed on qi and ingest qi; their bodies are so light and nimble that they possess the supernormal power of movement and can fly. During bigu, 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 be crossed easily, the mind settles easily, discursive thoughts are few, and the mind is clear. When the qi channels run well and the qi flows through in all directions, the body's microcirculation and metabolism are both good.

II. The Preparation Period for Bigu

 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. Then, 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 waste 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

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, stay at home without contact with people, so as not to consume too much energy. On the third day you will also be a bit hungry, somewhat better than the second day; again rest at home, without contact with people or affairs. By the fourth day you will be more or less adapted and 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. If blood sugar is too high or too low, it is best not to do bigu—if problems arise, no one can take responsibility. Only do bigu if there is a doctor or Chinese medicine practitioner nearby to look after you. 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 be preliminarily regulated. The longer the bigu, the more ailments 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 at all. During 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 will not feel very hungry; apart from craving, if you can resist the craving and avoid contact with food and drink, generally you can succeed at bigu.  

In bigu, what we mainly learn is visualization. If you can visualize sunlight shining on yourself, entering the body and into the stomach, you will not feel hungry. Then visualize the Buddha's light shining on your body and on the afflicted areas; bodily hunger will be relieved, the stomach will feel very comfortable, and the body will feel very relaxed, light, and at ease. Then breathe some fresh air; the air also contains the four great elements as nutrients, dominated by oxygen. At night you can also visualize the 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 four great elements, whereas food is coarse material four great elements. Devas feed on subtle material four great elements, so their bodies are light and can fly; humans feed on coarse four great elements, so their bodies are heavy and cannot fly. When devas of the second dhyāna descended to the human world and ate the "fat of the earth," they could no longer fly and could not return to the heavens. We Buddhist practitioners should take qi as our food as much as possible; when qi is full, one does not think of food, and the body becomes healthy and vital. The immortals in the mountains all feed on qi and other subtle four great elements, which is why they are healthy and long-lived, with lifespans of tens of millions of years. Those who sit in meditation and cultivate samādhi, if their dhyāna is well cultivated, will also be healthy and long-lived; with the fourth dhyāna, one can live for tens of millions of years or even 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 craving ailment outweighs the hunger ailment—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 suffice. Saliva is more nutritious than bird's nest. During bigu, if hunger is truly unbearable, you may drink a tiny bit of honey water or hold a little rock sugar in the mouth, but it is best to abstain altogether. The first time, craving is the easy part—hunger is easier to bear and get through; the craving ailment is hard to cure.  

IV. Resuming Food

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, gaining a new life. Resuming 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 food that is easy to absorb and digest—no cold, hard, or dry food, no milk, no eating until full or overeating. This is the optimal period for nourishing the stomach. For the first three days of resuming food, drink only millet porridge, in small amounts with frequent meals, so as not to overstretch the stomach. From the fourth day onward, millet porridge plus well-boiled leafy vegetables, or yam, carrots, or potatoes steamed until very soft, eaten dipped in honey. Seven days after resuming food, add other easily digestible foods. After ten days, you should tonify the qi: boil red ginseng, longan, jujubes, and goji berries in water and drink it. Tonify for at least a week, with no upper limit. 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. Both the amount of food and the tastes can be changed at will.  

Bigu group number: 544837720

The following is a practical sharing from a fellow practitioner:

Good evening, Master.

I deeply admire the Master, whose compassion is vast and boundless; for several days you have been continuously urging everyone on the matters of bigu.

Moreover, the Master has personally tested it in practice, leading the disciples through personal experience. Such merit is worthy of praise and admiration.

My mother began bigu in early November last year and finished at the end of that month.

In the first few days her spirits were not very good (because for decades my mother had taken more medicine than food; the bigu provoked my father's strong opposition and other disputes). By the eighth day of bigu, my mother had recovered her usual spirits: in the morning she prostrated to the Eighty-Eight Buddhas, sat in meditation, recited the Buddha's name (mentally), and strolled around the room.

The most obvious feature during this period was that my mother did not speak; when important family matters arose that required her decision, she wrote them on paper, with very few words.

At night she hardly ever touched the bed—either meditating or strolling.

When the bigu ended, she was like a different person in every respect. During the Spring Festival, the family declined all visitors, and the whole family did a five-day bigu.

My father's high blood pressure [improved], and my long-term insomnia returned to normal.

Most importantly, my father used to arbitrarily interfere with my mother's Buddhist practice (mainly out of concern for her health, such as stopping medications, nutritional supplements, eating vegetarian, insufficient nutrition, etc.). Now my father has gained a high level of understanding of the Buddha-dharma; he can read the Master's explications of the Dharma meaning sequentially, and where he does not understand, he writes it down and contemplates and verifies it over a long time………

I prostrate in gratitude to the Master for the kindness of teaching such profound Dharma meaning.     

With her tenacious vitality and firm faith in the Buddha-dharma, my mother has overturned a subject that medicine could not explain (a few days after her birth, my mother was sentenced to death by doctors).

All is created by the mind; all is transformed by the mind. The Buddha-dharma is profound: it is entered through faith and crossed over through wisdom.

Excuse the disturbance, Master; please forgive me (when the conditions are complete, bigu is encouraged—Mother's words). (End)