Q&A on the Four Foundations of Mindfulness Practice - 30

Question: Why do I become dull and slow in daily life after meditation?  

Answer: On one hand, dhyana (meditative concentration) can slow down mental activities, eliminating some restlessness, so one no longer exerts mental effort on trivial matters, much less toadies to the powerful. On the other hand, dhyana can concentrate the mind, enabling deep and subtle thinking, with sharpened reactions. Initially, speech and actions may appear clumsy, and initiative may seem weak, but observational power becomes profoundly penetrating, the mind becomes meticulous and agile. One perceives people and events more accurately and in greater detail than before, making it harder to be deceived in important matters. It may seem like great wisdom appearing as foolishness; in reality, the mind is not occupied with minor affairs, and true wisdom is gradually increasing.

Question: When the fixed time for meditation arrives, I feel eager to sit. Is this a sign of being accustomed to meditation? 

Answer: Meditating at fixed times and places over a long period cultivates a habit. Once the habit is formed, one is not afraid of noisy or disturbing surroundings; the mind can become empty. Habit is the inertia of the mental faculty (manas). The mental faculty is rather attached; for things done frequently, it acts according to routine without needing thought. Habit has both negative and positive aspects. One should utilize habit well, cultivating good habits to achieve twice the result with half the effort. 

Question: For someone with deficient qi and blood, will meditation causing a sense of bodily emptiness worsen the deficiency or improve it? 

Answer: Meditation itself has the function of regulating qi and blood and improving physical constitution. If there is illness within the body, meditation causes the energy channels to operate regularly, invigorating qi and blood. Illnesses within the body will then be expelled outward through the body's surface. It may appear as if the illness has worsened, but in reality, the internal illness is being expelled outward, making the symptoms more apparent. With prolonged meditation, all bodily illnesses will improve, and physical constitution will be enhanced.  

Question: I feel I've encountered difficulties in meditation up to now; my mind is very scattered. What should I do? 

Answer: When cultivation reaches a certain stage, karmic obstacles will arise to block the path; this is the result of diligent practice. At this time, it becomes necessary to eliminate karma. How to eliminate karma? Confess the sins committed throughout beginningless kalpas (aeons) before the Buddha, following the repentance texts in the morning and evening liturgy. Expose the sins of this present life before the Buddha, vow never to commit them again, and a portion of the karmic seeds can be eliminated, reducing the hindrances to practice. One can also recite the Kṣitigarbha Sūtra (Sutra of the Earth Treasure) dedicating the merit to karmic creditors and family members from beginningless kalpas, or recite the Śūraṅgama Mantra (Shurangama Mantra); both can eliminate karma.