Answers to Questions on the Contemplative Practice of the Four Foundations of Mindfulness 30

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

Answer: On the one hand, meditative concentration (samādhi) can slow down the activities of the mind-consciousness, dispel a certain restless, impetuous air, so that one no longer applies the mind to unimportant matters, much less curries favor with the influential. On the other hand, meditative concentration can focus the mind-consciousness, making thought deep and subtle and responses keen. At first, speech and movements may appear clumsy and one's capacity for action weak, but one's power of observation becomes deep and penetrating, the mind fine and agile. One's perception of people and affairs will be more precise and detailed than before; in important matters one is less easily deceived. It is a bit like "great wisdom appearing as foolishness"—in reality, the mind is simply not being applied to trivial matters, and true wisdom is gradually increasing.

Question: When the fixed time for meditation arrives, I feel the urge to take my seat. Is this because I have become habituated to meditation? 

Answer: When you meditate at a fixed time and place over a long period, a habit is formed. Once the habit is established, you no longer fear noisy disturbances from the surrounding environment, and the mind can be emptied. Habit is the inertia of the manas. The manas is rather attached; for things done frequently, it acts according to routine without deliberation. Habit has a bad side and also a good side. Make good use of habit and cultivate good habits, and you will achieve twice the result with half the effort. 

Question: For a person with deficient qi and blood, will the bodily emptiness of meditation make the qi and blood even more deficient, or will it improve? 

Answer: Meditation itself has the function of regulating qi and blood and improving physical constitution. If there is illness in the body, meditation will make the qi channels run in a regular pattern and the qi and blood circulate vigorously, and the illnesses within the body will be expelled outward through the body's surface. It may look as if the illness has become more severe, but in reality the illness inside is being expelled to the outside, so the symptoms become more obvious. After meditating for a long time, all illnesses in the body will improve and physical constitution will be enhanced.  

Question: I feel I have encountered difficulty in my meditation so far—my mind is very scattered. What should I do? 

Answer: When cultivation reaches a certain point, karmic obstructions will emerge to block the way; this is the result of diligent effort. At this time you need to dissolve karmic obstructions. How does one dissolve them? Confess before the Buddha the karmic offenses committed over beginningless kalpas; it is enough to repent according to the repentance texts in the morning and evening liturgy. Reveal the offenses of this life before the Buddha and vow never to commit them again, and a portion of the karmic seeds can be eliminated, so the obstructions to your cultivation will be reduced. You may also recite the Kṣitigarbha Sūtra and dedicate the merit to your karmic creditors and family relatives from beginningless kalpas; reciting the Śūraṅgama Mantra can also dissolve karmic obstructions.