Rutao's Contemplative Practice Diary 2021-10-04

The qi channels in my legs are becoming more and more unobstructed, and sitting cross-legged is very easy now; when I get onto the seat, hardly any effort is needed—just a slight adjustment of the breath, and I can enter a state of emptiness, lucidity, and softness. Then I suspend the contemplation of the non-self of the five aggregates (pañca-skandha) in my mind to investigate it. After getting off the seat, my legs are filled with bliss, extremely comfortable. In the morning, as soon as I wake up, my whole body is filled with joy—the waist, hands and feet, chest, and throat are all brimming with energy, every cell of the body is blissful, and the qi and blood are so abundant that there is a feeling of swelling. When the energy is too abundant, it feels like a burden; at such times I usually get up and walk around to dissipate the accumulated energy. My head also feels very light and clear, as if a stream of pure qi is rushing toward the crown of my head. 

I will continue to maintain the state of eating less. From today until the end of the holiday, I will not eat rice, noodles, or the like, so as to empty my intestines a bit more. I feel that the reason meditation has obstacles is mainly the obscuration of the five aggregates—that is, causes on both the physical and mental sides. First, the body's qi channels are not sufficiently unobstructed, so energy cannot be effectively accumulated and raised; second, the mind is not pure enough, with scattered and chaotic thoughts, making it impossible to contemplate the Dharma meaning single-mindedly, so progress in practice is slow. Therefore I must remove the obscurations from both body and mind. As long as one truly applies effort, there will surely be results; the only fear is being ordinarily swept up into affairs, muddled and unaware, in which case one's practice cannot advance. So the vigilance of the mind consciousness is very important. Before the manas has been successfully perfumed, the mind consciousness must repeatedly remind and urge the manas to place its energy on the right path, and never let it run loose everywhere.

Making the body more tranquil and clarifying the mind's thoughts are relatively not too difficult, but eradicating the view of self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi-prahāṇa) is truly hard, because the manas is really too stubborn. This can be observed from ordinary dreams: in dreams, various mental states and emotions of self-protection still sometimes arise. During the day one can deceive oneself and others, and the mind seems especially tranquil, but when dreaming at night, one discovers that the manas' petty calculations have not stopped. So the practice still remains at a superficial level and must continue to deepen—the road is still long. 

Assessment: This is cultivation reaching the stage of the joy enlightenment-factor. The seven factors of enlightenment, which are aids to the path, are: the mindfulness enlightenment-factor, the investigation-of-dharmas enlightenment-factor, the effort enlightenment-factor, the joy enlightenment-factor, the tranquility enlightenment-factor, the concentration enlightenment-factor, and the equanimity enlightenment-factor. The seven factors of enlightenment are linked one to another; without the preceding factors there are no subsequent ones. When the joy enlightenment-factor appears, the mind is joyful and the body blissful; afterwards there are still the tranquility awareness, the concentration enlightenment-factor, and finally the equanimity enlightenment-factor.

If you are at the initial stage of bodily bliss, maintain it and do not rush to dissipate it; let the practice turn and advance on its own, without too much artificial intervention—naturalness is best. Just do not attach to or dwell on these experiences to the point of obstructing the progress of the practice. When the tranquility enlightenment-factor and the concentration enlightenment-factor 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 subsequent enlightenment-factors will not appear either. When young, the body's conditions are good and cultivating the Path is very fast; the older one gets, the more difficult it becomes, so cultivating the Path is better done as early as possible.

Furthermore, when contemplating the non-self of the five aggregates 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 singular, deepening bit by bit—greed for too much cannot be chewed thoroughly or digested. In contemplating non-self, break apart all the components of the five aggregates, start contemplating from one aspect, and suspend in the mind a relatively concrete piece of Dharma meaning; in this way the contemplation will not be too difficult. At the beginning, do not suspend in the mind such a large contemplation as "the five aggregates are not self," because at that time the capacity of both the mind consciousness and the manas is still limited, and they cannot chew through such an enormous thing. Only when the capacity has improved and the macro-level contemplative ability has strengthened should one contemplate the non-self nature of the five aggregates and eighteen realms (dhātus) as a whole or in totality; only then can one digest it. 

I ask those who claim to have realized the fruits with the mind consciousness: have you ever experienced such experiences, have you had such realizations? I estimate you have not even dreamed of them in dreams, let alone had personal experience. You probably have never even initiated the first of the seven factors of enlightenment, let alone seen any trace of the concentration enlightenment-factor or the equanimity enlightenment-factor. Skipping over the seven factors of enlightenment and yet attaining the fruit? Even skipping over the Noble Eightfold Path and attaining the fruit? Even skipping over the thirty-seven aids to enlightenment and attaining the fruit? Without any trace of actual practice, how could one sever the three fetters? How could there be any realization? Without severing the three fetters, how could one see the mind and attain enlightenment? Every group and every individual sticks the label of "actual practice and realization" on themselves, skipping over the cultivation of the thirty-seven aids to enlightenment—how could there be actual practice? Caring only for reputation and ignoring the consequences—this is the mentality of Buddhist learners at present.