Factors Influencing Meditative Concentration

Question: I feel that recently my meditation practice has not been going well, and the depth of stillness I can enter is not as good as before. Is it because after the winter solstice the body's yang energy reaches its lowest point of the year, so if one's own qi and blood are not sufficiently abundant, it affects the quality of meditation? Also, if one moves to a different living environment, will changes in the energy field also affect the effectiveness of meditation?

Answer: In winter, yang energy draws inward and is stored within the body, so the energy released outward decreases. Because the energy is not released outward but is all stored inside the body, the body becomes calm and stable, which is actually more conducive to sitting in meditation and cultivating meditative concentration (samādhi). However, if the external temperature is too low, the body becomes cold, the qi and blood do not flow smoothly, and the body exhibits various phenomena of blockage; the qi mechanism is not easily activated, and this affects meditative concentration. After moving to a new living environment, the surrounding magnetic field changes, the mind becomes unsettled and has reservations, which has a certain impact on the body and can also lead to a decline in the quality of meditative concentration.

If one wants to open up the flow of qi and blood through certain means, some methods may appear on the surface to have opened the flow of qi and blood, but that comes from converting the original vitality (yuanqi). The more it is converted, the more the original vitality is harmed, shaking the very foundation of the body, affecting not only health but also lifespan. For example, radish helps qi flow smoothly; after eating it, the qi begins to circulate, but this qi is not replenished from outside—it is drawn out by converting the body's internal original vitality, so the original vitality is reduced. Similarly, ginger and certain sweating-inducing herbs can unblock qi and invigorate the blood, but they do not bring qi in from outside; they also draw upon the body's original vitality, taking it out of the body's storage tank, so the original vitality in the storage tank decreases. These methods may be used in emergencies, but in the long term they harm the foundation, affecting health and lifespan. Bigu (grain avoidance/fasting) works on the same principle: it draws nutrients from within the body to the surface for use. In essence, it is robbing Peter to pay Paul—feasible in the short term, but not sustainable in the long term.

This is like having no money in one's pocket and taking money out of the treasury to spend. After spending a lot, one may appear at ease and glamorous on the surface, but the treasury is emptied, and when money is needed later, there is nowhere to borrow it. All of sentient beings' daily activities—eating, drinking, and everything else—are drawn out of the treasury of their own tathāgatagarbha. If too much is used and the treasury's reserves become insufficient, this person becomes destitute of merit, and then everything goes awry everywhere, disasters strike at every moment, and suffering follows like a shadow, coming one after another.