Four Mindfulness Foundations Observational Practice Experience
Chapter 4 Issues in Contemplative Practice
1. How to eliminate the karmic obstructions that arise during cultivation
Everyone has many karmic obstructions. When one cultivates to a certain point, the karmic obstructions will come out to block the way; this is the obscuration that gradually manifests during the stage of diligent cultivation. When obstructive conditions appear, cultivation inevitably becomes difficult, and laziness will arise. The process of cultivation is one of advancing and retreating—sometimes diligent, sometimes lazy. After karmic obstructions appear, feelings of restlessness and agitation arise; at that time one cannot concentrate and cannot be diligent, so one slackens off. At such times, one needs to purify karma.
How does one purify karma? First, one should confess before the Buddha the karmic offenses accumulated over beginningless kalpas; it is sufficient to confess according to the confession texts in the morning and evening liturgy. The offenses of this life should be openly revealed before the Buddha, with a vow never to commit them again; in this way part of the karmic seeds can be eliminated, and the obstructions to cultivation will be reduced. Second, recite the Kṣitigarbha Sūtra and dedicate the merit to the creditors of karmic debts and to family members and relatives from beginningless kalpas. Third, intensify the recitation of the Śūraṅgama Mantra to eliminate karmic obstructions, strengthen one's resolve for the Path, and accelerate cultivation.
The power of mantras is very great. Relying solely on one's own strength, it is difficult to achieve success in cultivation; one must rely on the blessing power of all Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Dharma-protecting deities to shield us from part of our karmic obstructions so that we are not disturbed. Only after eliminating some karmic obstructions can one continue diligently and finally achieve success. Therefore, before seeing the Path, one must never interrupt the recitation of the Śūraṅgama Mantra. Set a fixed quota for yourself and persist daily. The blessing power of the mantra is very great; once you become accustomed to it, there will be unexpected effects, and you will change without even realizing it.
2. How to deal with the feeling of boredom during seated contemplative practice
If contemplative practice during sitting feels boring and meaningless, it is because the habitual tendencies of the manas have manifested. The manas craves worldly dharmas, enjoys the lively activities of the five aggregates, likes worldly things, likes liveliness, likes gaining something, dislikes tranquil non-action, and dislikes being restrained. At this time, one should reconsider the benefits of contemplating the four foundations of mindfulness, reflect on the purpose of cultivation, and look at the supreme fruits of cultivation described at the end of the Sūtra on the Four Foundations of Mindfulness; then some of the negative emotions will be dispelled. The habitual tendencies of the manas are hard to subdue; one must treat Him like a child, using both kindness and firmness. In daily life, one should contemplate more on the impermanence and suffering of the world, confess the karmic obstructions and afflictions from beginningless kalpas, make great, long-term, and renunciant aspirations, and rely on the pull of vows to continuously advance one's practice of the Path.
What are the benefits of contemplating the breath? In terms of worldly benefits, it can improve physical health, purify the mind, extend one's lifespan, make body and mind comfortable and at ease, bring joy and happiness, make the mind pliant, subdue afflictions, improve one's cultivation and virtue, and also enhance the power of thought, making the mind subtle and meticulous, and increasing wisdom. Human life exists only in the interval between breaths; with exhalation and inhalation there is life; without them, life comes to an abrupt end. The breath represents life; by contemplating the breath, one can contemplate how fragile, how unreliable, how impermanent, and how suffering every life is. Can the five aggregates that exist by relying on the breath be the self? Contemplating thus in meditative concentration, contemplating again and again, the view of self becomes slight, the grasping on self weakens, afflictions decrease, and it becomes possible to eradicate the view of self and partially realize the fruits of liberation.
3. How to handle the conscious experiences during contemplative practice
In contemplating the four foundations of mindfulness, begin primarily with contemplating the breath; leave everything else aside for now and do not scatter your attention—focus your energy only on the breath. If the body produces sensations such as pain, numbness, and itching, do not pay attention to them; always stay with the breath and do not stray from the theme. If the pain and other sensations truly become unbearable and interfere with contemplation, then adjust the body to make it more comfortable, and then continue to concentrate on contemplating the four foundations of mindfulness. If the body experiences sensations such as tranquility and comfort, pleasure, the body feeling tall and large, or emptiness, do not pay attention to them or crave them; continue to keep the mind on the breath and contemplate the breath, ignoring everything else.
Only by contemplating single-mindedly, becoming ever more focused, ever more clear, and knowing ever more deeply and thoroughly, will the manas become ever more clear. Only then can one truly perceive the arising, abiding, changing, and ceasing of the breath and the physical body, and perceive the emptiness of the body and the emptiness of self. This is knowing with wisdom. After knowing thus, both body and mind are transformed, and one is no longer the ignorant, deluded person of the past.
4. How to face the suffering encountered in cultivation
When you feel suffering, carefully observe the essential nature of that suffering; after observing for a long time, there will be no more suffering. Every event that appears in our lives seems very special to us, but after observing these things for a long time, we will feel that they are nothing at all—no event is really a big deal. Observing the five aggregates and eighteen realms is the same: after observing for a long time, you will know that the five aggregates and eighteen realms are nothing; they are all empty and not-self. However much you pursue them, it is all emptiness in the end—joy is empty, suffering is empty. Better to just let it go, neither grasping nor taking, and thereby eradicate the view of self, reduce the afflictions of grasping on self, and no longer suffer.
5. Why does one become dull and slow in daily life after seated meditation
On the one hand, meditative concentration can slow the activity of mind-consciousness and eliminate some restlessness; one no longer applies the mind to unimportant matters, let alone fawns on the powerful. On the other hand, meditative concentration can concentrate the mind-consciousness, making thought deep and subtle, and reactions keen. At first, speech and movements may seem clumsy and one's capacity for action weak, but one's observational power is deep and penetrating, the mind is meticulous and agile; one's perception of people and affairs will be more precise and detailed than before, and one is less easily deceived in important matters. It is a bit like "great wisdom appearing as foolishness"—in reality, the mind is simply not applied to worldly dharmas, and prajñā wisdom is gradually increasing.
6. Why does one feel a splitting headache during seated meditation
This is the reaction that occurs when the qi channels run to the head, the qi and blood in the head are somewhat blocked, and the blockage cannot be broken through. You may breathe slightly deeper while silently reciting the Buddha's name in your mind, visualizing golden Buddha-light shining on the head, expelling the obstructive and diseased qi, letting the qi and blood flow smoothly. The head enters the golden Buddha-light, and the black-gray karmic obstruction qi all dissipates; then carefully feel the coolness of the head. After the head is cool, take several deep breaths again; once settled, first remain in meditative concentration, and only when very stable should you contemplate the breath.
7. What to do when the mouth is dry during seated meditation
When there is no saliva in the mouth, the upper and lower burners are not connected, and water and fire do not assist each other. You can visualize according to the Taiji Eight Trigrams diagram: fire descends from the right side of the front chest to the dantian, and water rises from the left side of the dantian up to the front chest and throat, circulating back and forth; then water and fire will assist each other, saliva in the mouth will increase, and you can then swallow it to moisten the body and the internal organs. Visualization is very useful; the better the meditative concentration, the better the visualization effect. Visualization can almost solve all problems—it depends on whether one can visualize skillfully and with proper attention (yoniśo-manaskāra), on the strength of one's meditative concentration, and also on one's merit and virtue.
8. How to counteract distraction during contemplative practice
If the mind has not yet settled and meditative concentration is insufficient, contemplation will have little effect. At such times, one should contemplate few dharmas or not contemplate at all; if one contemplates too many dharmas, the mind becomes even more scattered, causing meditative concentration to stagnate. In the practice of śamatha-vipaśyanā, one must grasp the proper measure: as meditative concentration strengthens, contemplative practice can become ever deeper, and the content of contemplation can gradually increase. If you find the mind scattered, you should reduce the objects of attention, focus on one content, or practice only śamatha without vipaśyanā. If the mind is not scattered and becomes increasingly concentrated, you can contemplate more deeply and ever more subtly. Fix on one point without moving until meditative concentration is very deep; based on this experience, add another point, gradually increasing and expanding the objects of attention. In this way, meditative concentration and wisdom deepen and grow in equal measure.
9. Why does the movement of qi arise during seated meditation
During seated meditation, the dharmas attended to are few, the mind easily empties, and meditative concentration arises quickly; whereas during activity, the dharmas attended to are many, and meditative concentration does not easily arise or be maintained, nor does the qi easily begin to move. Only when meditative concentration during seated meditation is very firm and the movement of qi is sustained will, through the effect of inertia, meditative concentration appear during activity, and the movement of qi may also appear. If meditative concentration during seated meditation is not firm, it will not easily appear during activity, the movement of qi is even less likely to occur, the body's qi channels are very hard to open through, and the mind does not easily empty.
The emptier the mind, the less obstruction to the body, the more easily the qi begins to move, and the faster and longer it moves, the deeper the meditative absorption. Those obscured by afflictive obstruction (kleśāvaraṇa) find it hard to activate the movement of qi, and even if it arises, it quickly falls away. In the future, when the dhyāna of the first absorption arises, there will be a similar phenomenon of qi movement: the emptier the mind and the lighter the afflictive obstruction, the faster and deeper the qi moves, the more it pervades the whole body, the longer it lasts, and the deeper and more sustained the meditative concentration. What is called afflictive obstruction means the mind has the afflictions of greed, hatred, and delusion and clinging thoughts, clings to the body and to self, has many dharmas on its mind, engages in ceaseless grasping at conditions, and takes all worldly dharmas as real, unwilling to let them go.
10. During natural breathing in seated meditation, who controls the body
During natural breathing, there is no manas directing it, much less the mind-consciousness directing it; unnatural breathing is controlled by the mind-consciousness and the manas, and voluntary breathing is controlled and led by the mind-consciousness. Many dharmas in the body's own life activities are operated single-handedly by the tathāgatagarbha; sometimes the manas will take control, sometimes the mind-consciousness will take control—though of course the mind-consciousness's control actually influences the manas, making the manas take control. In natural operations that we cannot perceive, the manas is not necessarily involved.
11. In cultivation, pay attention to developing good habits
Meditate at a fixed time and place; over time this becomes a habit. With the habit formed, one no longer fears noisy disturbances from the surrounding environment; during meditation the mind can be emptied, and one can contemplate and reflect with the mind gathered in one place. Habit is the inertia of the manas; the manas is rather attached—things done frequently are done by routine without deliberation. Habits have a bad side and a good side; make good use of habits to practice the Buddha-dharma. If you develop good habits of cultivation, you will achieve twice the result with half the effort.
Spending a certain amount of time and energy to cultivate good habits of practice is very worthwhile. It is like making molds for mass production: at that stage it costs painstaking effort and time, but once the molds are made, producing products afterward saves an enormous amount of time and cost—the so-called "twice the result with half the effort," saving at least four times to countless times the time and cost. It is very worthwhile. The stage of cultivating habits of practice is very arduous, with successes and failures, advances and retreats, and it is not easy to persist. At such times one needs someone nearby to urge and supervise; being able to partner with others for mutual encouragement makes things easier. What good habits of practice need to be cultivated?
12. What to do when the breath is shallow and there are many distracting thoughts
If the breath is not harmonized and there are many distracting thoughts, do deep breathing, drawing the breath as far down as the dantian. When the breath becomes long, the body is regulated and distracting thoughts decrease. When doing deep breathing, inhale slowly and fully, letting the belly gradually bulge out; when the breath is full, pause for a moment, then exhale. After exhaling completely, the belly is deflated; pause again for a moment, then breathe out again. In this way, between each exhalation and inhalation, the breath is lengthened. Guide the breath actively like this a few times, and afterward you will be able to breathe normally and naturally.
During deep breathing, the breath passes through the various organs, expelling blockages, and incidentally opens the Conception Vessel (Ren meridian). Thus, even without further deep breathing, the breath will gradually lengthen and reach the dantian, and distracting thoughts will decrease accordingly. The deep-breathing method is quite effective against distracting thoughts.
You can also use the deep-breathing Buddha-name recitation method to harmonize the breath and counteract afflictions and distracting thoughts. While breathing deeply, recite the Buddha's name: after inhaling fully and pausing a moment, while exhaling, use a nasal tone or a deep chest tone to slowly recite the two syllables "A-mi"; the greater the vibration of the sound flow, the better—this will open up the five viscera and six bowels. Then inhale again, and while exhaling, recite the two syllables "tuo-fo." Reciting like this a few times will harmonize the breath. With the mind focused on the breath and the recitation of the Buddha's name, meditative concentration can gradually increase. This method can be used at the beginning of every meditation session. When the air is relatively fresh, you can do some deep breathing; the dantian qi can then be activated, the breath becomes long, the body healthy, distracting thoughts few, and abdominal breathing is naturally accomplished.
