Dharma Teachings

19 May 2021 Wednesday 2nd Teach Total 3403

Four Foundations of Mindfulness Contemplative Practice (Vipaśyanā-caryā) Q&A 22

<h2 style="text-indent: 2em;">Question: When standing by the roadside waiting for someone, focusing the mind on a single thought, if I stand with palms joined, after 10 to 15 minutes I feel the body become empty, the breath becomes subtle, fine, and long, and the mind feels at ease; if I stand with hands hanging down, I feel as if my body is clamped by some force and unable to move, especially both arms being locked in place, gradually becoming imperceptible. Once there is any activity, the mind loses mindfulness, and after raising the thought again, there is a stabbing pain in the head. Is this unstable state a problem—has something gone wrong with the body because my skill in sitting meditation and meditative concentration (samādhi) is insufficient?</h2>

Answer: This is a fairly good initial state of meditative concentration. When meditative concentration first arises through practice, the body within the concentration is not easily able to move freely; it feels very stiff and cannot turn or move. If one forces movement, either the mind feels uncomfortable or some part of the body feels uncomfortable. After entering meditative concentration many times, one will become accustomed to it, and the body can then move much more freely—able to move when one wishes to move, without constraint. To be able to enter and exit meditative concentration freely with both body and mind, one needs to continually cultivate meditative concentration; with proficiency it will be fine. Static meditative concentration is easy to cultivate and easy to maintain, while dynamic meditative concentration is not easy to cultivate, and even when it arises it is not easy to maintain. Only when meditative concentration has deepened can one maintain some degree of dynamic meditative concentration.

——Master Sheng-Ru's Teachings

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