Questions and Answers on the Contemplative Practice of the Four Foundations of Mindfulness (22)

Question: While 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 breathing becomes subtle, fine, and prolonged, 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 fixed in place, gradually becoming imperceptible. If there is any activity afterward, 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?

Answer: This is a fairly good initial state of meditative concentration. When meditative concentration first emerges through practice, the body does not move about freely within the concentration; 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 meditative concentration has been experienced many times, one will become accustomed to it, and the body will be much freer—able to move when one wants to move, without being bound. To be able to enter and exit meditative concentration freely in 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 attained, it is not easy to maintain. Only when meditative concentration has deepened can one maintain some degree of dynamic meditative concentration.