The Relationship between Nourishing Qi and the Dao

Nurturing qi is nurturing the Way. When qi is abundant, the mind abides in meditative concentration (samādhi); when the mind is concentrated, wisdom arises and afflictions subside, making it easier to see the Way. Nurturing qi involves, first, replenishing it, and second, protecting it and not squandering it carelessly. The second point—preventing leakage—is the most important, because if one is replenishing qi while at the same time consuming and leaking it, the replenishment becomes meaningless, and one may even replenish incorrectly, giving rise to illness and obstructions.

In what aspects is the qi in the human body most easily leaked? First, urination and defecation leak qi, consuming liver qi, lung qi, spleen qi, stomach qi, and so on; if these qi are insufficient, urination and defecation become difficult. Thus, the more frequently one urinates and defecates, the more qi is leaked; a person with a weak body will feel drained of strength after urinating and defecating. Therefore, the Buddha instructed his disciples to know moderation and contentment in eating and drinking—taking one meal at midday and abstaining from food after midday (vikālabhojanā veramaṇī)—so as to avoid, first, depleting merit, second, wasting time that should be spent on cultivation, third, fostering greed, and fourth, frequent urination and defecation. Thus the Buddha's precepts all have a certain scientific rationale and are conducive to cultivating the Way.

The second easiest way to leak qi is sexual desire, which also consumes a great deal of the body's qi; those who engage in sexual activity frequently have poor physical constitutions. Emperors of the past needed to regularly take tonic medicines, yet the replenishment could not keep up with what leaked out, and taking too many tonics also harmed the body; ultimately the body became depleted, leading to early death. Only emperors with restraint could possibly live long, but there were few of them. The Buddha established the precept requiring the cessation of sexual activity because sexual desire is the root of birth-and-death in saṃsāra; without lust and desire, one can escape the desire realm. In the Śūraṅgama Sūtra the Buddha said: practicing the Way with a lustful mind is like trying to steam sand into rice—it will never succeed, because sand is not the basis of rice; practicing the Way with a lustful mind is the conduct of Māra and will never accomplish the Way. Therefore the Buddha established the precept to cease sexual activity. Those who single-mindedly make vows to attain the Way should, for the sake of their own liberation, consciously subdue the affliction of sexual desire.

The third easy way to leak qi is speech. Speaking consumes the qi of the dantian. When the manas stirs a thought to speak, the dantian qi arises and flows upward along the cakra channels, passing through the throat cakra to the root of the tongue; the mind consciousness and body consciousness arise, and language is produced, during which a great deal of qi from the various organs runs out along with the speech. Therefore, people with deficient qi speak weakly, and may even be unable to produce a voice. Some people feel weak and exhausted after talking too much; those who must speak a great deal every day consume too much qi, and such people generally have no meditative concentration (samādhi); even if they have it, it will recede. Therefore Buddhist disciples who cultivate the Way generally prefer silence, not speaking unless there is something important; doing so, first, gathers qi, and second, keeps the mind from distraction.

The fourth thing that easily consumes qi is wild, unrestrained daydreaming. When there are too many thoughts, mental energy is internally drained and the qi is exhausted as well; then meditative concentration does not easily arise, and even if it arises it will vanish. "When the mouth opens, spirit and qi scatter; when the mind stirs, the fire of cultivation grows cold." As soon as one speaks, the qi in the body disperses and disappears; as soon as the manas stirs a thought, the fire that the body has cultivated dissipates, and after the mark of warmth disappears, the body grows cold. Thoughts also consume energy; a person whose body is extremely weak cannot concentrate on thinking through problems, and the brain may go completely blank. People who think too much are prone to fatigue and also to hunger; those who use their brains frequently tend to have a weak spleen and are also prone to hunger; as the energy dissipates, meditative concentration also disappears.

The above are the main channels through which the body leaks and consumes qi. All nine orifices easily consume qi and blood: prolonged looking scatters liver qi, leading to insufficiency of liver blood; prolonged listening scatters kidney qi, leading to kidney decline; prolonged smelling, tasting, and touching all cause the loss of qi and blood, making meditative concentration unsustainable. The pores on the body's surface can also emit energy; bathing for too long or in water that is too hot will also cause the loss of qi and blood. If one wishes to cultivate the Way well, all worldly dharmas must be practiced in moderation, stopping at what is appropriate. Without craving for form, sound, smell, taste, touch, or dharmas, the Way will be easily accomplished.