The Principle of Syncope (2024-06-02)

Ven. Shi Ruyuan: Before I encountered the Buddha's teachings, I had two experiences of fainting—whenever I got angry, I would uncontrollably become stifled and pass out. Since I came into contact with the Buddha's teachings, my mind has opened up, and there are no longer so many things I cannot let go of, so I have never had such episodes again. The reason is that I came to feel that life is short, suffering, and impermanent. When fainting, I was slightly more lucid than when asleep; when I fainted, it felt as though I woke up in an instant. I did not feel that I was doing anything at the time; I just felt it was very quiet, hearing faint sounds from very, very far away. At that moment I could not feel the existence of my body, nor could I feel anything happening in this world, and I did not know where I was. My mind was somewhat hazy, and my perception was unclear. Then in an instant I recovered. When I woke up, I found blood marks from pinching between the thumb and index finger of my hand and in the middle of my nostrils, and I knew I had been pinched awake. When I came to, many people around me were saying, "You scared us to death!" At the same time, I felt how exhausting and vexing this world is, and I also felt a sense of loss.

At the time I fainted, I felt a breath failed to come up, and then this little episode occurred. If that breath had truly been severed forever, and if I had not studied Buddhism and cultivated practice, I cannot imagine how terrified I would have been. At that point, even the dearest loved ones or property could not be taken along and would be of no use, and one would still have to undergo retribution according to the karma one had created. Now, recalling this little experience of mine, it can still be of use for my practice. When I saw the Master's teaching yesterday giving the example of fainting, I repeatedly contemplated my own past experience of fainting, and I feel that with the help of this experience, together with the Dharma principles of the four foundations of mindfulness, it greatly aids my practice in eliminating the view of body and eliminating the view of self. When the mind's grasping gives rise to a dream state, the first five consciousnesses are absent—that is how it seems to me. I do not know whether this is correct?

Assessment: Fainting from anger is due to the manas's mind becoming stagnant; the breath then becomes congealed and blocked. The airway is obstructed, and the qi and blood cannot be supplied to the supreme faculty at the back of the brain, so the six sense objects cannot be transmitted normally into the supreme faculty. Without the six sense objects, the six consciousnesses cannot continue to operate and thus cease. From this we can see that the qi and blood circulate through the body extremely rapidly, and changes also occur extremely quickly. Such a material body is impermanent—changes can be observed at any moment, and death can come at any moment. People who frequently harbor silent anger have qi and blood that cannot circulate properly, and various blockages will form in the body, resulting in poor health.

Everyone's experience when fainting is different, because the wholesomeness or unwholesomeness of their mind-ground differs, the manas's perceptive capacity differs, the circulation of breath and energy differs, and the degree of fainting also differs. For those with abundant wholesome karma, there is almost no suffering after fainting. For those with abundant unwholesome karma, or those with deep attachments, the manas's grasping is deep after fainting, and it struggles incessantly, so there is a feeling of suffering. All these feelings are feelings of the mind consciousness. In the instant before the mind consciousness truly disappears, and when it is on the verge of waking up, there is a certain degree of perceptive ability. After it has completely disappeared, the manas continues to perceive. Each person's degree of manas grasping differs, their afflictive nature differs, and their power of wisdom differs, so their reactions differ. Different reactions lead to different experiences of the fainting, and the feelings when the mind consciousness arises also differ. Whether or not a person has cultivated practice makes an enormous difference in their feelings and in their retribution.

Why can pinching the philtrum revive a person? Because the philtrum is the junction connecting the Ren and Du Meridians, a critical point for the circulation of qi and blood throughout the body. When this point is unblocked, the qi and blood circulate smoothly, the supreme faculty receives nourishment, the six sense objects can be transmitted normally into the supreme faculty, the faculties and objects make contact, and the six consciousnesses arise and discern the six sense objects. Through meditative concentration (samādhi), unblocking the Ren and Du Meridians will make the body very healthy. However, if after unblocking them one cannot maintain it, blockages will again appear in certain parts of the body, even giving rise to symptoms of illness.