Ru Chun's Physical and Mental State After Seeing the Path (2)

Ru Chun: 2026.1.26 Physical condition: I don't know if it's because the rainy season has passed, but overall my head now feels much lighter and clearer, my eyelids are no longer heavy, my whole body feels much lighter, and I have more energy. When sitting in meditation, I feel tingling numbness, swelling, and sensations in my head, face, tongue, and arms, like electric currents passing through, and my whole head periodically feels a strong sense of pressure. There are quite a lot of reactions in the head—swelling, numbness, itching, pain, and coolness at the crown—but they are relatively mild and not serious. Sometimes my scalp itches unbearably, and the next day it's fine again; this has been happening frequently recently. During meditation, there are crackling sounds in my mind; previously they were mostly around the edges, but these last few times there have been dull thudding sounds right above the middle of the neck. For a while, my upper and lower lips would tremble slightly, and once during meditative concentration I felt the bone behind my nose melting, and my nasal passages became very clear. When doing the swaying-seated meditation, there are also dull thudding sounds in the pelvis and lower spine, quite loud. There is also a tingling, swelling sensation in the spine on my back—previously it was in the lower waist, and now it has moved upward to the middle-upper waist.

Assessment: These are phenomena of the energy channels opening up throughout the whole body. The condition of the lips and nose shows that the Ren and Du meridians are about to open. These are bodily reactions after the mind has become pure—the mind's positive influence on the physical body.

Ru Chun: Regarding diet, I eat two meals a day, simple food without being picky; when my meditative concentration deepens, I don't feel like eating. Sleep is unstable—I need about six or seven hours. When my contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā) is diligent, sleeping three or four hours a day is also fine. My mind feels at ease and comfortable, with no afflictions or cravings. In terms of thoughts and emotions, I feel that before I was busying myself for nothing; now I am not busy yet nothing has been neglected—everything is quite good. My emotions are peaceful and calm, and my mind is composed. Tonight during meditation I felt tingling numbness, swelling, and electric-current sensations throughout my whole body, but not as strong as last night; the golden electric current turned silvery-white.

Assessment: After the mind becomes empty of self, both body and mind are stable, settled, and harmonious, because one has seen through the world of the five aggregates (pañca-skandha) and, on the whole, no longer has any cravings; with a good state of mind, everything becomes peaceful and secure. Whether a person has desires and cravings can be known by looking at their state of body and mind; whether a person has blessings (merit) can also be known by looking at their state of body and mind.