“Master Yin Shi Zi’s book so enthralled me that I read it in a single sitting.His training in classical Chinese medicine and as a professor of physiologyenables him to express both his own experiences and his guide to cultivatinga practice of these methods in a language easily comprehensible to themodern reader. His book is a wonderful contribution to our understanding ofthe nature of Taoist/Buddhist yoga, meditation, and inner science.”

—Glenn H. Mullin, author of Selected Works of the Dalai Lama and Deathand Dying

“The reader can really better understand the mental and physical phenomenaencountered when progressing through meditation. If anyone ever wonderedwhat changes may occur during intense study of meditation, this book helpsto provide answers.”

—Master Tsung Hwa Jou, author of The Dao of Taijiquan and The Tao ofMeditation

“This wonderful book has been very influential in my own practice and Iwas elated to find that Shifu Hwang and Cheney Crow have completed sucha clear translation. Tranquil Sitting provides inspiration for all those whowant to practice meditation, but may feel that their life contradicts orobstructs that practice. Yin Shi Zi is deservedly considered one of China’smost celebrated meditation practitioners.”

—Stuart Alve Olson, author of Cultivating the Ch’i

Tranquil SittingA Taoist Journal on Meditationand Chinese Medical Qigong

Yin Shi ZiTranslated by Shifu Hwang and

Cheney Crow, Ph.D.Forewords by Master Zhongxian

Wu and Glenn H. Mullin

London and Philadelphia

This edition published in 2013by Singing Dragonan imprint of Jessica Kingsley Publishers116 Pentonville RoadLondon N1 9JB, UKand400 Market Street, Suite 400Philadelphia, PA 19106, USA

www.singingdragon.com

First published in 1994by Dragon Door Publications

Copyright © Shifu Hwang and Cheney Crow 1994, 2013Foreword copyright © Master Zhongxian Wu 2013Foreword copyright © Glenn H. Mullin 1994, 2013Cover illustration copyright © S. Robertson 2013

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in anymaterial form (including photocopying or storing it in any medium byelectronic means and whether or not transiently or incidentally to some otheruse of this publication) without the written permission of the copyrightowner except in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designsand Patents Act 1988 or under the terms of a licence issued by theCopyright Licensing Agency Ltd, Saffron House, 6–10 Kirby Street, LondonEC1N 8TS. Applications for the copyright owner’s written permission toreproduce any part of this publication should be addressed to the publisher.

Warning: The doing of an unauthorised act in relation to a copyright workmay result in both a civil claim for damages and criminal prosecution.

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication DataA CIP catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

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ISBN 978 1 84819 112 9eISBN 978 0 85701 090 2Converted to eBook by EasyEPUB

Meditation develops your innateenergies. With practice, you can

take charge of your mind andbody, preventing disease before itarises. Shouldn’t everyone makean effort to learn something like

this? Superficially, meditation lookseasy, but if you practice withoutpatience, determination, and a

long-term sense of devotion youwill never realize its benefits. To

give readers a guide to meditation,I have therefore summarized my

many decades of experience.Yin Shi Zi, October, 1954

Yin Shi Zi

Contents

CoverForewordForewordABOUT THE TRANSLATIONTranslator’s IntroductionA TAOIST JOURNAL OnMeditation and Chinese MedicalQigong

PREFACE

PART ICHAPTER One The Theory ofTranquil Sitting

The meaning of tranquilityThe conflicting states of the body and the mind

CHAPTER TWO ThePhysiological Features of

MeditationThe relationship between tranquil sitting and normalphysical functionThe circulatory systemBreathingRegeneration

CHAPTER Three How toMeditate

Adjusting your dietAdjusting your sleepAdjusting your bodyAdjusting the breathAdjusting the mind

CHAPTER Four The Principle ofZhi KuanCHAPTER FIVE The Six MysticalSteps

Step One: Counting Practice and FulfillmentStep Two: Relaxing-mind Practice and FulfillmentStep Three: Resting Practice and FulfillmentStep Four: Visualization Practice and FulfillmentStep Five: Returning Practice and Fulfillment

Step Six: Clarification Practice and Fulfillment

PART IICHAPTER Six My Experience

My childhoodMy adult historyStudying Eastern TantraThe changing sensations of my physical bodyThe first episodeThe second episodeThe third episodeThe fourth episodeThe fifth episodeThe sixth episodeThe seventh episodeThe eighth episode

CHAPTER Seven My Study andPractice of Tibetan Mahamudra

Learning the secrets of Tibetan Tantra: opening the crownof the headAbout the practice of Tibetan Mahamudra

CHAPTER Eight Conclusion ofMy Experience

ABOUT THE TRANSLATORS

Foreword

Simplicity is the Best

The Dao 道 is simple.The healing method that follows the Dao is simple.A harmonious life is simple.Qigong 氣功 is a way of life and a way to help peoplelive simply in health and happiness.In my audio CD, Three Treasures—The Medicines ofShamanic Healing and Internal Alchemy, publishedby Chinese Wisdom Traditions, I emphasize that thereis only one type of disease: Qi stagnation (orblockage). The NeiJing 内經 (one of the mostimportant classical texts of traditional Chinesemedicine) mentions this idea—BuTongZeTong 不通則痛—“Where there is obstruction, there is pain.”This obstruction forms irregular patterns in the bodyon either energetic or physical planes. Leftunchecked, these areas of stagnation are then laterdiagnosed as the myriad of diseases known to modernmedicine. The NeiJing further states that all pain isrelated to the Heart. The Heart in this context refers

to the mind and to our Shen 神, the spirit within ourbody. In other words, the classics tell us that an uneasymind or a weak spiritual body will cause a weakness inthe physical body. This connection should never beignored.

By learning to work with Heart and Qi within the body,one may recover from illness, restore health, and maintainwellbeing. In Tranquil Sitting, the remarkable Qigongmaster JiangWeiQiao 蔣維喬 (CE 1873–1958) teaches ussome simple traditional Chinese sitting meditationmethods to work with our Heart and Qi. He personallyrecovered from tuberculosis and other significant healthissues through his dedicated cultivation practice. Thesesimple methods originate from Daoist internal alchemymeditation and the TianTai 天台 school meditationtechniques. The TianTai school is one of the Eight BuddhistSchools in China. The founder master, ZhiYi 智顗 (CE 538–597), created the TianTai school based on his knowledge ofBuddhism, Daoism, and Confucianism.

In 1914, JiangWeiQiao introduced these ancientmeditation methods to the general public through his bookYinShiZi JingZuoFa 因是子靜坐灋 (YinShiZi’s TranquilSitting Methods. In Tranquil Sitting, this title is translatedby Shifu Hwang and Cheney Crow as Yin Shi Zi’sMeditation), which was published under his spiritual nameYinShiZi 因是子. To my knowledge, this marked the first

time these ancient methods were explained in modernlanguage, without any mention of traditional internalcultivation terms such as YinYang, Five Elements, KanLi(water and fire), or Lead and Mercury, making the contentvery accessible to the general public. While JiangWeiQiaofocused on the practical aspects of traditional meditationtechniques, he also included stories of his personal insightsin order to give his audience an idea of the long-termprocess involved in achieving deep healing results. Over theyears, his book has been very well received throughoutChina, having been republished over twenty times, and iswidely considered to be a modern classic Qigong self-healing book. There are countless individuals who haverecovered from all manner of illness and disease bystudying and practicing methods from his book. In honor ofhis great contribution to our people and to our culture, allthroughout China we regard him as the Grand Father ofmodern Qigong.

I am so pleased that Singing Dragon is republishing theEnglish version of Master Jiang’s tranquil sitting methods.It is my honor to write this foreword and help re-introducehis exceptional work to the Western world. If you arelooking for some simple methods to help you recover fromillness, and live in health and peace, I believe that withdevotion to your daily practice, this marvelous book willhelp you achieve your dreams.

Harmonious Qi,ZhongXian Wu

Summer Solstice, 2012, Orchard House, Blue RidgeMountains

Foreword

In 1954, at the age of eighty-one, the venerable Chinesemaster Yin Shi Zi put to paper a remarkable account of hisexperiences in the practice of meditation, in which he hadcombined Taoist and Buddhist techniques in a traditionalblend of spiritual exercises for health and enlightenment.Moreover, he complemented his spiritual biography with asection on practical exercises for inducing the experiencesof body and mind that he himself had realized.

From its most ancient times China developed andpreserved a most unique culture of meditation for health,harmony, and self-fulfillment. The early Taoist masterswell understood the nature of the human predicament, andresponded by setting forth clear guidelines wherebytrainees could extract the essence of the human potential.Later, with the importation of Buddhism from India, thesetwo traditions confronted one another in what may becalled a most exquisite marriage of spiritual technologies.Master Yin Shi Zi addresses this marriage not as historicaldata, but as a living dynamic. He began his training as aTaoist, and later supplemented his practice with elementsfrom the Tian Tai school of Chinese Buddhism. Severaldecades later he complemented this body of techniqueswith several methods coming from the esoteric Vajrayana

Buddhism of Tibet. He discusses these with disarmingintimacy and humility.

From birth Master Yin Shi Zi was afflicted by chronichealth problems, and as a teenager took up the practice ofTaoist yoga and meditation solely in order to cure himself.Only after he had witnessed the healing powers of thesetechniques did he become fascinated with the spiritualimplications of the methods he had been utilizing, and thusbegin to apply himself to them from within a spiritualperspective. His account of his experiences in these twoareas, firstly medical and then spiritual, thus provides thereader with a glimpse of the multidimensional impact ofthese ancient practices.

His training in classical Chinese medicine and as aprofessor of physiology enables him to express both hisown experiences and his guide to cultivating a practice ofthese methods in a language easily comprehensible to themodern reader. He lived in a special period, when Chinawas making the transition from an ancient and somewhatinsular culture to a modern nation aware of internationalattitudes and perspectives. Thus he stood on a bridge inChinese history, and his education on both sides of thebridge provided him with a unique insight. His book is awonderful contribution to our understanding of the natureof Taoist/Buddhist yoga, meditation, and inner science.

Shifu Hwang and Cheney Crow have done an excellent

job of translating the manuscript from the original Chinese,and we owe a great debt to them for their efforts.

Glenn H. MullinAuthor and lecturer, October, 1994

ABOUT THE TRANSLATION

Yin Shi Zi’s book, written in 1954, was published in acollection of writings on meditation called Jing Zuo Fa JiYao (The Collection of the Way of Meditation), by His YoPublications in January 1962. Yin Shi Zi, once a professorof physiology at Kuan Hua University, divided his text intotwo sections. The first is didactic, with sections on theory,physiology, preparation, and instruction for meditation. Thesecond section is a diary account of his personalexperience and meditation practice (his illness, his earlyTaoist practice, his self-healing, then his initiation into andpractice of the Tibetan Tantric practice of opening thecrown of the head).

Translators make many choices as they work. We choseto adhere as closely as possible to a literal translation,which the differences between Chinese and English renderalmost impossible. There are instances, therefore, wherewe added words or phrases [in square brackets] to theoriginal Chinese to facilitate reading. All parentheses arefrom the original text. Transcription for Chinese characterswas done using the Chinese government’s Latin-Han Zitranscription system, which is promoted by the ConfuciusSchool.

It is with humble gratitude that we offer this unrevised

text to fellow seekers, in hopes they may experience whatwe did in working on this somewhat awkward text:moments of inspiration, wonder, reassurance, and aheightened sense of compassion for those on the path weshare.

Cheney Crow, Ph.D.February, 2012

Translator’s Introduction

My life was profoundly influenced by this book, originallytitled Jing Zuo Fa and written by Master Jiang Wei Chiao,who took the Taoist name Yin Shi Zi. The guidance it offershelped lead me out of an unhealthy life towards a lifedevoted to cultivation of the Tao. My friend and studentCheney Crow agreed to collaborate with me to translatethis book into English. We completed this work inNovember, 1993, and it was first published in 1994. We arepleased that Singing Dragon has chosen to make this bookavailable to others interested in learning these methods andreading about the experiences of Yin Shi Zi as he began anddeveloped his practice.

Like him, I was unhealthy in body and spirit before Ibegan meditation. For ten years after graduating fromuniversity in Taiwan, I ran a business. Like many otherbusinessmen, I indulged in smoking, drinking, nightlife.Because of my unrestricted lifestyle, my health and mybusiness deteriorated. I developed a persistent cough.When my business began to fail, I was coughing up blood.In 1982 I was bankrupt, very sad in heart, and physicallyexhausted. I emigrated to the United States.

Recognizing my undisciplined lifestyle as the root causeof my physical and financial distress, I sought help. To heal

my body and my mind, I chose Taoism. I studied manyTaoist scriptures, but they were hard to understand, andeven harder to practice. Eventually, I found this book. Icould understand the author’s writing and his instructions,so I followed its principles and began to practicemeditation.

At first, I was troubled by the meditation postures and byrandom thoughts; however, I persevered. After almost fourmonths, I began to notice physical effects from thepractice, and changes in my body. I felt a pulsing force inthree areas of my back: at my tailbone (Wei Lu), middlespine (Jia Ji), and at the base of my head (Yu Zhen). I hadthe sensation of sweet dew flowing down from the crownof my head, across my face, down through my chest to thelower Dan Tien (about 4 inches below the navel). Threetimes I had a sensation, and intuitive awareness, of whitelight shooting out from my chest. When this happened, Iknow I had completed the Xiao Zho Tian (small heavencirculation) training.

My body and my mind were healing; I felt healthy andoptimistic. My memory became clearer. There were otherphysical sensations. I heard a sound like wind blowing inmy ears, sometimes all day. I felt a buzz, like electricity, atthe crown of my head. There was so much movement in myback that it felt like I was getting a massage. I did not feeltired, even when I worked two or more hours longer than

usual.I knew then that Taoism was not empty talk, that there

were true benefits in this lifetime. I studied more Taoismscriptures. One day, as I read a book by master Chang SanFeng, these words got my attention, “Training in Tai Chi isthe way to build a foundation for entering the Tao.” I begandiligent study and practice of Tai Chi and other martial arts.I became proficient, and was a martial arts instructor fortwenty years, teaching Tai Chi, Kung Fu, self-defense, andwrestling.

The goal of the Taoist practitioner is to becomeimmortal. The average life span, called Yi Jia Zi (onecircle) is about sixty years. With complete Taoistmeditation training, a practitioner can live longer.Complete Taoist meditation training should include: XiaoZho Tian (small heaven circulation), Da Zho Tian (largeheaven circulation), and Dao He Che (reverse heavencirculation). The secret of Taoist meditation is tomanipulate the Zhong Qi (ancestor Qi). The Zhong Qi isstored in the inner chest, in muscle fiber enclosing theinternal organs, and in the organs themselves. Zhong Qi cannourish the internal organs, but if it cannot travel andcirculate through to the crown of the head, and the fourlimbs, the human body slowly declines. Taoist meditationtraining releases the Zhong Qi into the twelve regularmeridians and the six extraordinary meridians. This

circulation will improve the practioner’s health, andnaturally his life span will increase. If he lives respecting ahealthy lifestyle and Taoist principles, he can live to be onehundred and twenty years. Then he can be called immortal.

Master Jiang Wei Chiao (Yin Shi Zi) studied Xiao ZhoTian (small heaven circulation), which I also studied andpractice. This is a Taoist art. He also studied two Buddhistarts, Zhi Kwen Fa (resting mind by visualization) and theTantric art, Po Wa (breaking the tile, breaking the crown),which he describes in this book. Although he studied andused Buddhist practices, and did not have the opportunity toreceive a complete Taoist training, he chose and adopted aTaoist name, Yin Shi Zi. With his Taoist name he wrote thisvery valuable writing, which is of great benefit to others. Iexperienced this myself, as I have explained.

This book helped me begin my Taoist practice. For thirtyyears I have studied and practiced Taoism. It has changedmy mind and my body. I have chosen a Taoist name. Thisbook helped me begin.

Shifu HwangThe Taoist Bronze in Bastrop, Texas, April, 2012

A TAOIST JOURNALOn Meditation and Chinese

Medical Qigong

BY YIN SHI ZI

PREFACE

Chinese traditional medicine is noteworthy for itspreventive benefits. I wanted to write a book that wouldshow how Taoist meditation integrates into this system.Many ancient scriptures describe meditation in bothpreventive and curative terms, but most of them are writtenin terminology deriving from concepts not easilyunderstood by the lay reader: terms relating to Yin andYang, the Five Elements, K’an and Li, from the I Ching, orLead and Mercury, from internal alchemy. Also, thetheories behind these scriptures contained secrets whichcould not be shared with all, so they could not be widelydisseminated.

Many years ago I wished to write an easily understoodbook and present it to the world, but, having little time, Ipostponed this wish until 1914, when I was forty-one yearsold, and saw a Japanese method, Okada-Torajiro meditation,named after the man who created it. After this time I couldno longer remain silent, so I wrote a book called Yin ShiZi’s Meditation. “Meditation” in Chinese means “tranquilsitting,” and has been practiced for several centuries.During the Sung dynasty, Confucian scholars usedmeditation to regulate their conduct. During the Mingdynasty, Yuan Liao Fan wrote a book called The Secret of

Tranquil Sitting and in it presented a method resemblingthe precepts of tranquility found in the Zen school ofBuddhism. Since the phrase “tranquil sitting” is easilyunderstood and remembered, I have also chosen it to be thetitle of my book. Human beings have four basic postures:walking, sitting, lying down, and relaxing. Of these four,only the sitting posture can make the whole body calmdown and enter into the state of tranquility, so both theTaoists and the Buddhists chose this posture formeditation. Although it is true that the postures of lyingdown and walking can also be used for meditation, thepractitioner will find that using these postures is moredifficult than sitting.

My first publication sold many copies. In 1918, when Iwas forty-five years old, I wrote another book called TheContinuation of Yin Shi Zi’s Meditation, in which Iinterpreted my experiences based on the teachings of ZhiKuan’s principles of the Tian Tai sect of Buddhism. Thesetwo books sold very fast and have been reprinted severaldozen times. Now thirty-six years have elapsed, and I ameighty-one years old. I have accumulated more experience,and witnessed the existence of Extraordinary Acupoints andthe related eight meridians, which I would like to submit asa reference for medical care. This book presents morematerial than the previous two books on the theory,method, and experience of tranquil sitting.

PART I

CHAPTER OneThe Theory of TranquilSitting

YIN SHI ZI SITTING IN MEDITATION

The meaning of tranquilityOur earth rotates continuously. Compared with the size ofthe earth, human beings seem almost ant-like, yet wecannot sense the earth’s movement at all. We areceaselessly active. Even when we sleep, our heartbeat neverstops. Our universe is full of constant activity, without amoment’s stillness. For this reason, I say that the terms“stillness” and “activity” exist only as relative concepts.When the activity of our bodies and our minds is out ofsync with the rhythm of the earth’s activity, we call both“action.” When we don’t act and our state synchronizeswith the rhythm of the earth’s activity, we call this stillness.

After a person has worked for some time, he has to rest.After working for several hours, a factory worker musthave time to rest. In schools, teachers strain their brainsduring a fifty minute class and have ten minutes afterwardsto rest. This rest is a state of stillness. However, this stateof stillness may not be complete physically and mentally.Sometimes the body is resting, but the mind remains active,and we cannot sense the true meaning of stillness.

The conflicting states of thebody and the mind

The mind and body are always in conflict. Until we becomeaware of this conflict, we cannot sense it. For example, if aperson behaves badly, he will face a struggle with hisconscience, whether he is good or ill-natured. Prompted byhis desires, a person behaves badly and later regrets hisbehavior. This is the conflict between the mind and thebody. The ancients called this “the struggle betweenconscience and desire.” A man who can use his conscienceto subdue his desire is called a good man. When hisconscience overpowers his desire, this conflict is resolved.

Why is there so much conflict? Because no element inthe universe exists without another, conflicting element,which is its complement. When each element is confrontedwith its complement, the two become opposites. Thedirections are East, West, South, and North. The sizes aresmall and large, high and low, long and short. Shapes areround and square. Time is ancient or modern, going orcoming, morning or evening, winter or summer. Men’saffairs bring happiness or calamity, joy or anger, love orhatred, righteousness or sinfulness, kindness or evil.Witnessing these polarities, we know that each of ouractivities will eventually produce its opposite. Activitybrings contradiction into being. A man who has a high levelof cultivation has a placid and quiet mind. He does notallow the self to exist, and thus achieves selflessness.When he meets with conflicting situations, he can rely on

his consciousness to guide him and so reconcile theconflict. Tranquil sitting is the practice that allows thisprocess to be effective.

CHAPTER TWOThe Physiological Featuresof Meditation

The relationship betweentranquil sitting and normalphysical function

Tranquil sitting can influence the entire physical body,including the arms and legs externally and the organsinternally. No part of the body remains unaffected bymeditation. I do not, however, intend to give a discourse onphysiology, so I won’t give detailed illustrations of theseeffects. I will just try to give a general description of thenervous, circulatory, respiratory, and regenerative systems.

In the past, people preferred to regard mind and body astwo separate entities. Recently, though, the physiologistPavlov discovered that the cerebral cortex dominates boththe external and internal aspects of the body’s equilibrium,and generates all of its reflexes. We can therefore affirmnow that the human spirit and physical body are not twodifferent things and cannot be separated—they are a unified

system.There are both conditioned and non-conditioned

reflexes. Non-conditioned reflexes are innate, instinctiverather than learned behavior, and are the simpler type ofreflex. For example, the eyes close abruptly upon contactwith an object. The nose sniffs in reaction to the stimulusof a smell. The throat coughs or vomits upon contact withan unpleasant stimulus. The hands withdraw abruptly uponcontact with a hot object. All these are non-conditionedreflexes.

There are never enough such reflexes to deal with thechanging environment of daily life. However, when similarnon-conditioned reflexes accumulate sufficiently, thecerebral cortex is able to link them and transform theseinto a conditioned reflex. For example, the plum has a sourflavor; eat a plum, and the mouth waters. This is a non-conditioned reflex. Later, you can see a plum and, withoutputting it into your mouth, produce saliva, quenching yourthirst. What was previously unconditioned has becomeconditioned. Through such association and reaction, whichmay cause physical transformation, people can freethemselves from the restrictions of unconditionedreactions by consciously guiding them into conditionedreactions.

Just as our thoughts may be replicated in written andverbal language, a second type of stimulus signal can be

generated by our thoughts, to replicate the first type ofsignals, those produced by real physical stimulation. Bypracticing this method, the limits of the conditioned reflexare eliminated. Physical reflexes have two features:excitation and suppression. When a nerve is stimulated, theentire body, as well as the site of the stimulus, will beexcited by the brain. When the excitation reaches a certainthreshold, this reaction will be suppressed by the brain.

What has tranquil sitting to do with the nervous system?When the brain simply reacts to stimuli, this state may becalled, in religious terms, random thinking. When randomthinking arises, or diminishes, there is not a moment’sstability. This can disturb the mind, making it uneasy, andfurthermore it can influence the health of the physicalbody.

When someone is caught in the middle of a secretive act,he will blush. If a person meets with a sudden shock, hisface will appear greenish white. This indicates thatemotional reactions influence the activity of the bloodvessels. When you feel ashamed, your arteries expand; ifyou feel shock or a sudden surprise, your veins expand. Ifyou feel happy, you will have a good appetite. If you feelsad, you can look at food, but cannot bring yourself to eatit. This indicates that emotional reactions can alsoinfluence the function of the stomach and the digestivesystem.

There are many such illustrations, which indicate that ourspirit should be calmed down, so that the function of ourreflexes will return to normal. The autonomic nervoussystem, which includes the sympathetic nervous system andthe sub-sympathetic nervous system can maintain balance,so that our bodies and minds may remain in harmony.However, random thinking is difficult to control. Apractitioner could devote himself to meditation andcontinue practicing for a long time before his entire bodycould be unified, and he would be able to control all partsof his body. The ancients say that when you can sittranquilly your power over the body is like that of a kingsurrounded by a hundred subjects who await yourcommand. So we can see the close relationship betweenmeditation and the central nervous system.

The circulatory systemBlood is an element fundamental to human life, for itcirculates throughout the body without a moment’s pause.The circulatory system includes two main parts, the heartand the blood vessels. The heart is the central device,pumping out red blood through the arteries to the wholebody as it simultaneously receives the veins’ purple blood.Blood vessels are channels for transferring blood to allparts of the body. One type of channel is called an artery.The vein, another type of channel, returns blood to the

heart. The task of the circulatory system is to maintain theblood’s balance in the body so that the activity of each partof the body can meet the requirements of the whole bodyand develop. In this process, each of the circulatorysystem’s tasks may be modified relative to the activity ofthe whole body. When a specific part of the body isespecially active, blood circulation in this area willintensify, so more blood accumulates. For example, whenyou are full of food, the blood in the stomach will circulatemore intensely. After exercising, the limbs will feel fullbecause of the rapidly circulating blood. The opposite isalso true; inactive limbs will feel the shortage ofcirculation. Thus, at all times, every part of a healthy bodywill receive an appropriate amount of blood, neither toomuch nor too little. The circulatory system can functionnormally.

The circulation of the blood and the body’s continuousfunctioning do not depend solely on the expansion andcontraction of the heart and blood vessels. The functionsalso rely on a generalized organization which regulates theentire system. It is the central nervous system whichgoverns these activities, primarily the cerebral cortex.Pavlov said that the nerves of the blood vessels whichconnect the brain and spine to the heart have two functions:excitation and suppression.

The first of these, excitation, will quicken the heartbeat,

contracting the diameter of the blood vessels. The latterwill weaken and slow down the heartbeat, and make theblood vessels dilate. These two functions are reciprocal,and are intrinsically related, for the adjustment of theactivity of the circulatory system.

When the circulatory system is inactive, a personbecomes ill. Both Chinese and Western doctors check thepulse for diagnosis. Whenever the circulatory system issluggish, there must be either an internal or external cause.

The internal causes:Though the internal organs are in the domain of the

central nervous system, they still take orders from thespinal nervous system and the autonomic nervous system(sympathetic and sub-sympathetic systems), which connectindirectly with the brain. The onset of a disease causes theinternal organs to have an abnormal reflex, and the flow ofblood will become unstable.

A person’s blood is mostly preserved in an area of thestomach where its muscles are powerless. Sometimes themuscles cannot expel the blood entirely, so the bloodbecomes stale. This condition leads to insufficient blood insome other part of the body.

Since we cannot directly influence the activity of theinternal organs, we cannot sense when the blood becomessluggish. Even if we are aware of this situation, we can donothing but wait until the disease occurs, and then consult a

doctor.The arteries’ blood begins close to the heart, therefore it

is powerful. The veins’ blood starts from the region of thehead and the four limbs and then returns to the heart. Itremains comparatively far from the heartbeat, so its poweris much weaker, which is why the veins’ blood can easily beretained in the abdominal area.

The external causes:Obvious effects are the seasonal changes from summer

to winter, the flu, and external wounds of physical andchemical origin, all of which make the circulatory systemlose functional properties.

When you maintain a practice in which you focus on theabdomen as your center of gravity, your abdominal muscleswill, after much practice, become powerful and flexible.You will be able to expel stale blood from the abdominalarea, and let it return to the heart. You will also feelstronger sensations from the internal organs. If an internalorgan functions improperly, you will be able to sense thissituation earlier, and through meditation restore thecirculatory system to perfect condition. You will not easilycontract an illness. Practicing this preventive medical careis much better than contracting an illness and thenconsulting a doctor for a cure.

Breathing

Breathing plays an essential role in supporting human life.Everyone realizes the importance of eating to maintain life.If you stop eating, you will suffer hunger and thirst, andeventually die. However, breathing is more important thaneating. If a man fasts for seven days he could die, but if hismouth and nose are covered and he doesn’t breathe, hecannot survive longer than half an hour. This illustrates thatbreathing is more important than food. You need toexchange money for food, and acquiring money depends onyour wages. For breathing, you can obtain air freely fromthe atmosphere, a process which requires neither moneynor labor. That is the reason ordinary people realize theimportance of food, but do not realize the importance ofbreathing.

Energy and calories are necessary to human bodilyfunctions, and are derived primarily from the oxygenationof foods. The stomach is like a steam engine. Digestion offood is just like the burning of a steam engine. In terms ofphysics, this burning requires oxygen and produces carbondioxide. In the process of oxygenation, oxygen and carbondioxide, which came from our atmosphere, return to it.This is an exchange of internal and external bodies, as isbreathing. When oxygen is inhaled, it reaches the lungs,then the heart. It makes the blood travel from the veins tothe arteries, and, through the arteries, the blood travels toother parts of the body. Then it leaves the blood vessels and

begins its restorative role in cell production, during whichthe cells will generate carbon dioxide, a poison which mustbe expelled from the body. The carbon dioxide thenretraces this route in reverse, from the veins to the heart,from the heart to the lungs, and finally to the mouth andnose, where it is exhaled.

The air entering or exiting the lungs depends mainly onthe activity of the chest muscles and the diaphragm. This isthe activity of breathing, which functions incessantly dayand night (in actuality, there is an almost imperceptiblepause in breathing and in the heartbeat), so that you cankeep your inhalation and exhalation in balance. Breathing isgoverned entirely by the central nervous system.

When we breathe in, the air is taken in through thenostrils and throat, to the trachea, the bronchia, and into thelungs. When we breathe out, the air in the alveoles followsthe original route to exit. The lungs are divided into left andthe right. The left lung has two lobes. The right lung hasthree lobes. Physiologists estimate that man’s lungs have atotal of seventy-five billion alveoles, which, spread out,would cover an area of about seventy square meters. Aboutfifty-five square meters are involved in the functions ofbreathing. Relatively speaking, this space is thirty timeslarger than the surface area of the human body. We cannotimagine that such a small chest could contain so much. Thisillustrates to us how elaborate the construction of the lung

is.Though breathing may sometimes involve nitrogen and

water vapor, these are not essential substances. Inhaling isprimarily ingestion of oxygen. Exhaling is expulsion ofcarbon dioxide. This process is necessary to make thepurple color of blood in the veins change to a red colorbefore it flows into the arteries. Hence the circulation ofthe blood is totally dependent on the assistance ofbreathing. In continuous circulation, the blood makes acircuit through the entire body every twenty-four seconds,which results in thirty-six hundred circuits in a twenty-four-hour period. The breathing of a human being mayreach twenty thousand repetitions in a day, an intake ofapproximately three hundred and eighty cubic meters offresh air.

If we estimate that the volume of blood in every person’sbody is two and a half liters, then nine thousand kilogramsof blood are purified daily. It is difficult to believe thatpeople cannot sense this remarkable event.

The combination of one inhalation and one exhalation iscalled a single breath. People’s lives depend on this breath.If you cannot catch your breath in time, you will suffocateand die. The practice of meditation addresses this problem,which is a fundamental requirement of life. All Buddhistand Taoist priests and health instructors emphasize thepractice of breathing. The initial step is to teach breathing

techniques, and even when you attain a high level thispractice is continued.

RegenerationRegeneration is a common characteristic of all livingthings, the signature of life’s activity, the demarcationbetween living and non-living beings. Regeneration is abasic physiological activity of a highly evolved being. Thestructure of the human body has attained a very high levelof complexity. It requires nutrition and oxygen for itsregeneration, a process which involves a sequence of verycomplicated functions.

Waste byproducts from the regenerative process alsoundergo a very elaborate process before being eliminatedfrom the body. Waste substances produced by the humanbeing are solid, liquid, and gas. The solid and liquid wastescan be eliminated as stool, urine, and perspiration. Gas canbe expelled through the lungs and the mouth or nose.Among these, the procedure of expelling gas is the mostimportant for good health. Circulation and breathing, whosefunctions are assured by the central nervous system whichregulates all bodily events, are also auxiliary activities ofregeneration.

The regenerative process has two parts. One isconstructive regeneration, which includes our body’sdevelopment, replenishment, the restoration of energy, and

nutrition. A growing child has not completed hisdevelopment; his constructive growth is still in progress.An adult has reached his full development, soreplenishment is his body’s main task. Another type ofregeneration involves the process of breaking things down,whether it be of tissue, energy, or food. Any such processcan produce energy and calories. After energy is produced,part of it can be used to maintain body temperature, and theexcess parts are quickly released from the body. In otherwords, the procedure of regeneration includes twocontinuous and inseparable steps.

The first of these steps is the compounding and thebreaking down of tissue or food. The second step is theproduction, use, and release of energy. This regenerativeprocedure will ensure that our body’s old cellscontinuously break down, as new cells are continuouslyproduced. Physiologists estimate that a man’s cells are incontinuous transformation, a transformation which lasts forseven years, after which time his entire body has beenchanged into another body. We look in the mirror and findthat our faces change between childhood and adolescence,then from adolescence to middle age, until old age, whenwe can see that our face is totally different. This provesthat regeneration is continuously changing our body in anundetectable way, yet we cannot sense this happening. Howstupid we really are!

Meditation can make our central nervous system calmdown, so that it can develop its potential, to let the blood’scirculation function better, to let the breathing systemreceive its adjustments, and to help the regenerativeprocesses. The effectiveness of meditation practice onthese processes is impressive.

CHAPTER ThreeHow to Meditate

What Adjustments to Make Beforeand After Meditation

Adjusting your dietThe human body is like a machine. A machine requires fuelto operate just as the human body requires food. Afterbeing chewed in the mouth, food is blended with saliva,then digested by the liquids in the stomach and turned into apasty substance which flows into the small intestine for useby the whole body. We know that food plays a veryimportant part in life. However, if too much food is takenin, the stomach cannot fully digest and absorb it; on thecontrary, the undigested waste will be expelled from thebody. This will increase the stomach’s work. Our bodieswill be overburdened, and we will become anxious. In thiscondition we cannot achieve peace in meditation.

If too little food is consumed, we will suffer frommalnutrition and physical weakness. This is not appropriate

for meditation either. Therefore, we should regulate ourfood intake. People always like to eat a lot. This is veryinappropriate. We should consume food only until we feelsomewhat, but not entirely, satiated. There is an old sayingthat the body should constantly labor, and food shouldconstantly be regulated. This saying I agree with entirely.We should also not require food with a rich flavor.Vegetables are actually more suitable for our body thanmeat. It is not good to meditate immediately after eating.We should wait about two hours. The most appropriate timefor meditation is in the morning after waking, washingone’s face, drinking some water, and emptying the bowels.

Adjusting your sleepAfter exerting yourself physically and mentally you need torest in order to renew your energy. We can regard sleep asthe longest period we have to really rest. An ordinaryperson should sleep for eight hours. Exceeding this willmake our spirit lose clarity, which is inappropriate formeditation. With too little sleep, our body cannot recoverits energy, and our mind stays in a trance-like state. Thisalso is inappropriate for meditation.

Therefore, sleeping should be fixed at a regular time inorder to keep our spirit always clear. This creates the bestcondition for meditation. We can practice meditationsitting on a bed, before going to sleep in the evening, or

wake up at midnight to sit in meditation. After meditation,if we feel the need, we can go back to sleep. In any case,time spent sleeping should neither be too much nor toolittle.

Adjusting your bodyAdjusting your body implies adjusting your posture. Weshould adjust our bodies before, after, and duringmeditation. Our physical activities include walking,relaxing, sitting, and lying—four postures. The meditationpractitioner should be aware of his behavior at all times.His physical behavior should be easy and calm; violentmovement is inappropriate. When you behave violently,your energy flow becomes violent, too, and your mindcannot focus on meditation. Therefore, before meditationadjust the mind. This is another method of adjusting thebody.

When you enter into meditation on a bed or on aspecially made cushion, loosen your belt, and arrange yourfeet in the right position. Fold both your knees, put yourleft foot on the right thigh, level with the thigh, then put theright foot on the left thigh. In this posture, the soles faceupward, the thighs seem to form a triangle, the two kneespress tightly against the bed or cushion, and all the body’smuscles are like a fully stretched bow. This is the bestposture for meditation, for the practitioner will not lean

forward, backward, left or right. However, older personsmight have trouble using this posture. They can use a half-folded (single fold) posture—putting only the left foot onthe right thigh, no need to put the right foot on the leftthigh. Some persons might even have problems with thesingle fold posture; these persons may sit simply with thelegs crossed, one foot touching the opposite thigh. The twohands should be in the right position—both hands open,facing up, with the right hand in the left palm, near theabdomen, resting gently on the legs. Then twist the torso inboth directions, left and right, to be certain the posture iswell adjusted and stable. The spinal column should not betoo stiffly erect, nor too bent. Keep the head erect, so thatthe nose and the navel are vertically aligned.

At this point open your mouth and exhale the stale airfrom the chest, curling your tongue back extending towardsthe throat, with the under surface of the tongue in contactwith the palate. Next, one should inhale clean air gentlythree to seven times through the nose. Then the mouthshould be closed, with the tongue in the retroflex position,eyes closed and posture straight and motionless. If you feelthe body leaning in any direction, adjust your body tocorrect this. This is how to adjust your body duringmeditation.

After meditation (to be described later), open the mouthand breathe out at least ten more times in order to reduce

the body temperature. Slowly twist the torso in bothdirections, lift, then shrug the shoulders, and rotate thehead in a circular motion. Then slowly and gently unfoldthe crossed feet and legs. After this, rub the inner edges ofthe hands against each other, at the lower part of thethumbs, until they become warm. Before opening the eyes,use these warm parts of the hand to wipe the two eyelids.The back of the thumbs should be used again to rub the twosides of the nose simultaneously. After this, rub the twopalms together until they become warm, then, with the twowarm palms, rub the back of the ears and the head, chestand abdomen, arms, legs, and both sides of the feet. Duringmeditation the blood circulates more actively, making thebody perspire, so wait until the perspiration dries beforebeginning your regular schedule. This is how to adjust thebody after meditation.

Adjusting the breathAir enters and exits through the nostrils as inhalation andexhalation. One inhalation with one exhalation counts as asingle breath. The most essential task for meditation is toadjust that breath. There are four different breathingtechniques. The first of these is to breathe with the throat.Ordinary people do not realize that breathing is part of theart of maintaining good health; their breathing is short andshallow. They just let air enter and exit from the short

portion of their throats. In this kind of breathing, the lobesof the lungs cannot fully expand and contract. Thereforethey cannot fully inhale oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide.This prevents the circulation of blood in the lungs fromreaching ideal levels.

The second technique is chest breathing. This techniqueshould be better than the first one, since air reaches thechest and the lobes of the lungs fill with air. When weexercise, we use this technique naturally. However, neitherof these techniques qualify as breathing adjustments.

The third breathing technique uses the abdomen. Thistechnique allows you to send the breath all the way to theabdomen. When the practitioner uses this technique toinhale, the air is drawn into and fills his lungs. His lungs areexpanded and the diaphragm presses down. At this point,the chest is empty and relaxed, and the stomach expands.When the practitioner exhales, the abdomen contracts andthe diaphragm raises up against the lungs, so that the staleair in the lungs is fully expelled from the body. Thismethod may be considered a breathing adjustment.Breathing should not take too much effort. Make thebreathing slow and prolonged, both as it enters and exits thebody. The air should reach the abdomen in a very naturalway, noiselessly, so that you cannot hear the breath as itenters or exits the body. This can be considered anadvanced breathing adjustment.

The fourth method is to breathe with the whole body.After several years of meditation, the practitioner achievesbreathing which he cannot perceive in any way. Reachingthis high level of skill, the practitioner appears to others tobe in a state of non-breathing, because the rhythm and thevolume of his breathing are so reduced. Though advancedpractitioners obviously still have their lungs, they seem toignore their use. Air seems to go in and out though thepores of their skin. A person who can attain such a level hasreached the highest extreme of attainment in breathingadjustment.

Pay careful attention to the breath going in and outthrough the nostrils. Do not inhale sharply, for this isshallow breathing. Learn to extend the breath from thethroat to the chest and to the abdomen. This is the breathingadjustment to use before meditation. During meditation, ifthe breath is not adjusted, your mind will be unstable.Therefore, adjust the breath to a slow and gentle pace,balancing the duration of the inhalations and exhalations tomake them equal. Regulate the breath by counting, eithercounting the number of exhalations or the number ofinhalations. Count first from one to ten, and repeat thiscount. If your concentration fails during the first tenbreaths counted, then start again at one. Continue thispractice for quite some time, for it helps develop yourskills, and adjusts the breathing correctly. This is part of the

method for breathing adjustment during meditation.Breathing adjustment influences the circulatory system,making the blood flow more actively and warming the body.Therefore, after meditation, open the mouth and release thebreath to lower the body temperature and re-establishnormal body temperature. At this point, you may resumeyour activities. This applies to the method for breathingadjustment after meditation.

Adjusting the mindRight from birth, people seem to enjoy the mind’s randomthinking. As each random thought dies another arises totake its place. We can describe it this way: “Just as the willgallops like a horse, so the mind acts like a monkey.” Wecan see that the mind is very difficult to adjust. The finalresult of meditation depends totally on how well you adjustrandom thoughts. Of the four postures, sitting, lying,walking, and relaxing, we should occasionally check ourwalking and relaxing. All verbal and physical behaviorshould be monitored. We should always put our mind insideour bodies; do not let it gallop at random. With prolongedtraining, it will be easier to adjust the mind. This is how toadjust the mind before meditation.

During meditation, there are two types of problem. Thefirst is that the mind may lose concentration, and not beable to complete the meditation process. The second is that

the mind becomes drowsy, and easily drifts towards sleep.The beginning practitioner may easily encounter theproblem of losing concentration. After a long period ofpractice, he will be able to diminish the frequency ofrandom thoughts. Then he risks the problem of gettingdrowsy. These two are the most frequent problems faced inmeditation.

The way to cure the problem of losing concentration isto relinquish all anxieties and look at the physical body assomething external to yourself, without thinking about yourexistence. Focus your mind on the lower abdomen, andgradually you can experience profound tranquility. The wayto cure the problem of drowsiness is to focus your mind onthe tip of the nose. Then you can raise your spirit. In myexperience, it is easy to become drowsy during eveningmeditation after working hard during the day. In morningmeditation you would not have this problem.

I am recommending some techniques to choose from.The first of these is accurately counting from one to ten.After extensive practice, your mind will follow the breath.With this technique alone, the two problems of losingconcentration and of drowsiness may be cured. This is howto adjust the mind during meditation. After meditation, payattention and do not indulge in random thinking. This is howto adjust the mind after meditation.

I have now described the three ways to adjust the body,

breath, and mind. All three should be used simultaneously. Imade three separate sections for discussion so that eachcould be presented clearly, but don’t separate theseprocedures.

CHAPTER FourThe Principle of Zhi Kuan

During meditation, arrange the torso and four limbs as wellas possible, and adjust the breath. The mind is the mostdifficult to tame. The human mind always likes to chaseafter external things. Although you would like to recallyour errant mind back to the body, this is not an easy task toaccomplish, so we must learn and practice the principles ofZhi Kuan, which will allow us to meet this goal. Afterpracticing the three adjustments, learn the principles of ZhiKuan. Even if you have never heard of the way ofadjustment, you can still study the principles of Zhi Kuan.

Zhi means “rest.” We have to stop our random thinking.Random thinking is like a monkey which knows no momentof stillness or peace. If this is so, what steps can we take tostop it? If we want the monkey to stop its activity, we haveto tie it to a wooden stake, so that he can no longer jump atrandom. The first step towards practicing Zhi is called XiYuan Zhi (determination through tying up attractions). Themind’s random activity must be occupied with a specificsubject, either concept or object. This attractive subject iscalled Yuan (the fatal connection, the attractive). The mindthinks randomly first of a, then of b, then of c and d. This is

called Pan Yuan (being hooked by the attractive). We tie ourminds to some spot, as we might tie up a monkey, so thatour mind will not be attracted by anything else, a processwe call “achieving rest by tying up the attractive.”

There are several ways to cure the mind’s problems. Iwill illustrate two of these to choose from. The firstmethod is to tie the mind to the tip of the nose—free ofany random thoughts, focus the mind’s eye on the tip of thenose to watch the breath. When you watch the entry andexit of the breath, you see neither where the breath comesfrom nor where it returns. After extensive practice, yourrandom thoughts will gradually subside.

The second method is to tie the mind to the bottom ofthe abdomen: the center of gravity of our body is in thelower abdomen, so tying our minds to this place gives usperfect balance. When we do this, we should imagine astraight line from the nose and throat to the abdomen,entering and exiting through our nostrils. After prolongedpractice, our mind’s random thinking may diminish. Thispractice can also help in adjusting the breath.

When we have learned to rest by tying up the attractive,we can move on to Zhi Xin Zhi “achieving rest bycontrolling the mind.” What is Zhi Xin Zhi? Xi Yuan dealswith the mind’s subjectivity. Now Zhi Xin Zhi can directlydeal with the mind itself, allowing us to control and stopthought when we discern it in our mind, and prevent the

possibilities of being hooked by the attractive. This trainingis far deeper and far more subtle than that about Xi YuanZhi.

As the next step, we learn Ti Zhen Zhi (“resting byunderstanding the truth”). This practice is on a level evenhigher than Zhi Xin Zhi. The two methods just describedare preparatory steps for learning to rest. When youpractice this method you will acquire true rest.

What is Ti Zhen Zhi? Ti means “understanding”; Zhenmeans “truth.” When you try to discern your thoughts theysuddenly disperse, become empty and random, and lose allvalue. If we don’t try to perceive our thoughts, the mindremains in a state of void. If in addition all random thinkingand conflict are not intentionally controlled, the mind mayachieve a state of rest in a natural way. When you dispelempty, random thoughts the mind is close to truth. In thisstate the mind truly knows rest.

When you practice Ti Zhen Zhi during meditation, closethe eyes, and reflect on the memory of your physicalgrowth. We grow from infancy to childhood, maturity, oldage, and death. Our cells constantly regenerate, without amoment’s pause. There is no physical or mental state towhich I can permanently hold and claim as my body. Againwe reflect on the mind’s thoughts. Thought after thoughtpasses through our minds. The most recent of these is justpast, the present thought continues, and the future thought

is imminent. Which of these thoughts may I consider to bemy true thought? From this we can see that as random mindperishes it is reborn, and all is empty and random. Aftermuch practice, we can stop this process of random thoughtnaturally so that the mind remains in a state of truth.

As we learn meditation, our mind easily losesconcentration in the beginning stages. This loss ofconcentration allows the mind to drift. The way to preventthe mind from losing concentration is to learn thetechnique of achieving rest. Repeated practice teaches ourmind to remain in a state of rest. When rest is achieved, weeasily become inattentive and drift into sleep. Curing thisdrowsiness requires visualization. Visualization doesn’tmean looking outward, but rather closing the eyes andlooking inward, to the mind.

There are three types of visualization. One is calledvisualizing the void. In this method, we try to visualize allthings in the universe as constantly undergoing change,whether they be as large as mountains and rivers, or assmall as our bodies and minds. Everything is impermanent.We must look into our minds and visualize this. This iscalled visualization of the void.

After long years of this practice, you can look into yourmind during meditation and find that every thought in themind has a subject, either an idea or an event. All things inthe world result from the interactions of original

conditions and ensuing events. For example, the seeds ofvarious grains can sprout. This is an original condition.Water and soil can nourish these seeds. These are theensuing events, the catalysts. If we store these seeds in abarn, and do not sow them, they would never sprout. Thusthere is original condition lacking a catalyst. All things inthe world are produced by the meeting of originalconditions with a catalyst, and perish by their separation.

Our thoughts are chimerical. Do not try to hang on tothem. If we visualize the attainment of goals, we arevisualizing an illusion. Relatively speaking, visualization ofthe void belongs to the realm of non-being, and visualizingillusion belongs to the realm of being. Despite extensivestudy of visualization, we have not achieved perfection. Weshould therefore continue our study. When we visualize thevoid, we should be free from any prejudice that the visionmust be void. If we visualize illusion, we create theillusory. Don’t become attached to the concepts of void andillusion. Let your mind rely on nothing. If we achieve this,our minds become like hollow caves from which we canwitness the external light. This is called visualizing themiddle.

Superficially it appears that we are making distinctionsin our discussion of this Zhi Kuan principle. In actualpractice the practitioner can use his mind freely.Sometimes he may prefer to use resting, sometimes he

may prefer to use visualization. Be determined in unifyingyour thoughts. This is called resting. Directing thoughts iscalled visualization. When we practice resting, we neverabandon the use of visualization. When we practicevisualization, we do not abandon the use of resting. Feelfree to use both methods, and don’t let yourself getconfused by their apparent contradictions.

CHAPTER FIVEThe Six Mystical Steps

In Chapter Three, we discussed adjustment. Though wetried to present the three adjustments of the breath, body,and mind equally, this introduction gave preferentialtreatment to the adjustment of the body. In Chapter Four,we discussed the principle of Zhi Kuan, which is primarilya discussion of the mind. In this chapter, The Six MysticalSteps, emphasis is on the breath.

Breath is the origin of life. Anyone who cannot breathewill soon die. Without breath, the nervous system cannotsustain its reflexes and the mind dies. His life is finished.Breath alone makes it possible for us to connect the bodyand the mind, and maintain life. The entry and exit of airthrough our nostrils depends on this breath. Although it isusually invisible to our eyes, breath has both form andweight. Since it has both weight and form, during itspassage it is also a material part of our body. We realizethat entry and exit of the breath depend entirely on ourmind, and that it is part of the spirit. Since breath canconnect the body and the mind, we know breath itself ispart of the body and the mind.

The Six Mystical Steps will teach the practitioner to

manage the technique of breathing. It is a method ofcontinuous meditation. After learning the principles of ZhiKuan, the practitioner can go further to study the SixMystical Steps. Even without practicing the principles ofZhi Kuan, he may begin the study of the Six Mystical Steps.

Step One: Counting Practiceand Fulfillment

The Six Mystical Steps are: Counting, Following, Resting,Visualization, Returning, and Clarifying. What is Counting?Counting is to count breaths. Counting breaths has twolevels. The first of these is Counting Practice. Afterentering meditation, try to adjust the breath so it becomesperfectly smooth and peaceful, then count slowly from oneto ten, placing the count on either the inhalation or theexhalation. When you focus on Counting, do not loseconcentration. If you lose concentration before ten isreached, begin the process over, starting at one. This iscalled Counting Practice.

The second level of counting breaths is called CountingFulfillment. After much practice, you become graduallyskillfull enough to count from one to ten withoutconfusion. Your inhalations and exhalations become gentleand soft. When you reach this point, your breathing is soregular that you no longer need to count. This state is

called Counting Fulfillment.

Step Two: Relaxing-mindPractice and Fulfillment

After this, we should give up the practice of Counting, andproceed to study the Relaxing and Following technique.This technique also has two levels, the first of which iscalled the Relaxing and Following-mind Practice. We giveup Counting and let our mind follow the entry and exit ofthe breath. The mind accompanies the breath and the breathaccompanies the mind, closely linked to each other, thebreath becoming gentle and soft. This is called FollowingPractice. The second level of this practice is calledFollowing Fulfillment. Once you master the Relaxing andFollowing technique, the breath becomes very gentle, and itfeels like you could breathe simply through your skin. Themind is placid and still. This state is called FollowingFulfillment.

If, after a long period of practice, you feel that the breathis not yet gentle enough, give up the practice of Relaxingand Following-mind and begin the practice of Resting.

Step Three: Resting Practiceand Fulfillment

Resting also has two levels. The first one is called RestingPractice. The mind no longer follows the breath. Nowgently focus your mind on the tip of the nose. This is calledResting Practice. After a long period of practice, you willno longer feel that you have a mind or a physical body, andwill enter into a state of deep meditation. This is calledResting Fulfillment. Having reached this level of deepmeditation, continue to visualize light in your mind until itbecomes bright. Don’t rest on your laurels, but begin thestudy of Visualization.

Step Four: VisualizationPractice and Fulfillment

Visualization also has two levels. The first of these torealize is the Visualization Practice. In meditation carefullyvisualize the breath entering and exiting the body, like abreeze in the air that lacks physical substance.

This is called Visualization Practice. After a long periodpracticing Visualization, you can mentally watch the breathentering and exiting through every pore in your body. Thisis called the Embodiment of Visualization and itsFulfillment. In the previous chapter, we discussed restingand visualization. These terms have a different meaning inthis chapter. In the previous chapter, we used resting andvisualization to focus on training the mind. In this chapter

the focus is on training the breath. After practicingVisualization for some time, devote the next period ofstudy to visualize the Returning Practice.

Step Five: Returning Practiceand Fulfillment

Returning, like the other techniques, has two levels. Thefirst of these is to realize the Returning Practice. Once youhave used your mind to visualize the breath, the mindacquires the skill of intelligent Visualization. This skill isdistinct from intellectual activity, but this opposition isrelative, not absolute. The practitioner lets his mind tracethe origin of his thoughts. This is called the originality ofReturning Practice.

The second level is to verify the Returning Practice,which is called Returning and its Fulfillment. Thisintelligent Visualization arises from the mind. Since it hasarisen within the mind, it should fall within the mind, too.One rising, one falling. These are elusive and unreal. Therising and falling of the mind is like ripples on water.Ripples are not the water itself. We have to wait until thesurface of the water is smooth before we can see the wateritself. The rising and falling of the mind is like a ripple,which is not truly mind.

We should visualize our true mind, where nothing arises.

If nothing arises, then it is non-being. Non-being thenbecomes the void. If it is the void, then there is novisualizing mind. If there is no visualizing mind, then thereis no state for Visualization, and both state and intellectualactivity disappear. This is called Returning Fulfillment.Once you have reached the level of Returning Fulfillment,your mind retains only the concept of returning. Go on tothe practice of Clarification.

Step Six: Clarification Practiceand Fulfillment

Clarification has two levels also, the first called theemptiness of the Clarification Practice. When the mind isclarified, there will be no thoughts to distinguish. Thesecond level is Clarification Fulfillment, in which the mindstays as still as still water, all random thinking expelled.You can then perceive your true mind. This doesn’t meanthere is both a true mind and a random-thinking mind. Themind returns from random thinking, and attains truth. Thisis like a ripple disappearing into the surface of water.In summing up the principles of the Six Mystical Steps,Counting and Following comprise the preparatory work touse for deep meditation. Resting and Visualization are forprolonged meditation. Returning and Clarification are thefruit of this meditation. In these Six Mystical Steps,

Resting should be regarded as the main training, withVisualization simply an aid to enhance the Resting Practice.Then the mind can be clearly disciplined, and you canreceive the fruits of meditation, which are the Returningand Clarification.

PART II

CHAPTER SixMy Experience

My childhoodIn my childhood I was a small, weak, and sickly boy. I feltdizzy, sweated at night, and had sores on my genitals. In mysleep I suffered from spermatorrhea. I saw spirits andghosts, sound filled my ears. All these physical problemsoccurred. Occasionally, leaving my house I could walk onlyhalf a mile before my feet would soften and become soweak that I could go no further. When I was fourteen orfifteen years old, my health problems became morenumerous and more severe. I felt like I was in a trance, Isuffered from floating fears, and felt my body struck bywaves of heat. I still remember the spring when I wassixteen; every afternoon my body overheated, then becamecool again by the following morning. This conditioncontinued until the summer.

I became very sick with tuberculosis, and called ondoctors to diagnose me. They prescribed differentmedicines, but these never improved my condition. In myhome I had a Chinese medical book, I Fen Chi Kuei(General Answers to Medical Questions), which explained

that tuberculosis could not be cured by relying on medicinealone. This book recommends that patients be nursed inquiet surroundings, so that they may recover gradually. Thebook also introduces the art of Taoist meditation, Xiao ZhoTian (small heaven circulation), and describes in detail howto develop this practice. I followed the instructions andpracticed Taoist meditation. What eventually happened tome convinced me of its effectiveness.

I practiced meditation very diligently when I was ill, butwhen the symptoms disappeared, I stopped practicing. Ilacked devotion. Though occasionally I was still ill, mygeneral health was much better than it had been before Ibegan the meditation practice. When I was twenty-oneyears old, I got married. Thinking my health was quite good,I gave up the practice of meditation. During this time,however, I had sex too frequently, so my old sicknessstruck me again. I also ate too much, which resulted insevere stomach aches. My esophagus was feverish, and mystomach made noise constantly. Even when I longed forfood, if it was presented to me I could not swallow it.

In the spring when I was twenty-six, my elder brotherdied of tuberculosis, and I was also infected. At twenty-seven years old, my coughing became relentless, and later Ispat blood. This condition lasted three months. My healthwas becoming worse each day. Finally, I decided to throwaway all my medicines, give up sex, live alone in a separate

room, leave all worldly worries behind, and practicemeditation. I forced myself to meditate four times a day, atmidnight, six in the morning, noon, and at six in theevening. Each time I meditated for one or two hours. Icontinued this practice for three months. Eventually I feltmy abdomen gradually become warm. This feeling of heatbecame stronger and stronger, until it circulated andtrembled in my abdomen like boiling water. On the eveningof May twenty-ninth, I felt a jerky quiver in my abdomen,then a flood of hot air flushed against the base of my spine,and, following the Jia Ji[1] sympathetic nerve, surged up tothe base of my brain. The meridian along this line is calledthe Tu or Governor meridian, in the traditional Chinesemedical dictionary. I felt this sensation six times, before itgradually stopped.

I realized then that only eighty-five days had passed sincethe first day, March fifth, when I had resumed practicingmeditation. After this experience, every time I entered intomeditation, the heat would follow the same path, reachingthe summit, but the quivering never recurred. It seemed thatafter the quivering experience, I had been switched intoanother body. Not only were all my old diseases cured, butI could easily walk for more than ten miles without feelingtired.

Since that time I have never discontinued meditationpractice. When I was twenty-eight years old, I was hired as

a tutor. I simply rearranged my meditation schedule,changing it to twice a day, once in the morning and once inthe evening. On the morning of March twenty-eighth of thesame year, I felt the heat quivering in my abdomen again.From there it came up my Jia Ji sympathetic nerve, andflushed against the base of my brain. For three days the heatcontinued. I felt like the bone at the back of my brain hadopened, as a tide of heat flowed into the crown of my head.After this experience, this sensation recurred every time Ientered into meditation; the heat flowed along the samepath, but without quivering.

At midnight on October fifth of that year, I felt thequivering in my abdomen again, and the heat circulating atthe crown of my head changed direction, rushing down myface, separating into two parts around my nose and mouth,then reuniting at my throat. This flush of heat continueddown along the vagus nerve, through my chest, then flowedinto my lower abdomen. In traditional Chinese medicalterms, this path is called the Jen or Conceptional meridian.

After this experience, every time I entered intomeditation, the heat flowed from the spot of my Wei Lu (atthe base of the spine), up along my Jia Ji sympatheticnerve, and ascended to the crown of my head. Then it wentback down over my face and chest to my abdomen. The heatrepeated the established circuit through the Governor andConceptional meridians. I did not feel the quivering. Since

this time, except for a few instances when I took medicine,I have never been ill again. Therefore I believe that myexperience has proven that the Taoist art of meditation hasa preventive effect against disease.

My adult historyWhen I was thirty years old, I went to Shanghai to studyphilosophy, physiology, psychology, and public health.Using this knowledge, I tried to analyze the effectsassociated with my meditation practice, to increase myunderstanding of them. This type of training led me toprefer using scientific terms and analysis to describe thetheory of meditation. As a result, to illustrate this theory, Igradually gave up using the metaphors of Yin and Yang, theFive Elements, Lead, Mercury, and I Ching’s terms such asK’an and Li. I published my first meditation book, Yin ShiZi’s Meditation, in 1914, when I was forty-one years old.

The year I was forty-two (1915), I went to Beijing forthe second time. There I studied Buddhism, and my fellowstudents persuaded me to learn Buddhist meditation also.At that time, Master Ti-Hsien was preaching in Beijing,giving sermons on the sutra of Yuean-Ju Ching. From him,I learned the method of Zhi Kuan, the secret of cultivatingTian Tai Tsung, one of the branches of Buddhism. Some ofmy fellow students urged me to write another book aboutmy meditation, so I wrote down my thoughts, based on my

understanding of Tung Meng Zhi Kuan (a child’s restingmind) and the practice of Po-Lo-Mi-T’o (The DiamondSutra). This led to the completion of my secondmeditation book, called The Continuation of Yin Shi Zi’sMeditation. After this, I concentrated on cultivating thepractice of Zhi Kuan.

Studying Eastern TantraWhen I was fifty-three years old, ten or more of mydevoted religious friends intended to study the EighteenPoints of Eastern Tantra with Master E Yin Li. At that time,I had not developed sufficient faith in Tantra. My friendsurged me insistently to join them, and since I was curiousto know more about Tantra, I attended those teachings. Ifound their ceremonies very ornate and tedious. I did nothave adequate time to study Tantra, because I was teachingat Kuan Hua university and my teaching duties were quiteextensive. Because of my busy schedule, I was obliged togive up my study of Tantra. I did not, however, discontinuethe practice of Zhi Kuan principles.

The changing sensations of myphysical body

In the principles of Tung Meng Zhi Kuan, it says that whenone enters into deep meditation, some positive sensations

will occur. There are eight of these sensations, which are:lightness, warmth, cold, sinking, pulsating force, itching,dryness, and slipperiness. The first four sensations arewithout motion; the second four involve motion. Also, inmy experience, these sensations do not occursimultaneously. Some come earlier, some later.

When I was around twenty-seven years old, I had thesensations of lightness, warmth, and the pulsating force.My first sensation occurred after a lengthy period ofmeditation. I felt my whole body become very light, light asa feather. The next sensation was heat in my lowerabdomen, and then the pulsating force arose, moving up myspinal nerve to my brain. It crossed to the front of my head,and came down over my face, along the vagus nerve, andreached my lower abdomen. This circulating patternrepeated, with the pulsating force apparently touching myConceptional and Governor meridians. In the records oftraditional Chinese medicine, there are ExtraordinaryAcupoints and eight other meridians which include theConceptional and Governor meridians. The first of thesemeridians is called the Tsung or Impersian meridian. Thesecond is called the Dai or Belt meridian, and the others,the Yang Chiao, the Yin Chiao, the Yang Wei, and the YinWei meridians.

For the last ten years I had focused in my meditationexclusively on my lower abdomen. I now shifted the focus

to the middle Dan Tien. Within only a few days, I felt anenormous change occur in my body. It seemed that sixmeridians were affected: the Yang Chiao, Yin Chiao, YangWei, Yin Wei, Tsung, and Dai. I will try to describe thecircumstances in detail.

The first episodeOnce, after I shifted my focus to the middle Dan Tien, Iwoke up to meditate at midnight. I felt a sudden tremor inmy heart and chest, and my mouth filled with saliva. Thiscontinued for several evenings. The tremors in my heartbecame more frequent, and the pulsating force coursed upto the space between my eyebrows, where I intuitively feltthat a red light was emitted. The radiance of this light filledthe crown of my head, circulating there for a long time. Mywhole body felt as if an electric field surrounded me,penetrating at the palms of my hands and the bottoms of myfeet. It lasted for one minute, then suddenly stopped at myeyebrows.

After that, this happened every evening. It seemed asthough there were some device in my middle Dan Tiencontrolling this circulating current. The current moved upfrom there to the crown of my head, and my crown turnedviolently as the current spun around. After this violentturning, the current stopped abruptly between my eyebrows.Then my middle Dan Tien trembled again. It seemed there

was an electric field surrounding the area in my upper bodyfrom my left shoulder to my left leg, making a slantingcircle, and my bed and my mosquito net were shaken bythis quivering. After the violence, the quivering came to astop.

The quivering occurred again at the base of my brain, andthe pulsating force flowed down along my spine andlingered at the bottom of my spine at the spot of Wei Lu.Once again, from my right shoulder to my right leg, I feltthe presence of an electric field surrounding the upper halfof my body with oblique circles. After violent activity, itabruptly stopped. The current had circulated around myright and left legs and made oblique circles which flushedthrough the paths of four meridians: the Yin Chiao, YangChiao, Yin Wei, and Yang Wei. In my experience, theExtraordinary Acupoints and the eight meridians wereconsistent with the function of the nervous system. This istrue, with no exaggeration.

Every time I meditated and focused on the middle DanTien, I felt a change occur. One evening the pulsating forceflowed across my face, from one ear to the other. Itseemed as if there was a horizontal line being drawn, andthis line waved to the left and to the right several times.Without warning, the pulsating force stopped between myeyebrows. Then it started again, surging downwards fromthe top of my head to my chin, making a vertical line. It

crossed the horizontal line it had previously traced,forming a cross. The current went up and down this lineseveral times, then stopped abruptly once more at themidpoint between my brows. Starting up again at my crown,the pulsating force curved downward to my chest, thendescended to my sexual organ, making it rise up. Coursingdown from my head in this way, the force made my organquiver several times. I felt this curved line of force wasflushing through a path which began at the bottom of myConceptional meridian and reached the end of theGovernor meridian.

The second episodeOne evening my middle Dan Tien felt hot, and I felt a surgeof the pulsating force. My whole body was bent forward,then backward, to the left, then to the right. I was waved inthis same manner several times, each time being pushedforward, backward, left, then right, with no conscious efforton my part. Next, the quivering came up through my hands,moving my hands in a circular motion as fast as a machine.My hands moved in tandem from side to side.

After this, the pulsating force came up through my feet,making first my left foot bend and my right foot straighten,then my right foot bend and my left foot straighten. I couldnot consciously control this motion, it was totally beyondmy physical or logical control. Immediately afterwards this

activity in my legs and arms stopped, and I felt my head andmy torso swell up to a size of about ten feet. (According toBuddhist sutra, this is the sign of becoming a Buddha—thatone has achieved a giant stature.) All at once my head bentbackwards and my chest swelled even more, until I felt itwas filled with an extensive void. Once again I was bentforward, my back swelled up, and I felt a similar sensationof being filled with a large, void space. At this point I hadnormal sensation only in my lower body, as if I had noupper torso, and my body and mind were filled with thisstate of void. This feeling was quite pleasant.

The third episodeAnother evening, I felt the pulsating force move from mymiddle Dan Tien to surround my spine, circulating fromleft to right, then right to left, equally in both directions. Ifelt it move under the skin of my back, from left to right,tracing a big circle, dozens of times. This was repeated inthe opposite direction, from right to left. Next I felt itcirculate in my abdomen, turning from left to right andright to left around my Conceptional meridian. After this,the pulsating force encircled my waist, moving from left toright, forming a big circle, again, dozens of times, as it hadin my back. The circle then reversed directions, from rightto left, and repeated the same pattern dozens of times. Thissequence indicated that my Dai meridian was flushed

through.After this, the pulsating force spiraled downwards in

several dozen progressively smaller circles, in a coneshape which followed the path of the Governor meridianfrom the back of my crown to my Jia Ji acupoint, thendown to the Wei Lu. In passing, the pulsating force flushedthrough my Governor and Conceptional meridians, thenascended from my Wei Lu up my spine to the crown of myhead. It then flowed down from the base of my brain to theJia Ji, and returned to the Wei Lu. This happened dozens oftimes. Once more, beginning at my lower abdomen, thepulsating force followed the Conceptional meridian, roseup to the crown of my head, flowed down from the base ofmy brain through the Jia Ji to return again to the Wei Lu. Ittraced this path dozens of times. In this way the pulsatingforce completed the circuit which it had begun within me,touching my Conceptional and Governor meridians fromthe Wei Lu in my back, along the Jia Ji points, up to mycrown, my face, then dropping down to my abdomen.

The next time it started, it moved in the oppositedirection. I think that because my meridians wereunobstructed, the flow was able to follow a natural pathwithin my body—it could flow from the front or from theback, which proved that my Tsung meridian and the Daimeridian were at that point totally unobstructed.

The fourth episodeAnother night, I sensed this pulsating force in my middleDan Tien, and it drew a spiral with a diameter of about twoinches on the surface of my skin. This pattern started at thecenter of my middle Dan Tien and extended out to bothsides of my body. This pattern went first to the left, then tothe right. Each time it started, the pulsating force tracedthirty-six spiral patterns. Afterwards, it moved to myabdomen, and made thirty-six spirals in the same pattern onthe skin, first to the left, then to the right. Then the forcemoved upward, to the skin of my chest, repeating the samecircular, spiral motion, first to the left, then to the right,thirty-six times. I had the impression that these threeevents in my lower body, the center of my body, and myupper body, were pre-arranged in a specific order.

Following this, the force ascended to my crown, and,following a line which spiraled down my spine, it reachedmy Wei Lu, where it stopped. Then it rose, spiraling aroundmy spine again. In this way it reached my crown, thenretracted its path up and down my spine twice. Thepulsating force then spiraled up from the left side of mylower abdomen, just left of my Tsung meridian, to mycrown, where it started down along the same path. Then itspiraled up from the right side of my lower abdomen, justright of my Tsung meridian, reaching my crown. From mycrown, it passed down along the same path.

After this sequence, it encircled my Conceptionalmeridian, at the level of my head. Next, it passed back downto my lower abdomen, circulated once more, and ascendedto my crown. Sometimes it moved in a left to right circularmotion in my head, stopping at my forehead. First it circledaround my left shoulder, next it circled around my rightshoulder, an equal number of times in each direction.Suddenly this pulsating force reached between my fingers,and my fingertips shook with no conscious control. Thisshaking was very rapid, yet like dancing, for it had a clearand obvious pattern. Just as suddenly the pulsating forcepassed down from my crown and reached my two feetsimultaneously. Both feet were straightened out at thistime, and the tips of my toes moved in the same rapid,circular, dancelike pattern as the fingers had moved.

The fifth episodeAnother night the pulsating force traced a flat spiral patternon the skin at the center of my back. Beginning at thecenter, this moving pattern extended to both sides of mybody. First the spiral pattern went towards the left, then tothe right, as it had before. Also, just as before, the forcetraced this pattern exactly thirty-six times. Right after this,the pulsating force created this same spiral pattern withthirty-six repetitions on the skin of my flanks. Next, thispattern was drawn on the skin at the top of my shoulder

blades, again with thirty-six repetitions of the spiral. Thepatterns all seemed to have the same structured form. As Imentioned before, I felt the pulsating force move from themiddle Dan Tien down to my lower abdomen, then up to mychest. Each time the motion was circular, from left to right,then right to left, with only three repetitions of the pattern.This motion began again at the center of my back, moveddown to my flanks, then arced up around my shoulders andarmpits, swirling to the left and to the right, three times ineach direction.

All the repetitions of the pattern were symmetrical. Thiswas my physiological activity—so marvelous, yet quitebeyond my powers of imagination! Again, the pulsatingforce started at my crown, and spread out to my fingertips,and the tips of all my toes. All my fingertips and the tips ofmy toes then seemed to start dancing again, as they movedin patterns with each of my feet and fingers alternatelystraight, then bent. In rhythm with this straightening andbending of my feet and fingertips, my cheeks rubbed up anddown against my shoulders. These movements were quiterapid.

Suddenly the pulsating force reached up to my nose andmade my nostrils expand and contract. Next it reached myeyes and made my eyelids open and close in a quiveringmotion, while my eyeballs rotated in a circular motion.After this, the pulsating force touched the edges of my

ears, and my ears moved in a circular pattern that seemedvery natural, thirty-six times, from left to right, then rightto left.

The sixth episodeAnother evening, my middle Dan Tien generated thepulsating force, which began with a repetitive circularmovement. It started at my two flanks, then it surroundedmy waist at the level known as the Dai meridian. Themotion of the pulsating force was circular, it encircled mefrom left to right, then right to left, thirty-six times.

It moved up to my chest, and made a horizontal circleonce, then circled first to the left, then to the right, thirty-six times. Next it dropped down to the lower area of myabdomen, made a circle around it, then moved to the leftand right, making thirty-six circles in each direction. Thiscircular motion shifted from the lower to the middle to theupper area of my torso and was repeated three times. Thenit traced circles vertically up and down the left side of mychest. Next, it repeated this pattern on the right side of mychest. After this, the circles alternated from left to right,consecutively, several times.

The pulsating force changed location again, touching myhands and feet simultaneously. The feeling of the forcecaused my hands to open, and both my arms spontaneouslymade rapid circles through the air, from front to back.

Next, the feeling touched my feet, making them bend, thenstraighten. This movement was beyond my consciouscontrol. Occasionally my feet moved close to each other,and the toes touched, with my heels apart. Following this,my two heels touched, and my feet turned out, pointingaway from each other. My knees also alternately touchedeach other, then separated. Suddenly my knees were raisedup, and my hips were suspended in the air, waving from leftto right. At the same time, my hands and feet moved threetimes. Then the pulsating force moved up to my cheeks, mylips, my nose, my eyes, and my ears, just as I havedescribed it previously, but this time it happened faster.

The seventh episodeOne evening, I started to feel the circulation in my middleDan Tien, left and right, as the pulsating force traced adesign which extended from my chest to my lowerabdomen. Like the ones I described earlier, this pattern wasalso a spiral, but this time it happened more times, at themiddle, lower, and upper parts of my torso. At eachlocation, there were sixty repetitions of the pattern insteadof the thirty-six I had previously experienced. Suddenly Ifelt that the spiral drawn on my middle Dan Tien wasexpanding. I felt hollow inside. From my chest to myabdomen, this spiraling motion was expanding, and I feltcompletely hollow. Separately at each of the three levels,

upper, middle, and lower, the circles enlarged,approximately six times. Each time a circle was completed,the feeling lasted about five to six minutes.

After that, the pulsating force went up from my middleDan Tien to my crown, and circulated there. Then itdropped down to my left buttock and my left upper body,and traced an oblong shape around my torso thirty-sixtimes. Once more it ascended to my head, then droppeddown again to my right buttock, and right half of my torso,repeating the same oblong pattern, moving up and downthirty-six times. After this, it ascended to my head again,and from the base of my brain it flowed down my spine tomy Wei Lu. From there it continued down, and paused inmy left leg. It next encircled my left leg, then switched tomy right leg, and encircled it, too. It circled each leg thirty-six times.

The eighth episodeOne evening, I felt the pulsating force move in my middleDan Tien, my lower abdomen, and my chest. I felt this forcemove up to my brain, where within my skull I felt thecircling movement of the force, right to left and left toright, thirty times.

From the base of my brain it flowed down along myspine to my Wei Lu. At this moment my two feet bent, thenstraightened, touched each other, then separated. The force

next raised up to my abdomen, then up to my two shouldersand to my hands. It ascended to my crown once more, andfrom there it passed through my cheeks, down my face tomy throat. It affected my left shoulder, then my rightshoulder, causing them to move in a circular motion—afterwards the same thing happened to my two hands.

Next it reached my feet, which bent, then straightened,then touched each other, then separated. Suddenly, my bodywas bent into a triangular shape: the pulsating force pushedme onto the floor, so I was lying on my back, supported bymy shoulders and my shins, with my torso suspended.

My hips turned left and right, then my flanks turned,making my whole body move at an angle from left to right,slanting. Next, I lay flat on the ground, with the soles of myfeet naturally rubbing against each other, then the sole ofmy left foot rubbed my right leg and the bottom of my rightfoot rubbed my left—they both rubbed the same number oftimes.

The pulsating force moved next up to my shoulders andthe palms of my hands rubbed each other lengthwise.Suddenly the pulsating force made my two hands rub myneck, then my cheeks, from my chin to my ears, front toback. I continued to rub these places, then the base of myskull, my eyes, the sides of my nose, my ears, then myarms crossed and I rubbed my two shoulders and my upperarms, my left arm with my right hand, and right arm with my

left hand.Next my two crossed hands rubbed my lower abdomen,

my chest, then my shoulders, and my back, first the upperback, then the flanks, the hips, the legs, the tops of my feet,my toes, and my arches. Once again this pulsating forceraised up. It bent my two arms, then my hands turned tofists, and I patted my shoulders with my fists. The backs ofmy hands then patted the sides of my neck, under my chin,and my face, in a circular motion around my eyes and onboth sides of my nose, then, also in a circular pattern,around my ears. Next my fists patted my temples, and mytwo hands crossed to my two shoulders, slowly squeezingthem, as if kneading them, and again I drew my hands downand squeezed my upper arms. I squeezed my neck and theskin on my face, pinching it between my fingers. I rubbedmy chest, my abdomen, my flanks, my lower back, my hips,my legs, the tops of my feet, and my arches.

I consider this natural massage a physiologicalphenomenon. The patting and squeezing was orderly andalways balanced in number; it seemed well organized. Ithink I could never consciously guide myself through thissequence—it was just marvelous!

After this, parts of the sequence I have just describedhappened every evening. Sometimes one part of thesequence would repeat for more than ten days, sometimesseveral parts of the sequence would occur in a single

evening. This continued for half a year before it graduallydiminished, then stopped, and did not recur. After those sixmonths, I did not feel the pulsating force again in themiddle Dan Tien. This is probably because there was noobstruction in any of my meridians, so I no longer felt anykind of pulsating force.

Here is a summary and classification of all thesemovement types. There were four kinds: hands waving andfeet dancing, tapping, rubbing, and squeezing.

1.Jia Ji Xue (acupuncture points beside the vertebrae) were invented andintroduced by Dr. Huo Tou (about 156–214 AD). The 17 points in thisgroup are located 0.5 cun (1 inch) lateral to the spinal column, at the level ofthe lower border of each spinous process from thoracic vertebra 1 to lumbarvertebra 5. The Jia Ji points from thoracic vertebra 1 to thoracic vertebra 12are known as thoracic Jia Ji, and those from lumbar vertebra 1 to lumbarvertebra 5 are known as lumbar Jia Ji.

CHAPTER SevenMy Study and Practice ofTibetan Mahamudra

Learning the secrets of TibetanTantra: opening the crown of thehead

This Tibetan Tantric secret—allowing you to be reborn intothe Buddha’s Pure Land—has never been taught in the Hannation of China. This doctrine teaches that on his deathbeda man can visualize his rebirth in the Pure Land, allowinghis consciousness to leave his body through the crown ofhis head. With this goal in mind, the aspirant learns torecite a secret mantra. Once the aspirant receives theexperience of opening his crown, and practices thisprocess frequently, he will be able to follow a defined pathat the time of his death. In 1933 I was sixty years old. Ilearned this secret from Master No Na. At the time heshowed me the secret, he wanted me to practice at home.Despite my practice, however, I didn’t experience thedesired effects.

In the spring of 1937, when I was sixty-four years old, Iheard that Master Sheng Lu was teaching this secret inNanking. Four sessions had already been taught. It was saidthat every participant could open his crown during thesession. When the fifth session was about to start, I thoughtI shouldn’t miss this opportunity, so I hurried to Nanking. Ireached P’i Lo temple in Nanking that same day, andenrolled in the class for opening the crown (which is calledPo Wa—breaking the tile, breaking the crown).

On April 1, I arrived at P’i Lo temple, and received theempowerment called Pouring the Blessing Through theOpening of the Crown. This ceremony was much morecomplicated than Master No Na’s. The Master taught us torecite the Ho Mu Chin Kang mantra to facilitate theprocess. Although the mantra was not long, the method ofvisualization was quite tedious and complicated, and we hadto recite the mantra a hundred thousand times. However, wedidn’t have much time and the requested number ofrepetitions was impossible to complete in the space ofonly a few days, so all of us recited the mantra as manytimes as possible before receiving the empowerment.

Beginning on the second day, I stayed in my lodgings,shut the door and didn’t go out. I concentrated on recitingthis mantra until the morning of the last day, by which timeI had recited the mantra sixty-two thousand times. In theafternoon of this same day, I changed my lodging to the P’i

Lo temple. There were thirty-nine other participants in thistraining. It was said that this session had more participantsthan the previous sessions. The Master had us shave a smallcircular area of hair at our crowns, so that he couldexamine it during the process of opening the crown.Accordingly, he prepared some lucky reeds, which were tobe inserted in the opening which would occur in the shaved,circular area of our crowns.

On the tenth day the temple gate was closed. An ornatealtar was set up in the temple’s imposing hall. The hall wasexquisitely decorated. The Master called us before the altarto receive the empowerment. Every day there were fourclasses, each of which lasted for two hours: the first classlasted from seven to nine in the morning, the second class,from ten to twelve, the third, from three to five in theafternoon, and the fourth, from seven to nine in theevening. The empowerment procedure involved visualizingthe Patron Buddha sitting at the top of one’s head. From mycrown to my pelvis, there was a tunnel which was bluecolored on the outside and red on the inside, and my lowerDan Tien had a shining pearl which rose from there to myheart. Then I shouted “Hey,” with effort, and visualized thispearl rising rapidly with this sound, dashing out through mycrown to the heart of the Patron Buddha. Then again I calledout, not quite so loud, “Gha” and visualized the pearlreturning through my crown from the heart of the Buddha,

and dropping back down to its place of origin in my lowerDan Tien. Every session everyone shouted so loudly thatthey became hoarse and perspired so heavily that theirclothes were wet all the way through. (At this time it wasstill cold, and everybody was wearing thin cotton jackets.)The Master saw that most of us were tired, so he sang aSanskrit song and wanted us to sing in unison with him sothat we could be refreshed by singing. During these twohours, we had four or five rest periods.

Owing to my meditation practice I had an unobstructedcentral channel running from my pubic region to my crown,and I was able to feel wonderful effects on the eleventh day.In the first class, my crown emitted red light, and my sizeincreased to a great stature. In the fourth class, I felt as ifthere was a force drilling against my crown, and the pearlwas dashing up constantly. When I lay down I felt that myhead was emitting white light.

On the twelfth day, I practiced as I had the previous day,and in the second class I felt my skull was splitting at mycrown. The two bones covering this spot were separating. Inthe third class, my head swelled up and a lump appeared atmy crown. It seemed as though my scalp would split.

In the first class on the thirteenth day, I felt that everylayer of my brain had been pierced. At first, I felt that myskull was quite thick, then the drilling made it become thin.In the third class, I suddenly felt my upper body to be in a

void state, and my head emitted light. The light’s luminositywas increasing. In the first and second classes of thefourteenth day, the pearl was shooting up to the feet of thePatron Buddha, and I felt this route was smooth andunobstructed. The splitting felt quite different in naturefrom the previous day. Because of the change in sensationon the previous day, I thought that the route was still insome way obstructed. In the first class, I felt my neck was afreely flowing column which led directly to my stomachand my intestines. Prior to this, I had thought that mycentral channel was opened and unobstructed, which wasonly my imagination, since it was now proven to be true.

In the first class of the fifteenth day, I felt there was acavity at my crown. In the second class, the Master orderedus to move closer to the window, where the sunshine wasbrighter. Next he called each one of us to come up so thathe could perform the ritual that would make the crownsopen, and then insert a lucky reed into this opening as atoken of remembrance. If a practitioner’s crown wasactually opened, the grass would be sucked in and the scalpwould seal up around it. I was among those who had reachedthis level of attainment. The first time there were twenty-eight persons whose crowns were opened. For the othereleven persons the grass could not be inserted, whichindicated they needed to receive more instruction. All of uswhose crown had been opened would not continue the

practice of this ritual. However, we came up to the altar andused the power of visualization to help those who hadn’thad their crowns opened, to help facilitate their attainmentin the procedure of opening the crown.

On the sixteenth day, all of us who had their crownsopened came up again to the altar to help. In the first class,another nine persons’ crowns were opened. The last groupincluded a nun and a Buddhist woman who could not havetheir crowns opened. This nun had practiced secret Tantricarts in Japan. Her attainment was quite profound, yet shehad great difficulty in making her crown open. A personshouldn’t be overconfident, and should always receiveteachings with humility. Otherwise, your goal can bedifficult to attain. As for this Buddhist woman, I thoughtshe was old and lacked intelligence. The Master calledthose in the last group to come in front of his cushion, andthen personally empowered them. About an hour later, withthe assistance of all of us who had their crowns opened, shehad her crown opened.

Afterwards I primarily practiced meditation using theprinciple of Zhi Kuan, and I practiced Po Wa (opening thecrown). On the twenty-fourth of May I entered intomeditation and felt quiet surround me. My chest emittedlight which gradually increased and surrounded my wholebody, until the light became a large circle. Previously, I hadfelt light emit from my head, but this was the first time had

felt light emit from my chest region. However, I was stillconscious of my existence and my whole body was nottotally transparent.

On the twenty-sixth day, when I entered into meditationand became quiet, I felt my back emit light, and my wholebody was surrounded by brightness, which gave me a verypleasant feeling, but I still felt I had a body which was not ina void state.

On the twenty-seventh day, when I entered intomeditation and became quiet, I emitted very bright lightwhich shot up into the clouds and my soul parted from me.Later I gradually drew it back through my crown.

On the thirty-first day of the same month, after I enteredinto meditation, my upper body emitted light just as it hadthe day before. I felt my lower abdomen was boiling likewater. My lower body was in a void state, also emittinglight, which had never occurred before.

On the tenth of June, after I entered into meditation mywhole body emitted a very bright light and I felt as if I hadno head. There appeared only a transparent light.

On the fourteenth of June, after I entered into meditationmy whole body emitted light. Both my upper and lowerbody were shining with a transparent light.

On the seventeenth day of June, after I entered intomeditation, my whole body emitted light, and felt itilluminate my mind and eyes. This was so bright that my

entire body, top, bottom, and sides, was surrounded with alight which expanded into a large circular shape.

On the eighteenth day, after I entered into meditation, mywhole body emitted light, and this light was even brighter.My entire body was surrounded with bright transparentlight. The light seemed like a single guided burst, directedto the four corners. My consciousness was travellingthrough the air. Then I withdrew it and returned to my lowerabdomen, and as I continued with this practice, myconsciousness went down to my feet, up to my two hands,and back to my head.

About the practice of TibetanMahamudra

In 1947, when I was seventy-four years old, I followedMaster Gonga to learn Mahamudra. In the esoteric schoolof Sutrayana, the most popular sects are Pure Land and Zen.The Pure Land sect claims that your karma follows you intorebirth. The Zen sect emphasizes the process of trainingthe mind to be tranquil in order to attain wisdom, toeventually attain Buddhahood. Tibetan Tantra’s secret ofopening the crown demonstrates a way to rebirth in thePure Land and Mahamudra has the Zen school’scharacteristic of tranquility. However, I found the methodsof Mahamudra practice more practical and workable than

those of Zen and Pure Lands, so from that time on I havecontinued the Mahamudra practice. Maybe someone wouldask me, “I know that you have studied Buddhism, first youstudy the Sutrayana, and then you study the Vajrayana—thisis quite contrary to the proper attitude towards acquiringknowledge, don’t you think your knowledge is too impure?How can you actually achieve your goal?” I would answer,“It is not so. Though I have studied different schools, I havenever abandoned the practice of striving for tranquility, andall these schools are just helping me to make progresstowards attaining tranquility.”

When you learn the secret of Po Wa (opening thecrown), you can have the promise of rebirth. When youlearn Mahamudra, your practice of tranquil abiding cangrow from a shallow state to a profound state. When peoplethought I was confused in my knowledge, actually mylearning followed a straight line, and perseveres.

These two methods, Mahamudra and the Po Wa, whichform the experience I have cultivated and practiced, arevery popular in the province of Sekong and in Tibet. Theydo, however, require personal instruction by a lama.

This practice should not be undertaken alone. Readers,please pay attention to this warning.

CHAPTER EightConclusion of MyExperience

The Relationship Between Theoryand Practice

In this work I gave a theoretical presentation of essentialprinciples, and described the methods I practiced myself.My experiences are a testament to the methods’ results.When theory and experience unite, effects will naturally beproduced. If you study a body of knowledge, or devoteyourself to cultivation, you are making a big mistake if youonly pursue theory, and don’t pay attention to practice. Nomatter how profound your achievement in theoreticallearning, if you do not go on practicing, all this theory islike building a house on the beach—the foundation is notstable.

As the saying goes, “Just talking about food will notmake you full.” If someone tells you which is the tastiestfood, the most delicious, but you haven’t eaten it yet, how

can you become full? There is another type of person whois afraid that the theory might be too profound and toodifficult to understand, so they cast aside the theory andconcentrate on practicing. However, practice withoutmethod is blind practice. Not only may you fail to benefitfrom the practice, but you may actually encounter seriouspitfalls. This illustrates the problems of abandoning theory.The relationship between theory and practice should be likethe wheel and axle of the cart, neither of which can move ifthe other is neglected.

Traditional Chinese meditation has recently attracted theworld’s attention, and its development has been rapid. Thereare many cases of chronic disease being healed throughtraditional Chinese meditation. The ancient and mostpopular art of acupuncture is once again being promoted.Though the arts of acupressure and massage may not enjoyas much fame as acupuncture, their theoretical applicationis nonetheless quite similar. Both serve as healing methodsfor disease. Of these, only meditation can serve aspreventive medical care, which has been passed downthrough generations. Though it has been neglected forseveral centuries, the world is now paying attention, andthis must be considered good news.

Meditation develops your innate energies. With practice,you can take charge of your mind and body, preventingdisease before it arises. Shouldn’t everyone make an effort

to learn something like this? Superficially, meditationlooks easy, but if you practice without patience,determination, and a long-term sense of devotion you willnever realize its benefits. Therefore, to give readers a guideto meditation, I have summarized my many decades ofexperience. As for further explanation, this still awaits thestudy and research of future scholars of physiology andmedicine. This study should help to further promote therole of traditional Chinese meditation in influencing andbenefiting the whole world. This is my wish.

Finished in October, 1954

ABOUT THE TRANSLATORS

Shifu Hwang is a practicing Taoist from Chuen Zen School.Currently, he lives in Texas, USA. Master Hwang hasdevoted his adult life to promoting Taoism and balancedhealth care. In 1996, he established TaiChi People HerbCo. Recently, he established Immortal Cancer CareFoundation for alternative cancer care education.

Cheney Crow grew up in Washington, D.C. andgraduated from Sarah Lawrence College in New York.She lived and worked in England, France and Spain forseveral years before completing her Ph.D. inLinguistics, then teaching at the University of Texas atAustin. She studied Long Form Yang Style and SwordForm Tai Chi with Shifu Hwang.