Meditation: Aid to Qigong Development

Regardless of the style of Qigong you may practise it is vitally important to have a quiet and focused mind. In order to reap any benefit from your efforts you must be able to maintain your centre, your concentration, and your coordination during practice. Indeed the very length of your session is determined by the quality and quantity of your quiet, focused mind.

Meditation: Aid to Qigong Development
by J. Reynolds Nelson
Qi Magazine || Issue 51 || Dec 2000

One of the problems many beginners experience as they embark upon their Qigong training is that of random thought or voices. This is quite a prevalent situation in the west, especially where the pace of living and constant media bombardment tend to fill every waking moment. In fact many of us are unaware of our mind’s constant chattering until we attempt to practise some of the quiet arts. Unfortunately the speed and constancy of this mental activity gives us little opportunity for mental relaxation. We tend to follow the patterns laid down by western cultures, which dictate what is relaxing: watching a film or television, a pint with our mates, shopping, a meal out, or perhaps, if you’re lucky, a walk in the park or countrysidewith loved ones. 

It is not until we attempt to practise something like Qigong or Taiji that we may discover that, while our teacher looks peaceful and centred, we are bombarded with internal messages and emotions that upset our concentration. For some of us this onslaught of mental hyper-activity is like a motor going into overdrive. While we attempt to relax our body and coordinate our movement and breath, our minds are frenetic. The result of this mental cacophony is often emotional manifestations ranging the spectrum from anger to depression, ecstasy to anxiety. Therefore, just as form and structure is important to beneficial Qigong exercise, so is the practice of the quiet mind. 

Meditation, like any exercise system, must be built up over time. Perhaps in the beginning the student may only achieve a few moments of clear and empty contemplation. However, with regular practice, the voices and random thought will remain at bay for increasingly longer periods of time. Where and when to practise are an important consideration. The best time is always when you anticipate having a few undisturbed and protected minutes. Traditionally this was accomplished by rising earlier than the routine and sequestering in a protected environment. Additionally finding a harmonious, natural venue of exceptional beauty, assisted in bringing about the state of mind conducive to empty thought and being or Wu Wei. In our environment however we may not be so fortunate as to be able to pick and choose. A quiet room or even closet, isolated and separate from the outside world should suffice. Some may find darkness an aid; others may enjoy the flickering of candles or hearing light instrumental music. Incense or fragrant oils may put you at ease enough to relax away the random thoughts dominating your mind. What works best for you, so that you will accumulate time before losing your concentration, is optimal. However, it is recommended that you practise meditation only under the supervision of a qualified teacher. As with any form of esoteric learning many problems can arise that may lead you astray with detrimental consequences. Finally it is within your practice of Qigong or other Chinese Internal Arts that your time meditating is tested. You should find that you can belay the emergence of random thought and voices for increasingly longer periods of time. You will then be able to concentrate more on your breathing, or movement coordination for the benefit of your health and well-being. 

Meditation has been proven over the years to be a great aid to the practice of the Chinese Internal Arts and has been incorporated into many systems like the Standing Pole of Yi Quan, or the single postures of Taiji. It is hoped, regardless of the system of Qigong or martial art that you practise, you find increased concentration and greater inner tranquillity over time.

Classics

The body is the temple of life. Energy is the force of life. Spirit is the governor of life. If one of them goes off balance, all three are damaged. When the spirit takes command, the body naturally follows it, and this arrangement benefits all Three Treasures.  Wen Tzu Classic (First Century BC)

Heaven is clear and calm, earth is stable and tranquil. Humans who reject these virtues perish, while those who adopt them thrive.   Huai Nan Tzu (First Century AD)

The Tao gave birth to the one source, The one gave birth to two things, Then to three things, Then to ten thousand...   Tao Teh Ching (Third Century BC)

The yang transforms and the yin conserves. The yang and the yin manifest as movement and rest; yang moves to its utmost, then rests; yin rests to its utmost, then moves. Therefore, yin rests within yang, and yang moves within yin; the two are inseparably interwoven. It is thus as a single unit that they are one with the Tao.   Chu Hsi (Eleventh Century AD)

The Dalai Lama on Meditation

Notes from The Dalai Lama: A Policy of Kindness

Whatever forms of meditation you practice, the most important point is to apply mindfulness continuously, and make a sustained effort. It is unrealistic to expect results from meditation within a short period of time. What is required is continuous sustained effort.

If you are able to do a little meditation daily, withdrawing this scattered mind on one object inside, it is very helpful. The conceptuality that runs on thinking of good things, bad things, and so forth and so on will get a rest. It provides a little vacation just to set a bit in non-conceptuality and have a rest.

Practice in the morning. See if this makes your mind more alert throughout the day. As a temporary benefit your thoughts will be tranquil. As your memory improves, gradually you can develop a kind of special perception and understanding, which is due to an increase of mindfulness. As a long term benefit, because your mind has become more alert and sharp, you can utilize it in whatever field you want.

It is helpful not to practice too long in the beginning; do not over- extend yourself; the maximum period is around fifteen minutes. The important thing is not the length of the session but the quality of it. In the beginning, start with many short sessions -- even eight or sixteen sessions in a day -- and then as you get used to the process of meditation, the quality will improve, and the session will naturally become longer. A sign that your meditative stabilization is progressing well is that even though your meditative session may be long, it will feel as though only a short time has passed. If it seems that you have spent a long time in meditation even though you have spent only a little, this is a sign that you should shorted the length of the session. This can be very important at the beginning.

Effort is crucial in the beginning for generating a strong will. We all have the Buddha nature and thus already have within us the substances through which, when we meet with the proper conditions, we can turn into a fully enlightened being having all beneficial attributes and devoid of all faults. The very root of failure in our lives is to think, "Oh, how useless and powerless I am!" It is important to have a strong force of mind thinking, "I can do it," this not being mixed with pride or any other afflictive emotions. Moderate effort over a long period of time is important, no matter what you are trying to do. One brings failure on oneself by working extremely hard at the beginning, attempting to do too much and then giving it all up after a short time. A constant stream of moderate effort is needed. Similarly, when meditating, you need to be skillful by having frequent, short sessions; it is more important that the session be good quality than it be long.

When you have such effort, you have the necessary "substances" for developing concentration. Concentration is a matter of channelizing this mind which is presently distracted in a great many directions. A scattered mind does not have much power. When channelized, no matter what the object of observation is, the mind is very powerful. There is no external way to channelize the mind, as by a surgical operation; it must be done by withdrawing it inside. Withdrawal of the mind also occurs in deep sleep in which the factor of alertness has become unclear; therefore, here the withdrawal of the mind is to be accompanied by very strong clarity of alertness. In brief, the mind must have stability staying firmly on its object, great clarity of the object, and alert, clear, sharp tautness. 

Wang XiangZhai: Controlling Distracting Thoughts

While practicing, you must calm mind, get rid of disturbing thoughts. 

As this kind of exercise stresses two aspects: not only training body, but also spirit, controlling distracting thoughts is quite important. But people's thinking is extensive, especially adults used to having many distracting thoughts. So usually getting rid of distracting thoughts is not easy. Many people practicing methods of nourishing health consider it a serious problem. They put a lot attention to tranquilizing mind, but they don't realize that the more they try, the bigger burden it creates for their spirit, it is like using bandit to fight bandit, one bandit goes away, but the other comes and stays - before one thought disappears, another arrives. So during history, those who studied the art of nourishing health established many methods, like concentrating on outside or inside, which can help beginners. But from my own experience I can say, that only using natural method of not controlling, not fighting with coming thoughts, not stopping thoughts which are leaving, can lead to stabilizing the spirit. When the distracting thoughts are strong, you can imagine that the body is like a great melting furnace, in which all objects of the universe are melting. This way, there is no need to fight with distracting thoughts, and they diminish - there is not need of effort to control them and they are controlled anyway, the goal of tranquilizing mind is achieved.

Jim Roselando on Tranquility

Date: 2/28/11

From: Jim (info@apricotforeshall.com)

Subject: Tranquility

     There are many arts that claim to return the mind/body/breath to the natural state via softness but the plain and simple reality is there are very few arts that practice and achieve the natural state.  Most of the so-called "Internal Schools" have swayed so far from the natural path that very  little to no results can be yielded and within the Yogic community one can clearly see most of the training is more related to Hard practices. Breath of Fire is one of the most common breathing sets found in classical Yoga and is the opposite of "tranquility" methods!  So, if you are tired of learning complicated sets, numerous movements and practicing un-natural exercises then it is time to experience the power of Zhan Zhaung!!!

Some notes regarding tranquility:

     The importance of "entering a quiet state" is not purely spiritual: IT IS OF GENUINE THERAPEUTIC VALUE.  The influences of mental overwork, worry, stress, and emotional distress are now well known to have far-reaching effects on the human organism as a whole.  The importance of nurturing Shen "spirit" and protecting it from exhaustion due to overwork or emotional stress was recognized from early times.  

In Chapter 15 of "The Book of Master Zhuang," Zhuang Zhou writes:

     When one is at ease and tranquil, worries cannot penetrate, noxious external influences cannot invade one.  Hence one's virtue will be complete and one's spirit not decline!

The Inner Classic of the Yellow Emperor expresses it in similar terms:

     When one is tranquil and empty, TRUE BREATH (ZHENG QI) responds, and with one's attention inwardly fixed (guarded), how can illness take hold?

***

Jim Roselando

www.ApricotForestHall.com

http://web.mit.edu/qigong