打坐炼静 Sitting Meditation and Stillness Cultivation [excerpt 2]

打坐炼静
Sitting Meditation and
Stillness Cultivation [excerpt 2]
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What are the requirements?
How should one do it?
Why even do sitting meditation and stillness cultivation?

In order to do so, one must adhere to the Three Regulations [san tiao 三调]; namely and the regulation of the body [tiao shen调身], the regulation of the breath [tiao xi调息] and the regulation of the Heart-Mind [tiao shen调心]. Before delving into the comprehensive three-fold regulation, one must seek an environment conducive and suitable for one’ practice of sitting meditation.

（一）调身
(1) Regulation of the Body
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In order to regulate the body, one should relax downwards from Bai Hui [百会], from the first hair, every single cell, all the way down to one’s feet. One ought to internally observe and reverse gaze one’s internal organs, every meridian, bone and joint with a relaxed slight smile. The first stage is about finding a comfortable position, half lotus, double lotus or crossed leg or sitting on a chair, they are all acceptable As long as one sits comfortably, sits in whatever position, so one is able to do meditation for long time, one meets the requirements for the seated position. One could put one’s hands on the legs or in front of the Elixir Field. The spine should be straightened When one is fully relaxed one might sit for a long time and maybe twelve hours have passed, when one returns.
Moreover during meditation one might encounter eight different sensations; namely heat, cold, pain, sinking, lightness or floating, numbness, soreness and distension or expansion. All of these are absolutely normal and no reason for worry or concern. Some of them can be alleviated fairly quickly. When you get numb legs or your buttocks start hurting, stop and hit, massage and rub the area, then continue. It is also fine to get up walk for a short while and then return to enter stillness. Another way to avoid this issue is to find a cushion to soften the pressure on the buttocks. One should loosen tight belts, and adjust clothing comfortably. Wearing hemp clothing is the most natural fabric, whereas most people nowadays wear synthetics touching their skin. In the past renunciates would sit on kiln beds with a slow fire and gentle heat from underneath during the harsh winter months. In any case make sure to wear more clothes, thus one is not subjected to the ill-effects wind and cold. Some people like animal skins for this purpose. One could opt to make a grass matt, with leaves from plants, corn leaves, millet stems and corn skin.
It is crucial that the body is as comfortable as it could be, thus, it can be regulated well.
Being hungry, drunk, or full from food are not acceptable states for meditation, and for the same reason as discussed above the onion family is disadvised against as dietary regulation, to prevent one’s body to fall into turmoil.

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Post-Scriptum: This translation will be published in full as part of a book about meditation, stillness cultivation, abstention from grains [bi gu辟谷], sleeping gong [shui gong睡功], dreams, vegetarianism and diet in Daoism, formulae for fasting and meditation incense, including several chapters from the alchemical classic The Essentials of the Shortcut to the Great Achievement [da cheng jie yao 大成捷要]. It will be a mixture of anecdotal and oral transmissions from my teacher Li Shi Fu and translations of a number of chapters from ancient texts.