1. Legs when sitting quietly
(1) Legs must be crossed when sitting quietly. First add the left shin to the top of the right thigh, and then pull the right shin up to the top of the left thigh. This sitting method is generally called double cross-legged, also known as double lotus; because this posture can make the outside of the two knees, They are all close to the mattress, and the muscles of the whole body are stretched like the strings of a bow. When sitting, they are naturally upright and do not lean left or right. However, if beginners or older people find this sitting method difficult to imitate, there is no need to force it. You can use the second method below instead.
(2) When sitting in lotus position, you can follow each person's habits, or add the left shin to the right thigh, or add the right shin to the left thigh. This sitting method is generally called single lotus. Also called single lotus position, it has some disadvantages compared with double cross-legged posture, because if the left knee is added to the right thigh, the outside of the left knee will be empty and cannot be close to the mattress. The body is prone to tilt to the right. If the right knee is added to the Above the left thigh, the outside of the right knee will fall flat and cannot be close to the mattress, and the body will easily tilt to the left. Beginners cannot sit cross-legged in the double lotus position, so it is better to sit cross-legged in the single lotus position. However, they must pay attention to the upright posture and prevent the body from tilting. The effect will still be the same.
(3) When you first learn to cross your legs, you will inevitably experience numbness or soreness. You must be patient. After practicing for a long time, it will gradually become more natural. When the numbness becomes unbearable, you can switch the legs up and down. If you can't bear it anymore, you can temporarily loosen them and put them up again after the numbness disappears. If you can be very patient and allow it to become extremely numb and gradually lose sensation, it will then react and naturally return to its original state. After going through this stage several times, you will no longer be numb when sitting cross-legged.
2． Chest, buttocks and abdomen when sitting quietly
(1) The chest can be slightly bent forward to lower the heart. The so-called lowering of the heart means to relax the transverse diaphragm. There is a diaphragm in the chest between the lungs and the stomach, just in the depression between the two sides of the chest, called the pit of the heart. When we first learn to meditate, we often feel that the chest and intestines are blocked and uncomfortable. This means that the heart socket has not descended. At this time, we can use the method of adjusting the heart and tying it between or below the navel as mentioned below to relax the diaphragm and make the heart socket light and unsteady. If you put effort into it, it will be able to lower itself after a while, and you will be able to adjust your luck.
(2) The buttocks should protrude slightly backward to keep the spine from bending. The shape of the spine is originally three-fold like a bow. At the hips, it is slightly bent outwards. Therefore, the hips should be slightly protruded backward when sitting; but there is no need to deliberately force the protrusion, and you can follow the natural posture.
(3) The lower part of the abdomen should be relaxed and calm. The purpose of calming the lower abdomen is to stabilize the center of gravity of the whole body.
3. Hands when sitting quietly
(1) Put the left palm on top of the right palm with both hands raised, place the two thumbs together, and place them below the navel. .
(2) If you are doing cross-legged posture with your right shin attached to your left thigh, you should not place your right palm on your left palm. (3) It is natural to place your hands like this. comfortable. And it can best promote concentration.
4. Others
(1) The head and neck should be straight, but must be natural and not deliberately straight.
(2) It is better not to hear with both ears.
(3) Eyes should be lightly closed. There are also those who advocate keeping your eyes slightly open. This is called a hanging curtain. People who tend to fall asleep easily when sitting should use this method.
(4) The mouth should be closed and the tongue should be touching the upper lip, which also means to unite the muscles and bones.
(5) Breathing should be through the nose, not the mouth.
(6) When sitting, the buttocks can also be raised an inch or two, based on the comfort of each person, and the kidney sac must be free from compression.
(7) The body should be straight, the spine should not be bent, and you should sit upright naturally and steadily, because when the body is upright, the qi is upright, and when the qi is upright, the heart is upright.
(8) When you are about to get up after sitting, think about the Qi being released from the pores of your body (otherwise, you may feel irritable and restless when you sit in the future). Then slowly move and relax your arms, rub your hands to warm them, caress your face, then put your feet down, massage your feet with your hands, and then stand up slowly.
(3) Breathing during meditation - breath regulation
1. Research on breathing methods
Breathing has a great relationship with our life functions. We only know that diet can sustain life, but if we don't eat, we will starve to death. But we don't know that breathing is more important than diet. However, since food cannot be obtained without money, it is considered valuable. Breathing is the absorption of oxygen from the atmosphere, which is inexhaustible, so it is not considered valuable. But we must know that even if we fast for seven days, we will not die. If we block our mouth and nose and prevent breathing, we will die soon. This also shows that breathing is more important than eating.
When we learn to sit quietly and harmonize our breath, it is an important step when we start. To harmonize our breath, it is also very necessary to study the breathing method first.
Our every breath is called one breath. The respiratory muscles have two parts, one is the muscle between the ribs, and the other is the muscle of the diaphragm. The respiratory movement is also affected by the central nervous system. In the medulla oblongata below the brain, there are some nerve cells that control breathing, called the respiratory center, which is connected to the respiratory muscles. The breathing mechanism is the nose on the outside and the lungs on the inside. The lung lobes are located in the chest. When breathing, the lungs expand and contract according to natural laws. Most of our normal breathing cannot make the lung lobes expand and contract as much as possible. Only the upper part of the lungs is used, and the lower parts of the lungs are almost completely unused. Therefore, the function of exhaling carbon and inhaling oxygen cannot be fully fulfilled. As a result, the blood becomes unclean and various diseases arise. This is all due to the irregular breathing.
There are two breathing methods: natural breathing and positive breathing.
The first natural breathing is also called abdominal breathing, because when breathing, every exhalation and inhalation must reach the lower abdomen. When inhaling, air enters the lungs and fills the surrounding area. The base of the lungs relaxes, suppressing the diaphragm and causing the air to fall. At this time, the chest is empty and the abdomen is protruding. When exhaling, the abdomen contracts and the diaphragm is pushed up against the lungs, causing the turbid air at the bottom of the lungs to escape. It can be seen that although respiration is closely related to the lobes of the lungs, its expansion and contraction often depends on the movement of the lower abdomen and diaphragm in order to comply with the natural method and ensure smooth blood circulation. We must use this method not only when we are meditating, but in fact, we should use it at any time, whether walking, standing, sitting, or lying down. The harmonization method of natural breathing is as follows:
(1) When exhaling, the abdomen below the navel contracts, the diaphragm points upward, the chest is tight and narrow, and the turbid air at the bottom of the lungs can be squeezed out.
(2) When inhaling, slowly inhale fresh air from the nose, filling the lungs, with the transverse membrane pointing downward and the abdomen protruding outward.
(3) Breathe in and out naturally, gradually becoming slender and reaching the lower abdomen.
(4) Breathing becomes quieter and quieter, with very slight in and out. After repeated practice, you will not be aware of it for a long time, as if you are not breathing.
(5) Being able to achieve a state of no breathing, then there is no exhalation and no inhalation. Although there is a respiratory organ, it seems that there is no need to use it, and the breath seems to come in and out from the pores of the body. To this point , it can be said that the ultimate skill of adjusting the breath has been achieved. However, beginners must not seek it intentionally, but must let nature take its course.
Second, breathe correctly. This method advocates that the breath should be long and thin, should reach the abdomen, and make the diaphragm move up and down, etc., which is no different from the natural method. However, the expansion and contraction of the abdomen during breathing is completely opposite. Because it goes against natural breathing, it is also called reverse breathing. The harmonization method of positive breathing is as follows:
(1) The exhalation should be slow and long, the air below the navel should be full, the abdomen should be distended, the chest should be loose, and the diaphragm should be relaxed.
(2) Breathe in deeply and long, filling the chest with air and expanding the chest. At this time, the abdomen below the navel contracts.
(3) When the lungs are filled with air, press down and the abdomen contracts upward. At this time, the diaphragm is pressed up and down, making its movement more sensitive.
(4) When sitting quietly, your breathing and breathing should be very quiet and quiet, so that you don’t hear the sound yourself.
For the above two breathing methods, some advocate that the inhalation should be longer than the exhalation, while others advocate that the exhalation should be longer than the inhalation. However, according to general experiments, it seems that the length should be equal. In addition, the purpose of both natural breathing and positive breathing is to move the diaphragm. Positive breathing uses artificial energy to make the expansion and contraction of the abdomen go against nature, and strengthen the relaxation and contraction of the diaphragm, making it easier to move. However, since this method involves human skills, there are appropriate and inappropriate times for learning it. Not everyone can learn it, and it is not as good as natural breathing without any disadvantages.
2. Breathing exercises
In order to breathe normally and skillfully, it is advisable to practice it. Due to our normal breathing, we can only inhale about 350 cubic centimeters of air each time. , this kind of gas exchange is not always sufficient. If you can increase the depth of your breathing, you can inhale 1,500 to 2,000 cubic centimeters of air each time to fully exchange the gas in your lungs. But when you meditate, you must gradually become free from thoughts and worries. If you pay attention to your breathing, your mind will not be peaceful. Moreover, it is never advisable to take deep breaths when you meditate. Therefore, breathing exercises should be done before and after meditation, regardless of natural breathing or normal breathing. ***The similarities are as follows:
(1) Sitting cross-legged is the same as sitting in meditation.
(2) Practice proficiency with short breaths first, and gradually lengthen them. At the longest, each exhale and inhale can take about one minute, but never force it, make sure it is natural.
(3) The breath should be slow and thin, quiet and long, and slowly injected into the lower abdomen.
(4) Use the nose instead of the mouth when breathing, because the nose is an organ specialized in breathing and has hairs that can block dust. The mouth is not a respirator. If you use it for breathing, it will usurp the function of the nose and gradually block the nostrils. Moreover, dust entering the mouth can easily cause disease. Therefore, the mouth should be closed at all times, not only during meditation.
(5) Choose a place with fresh air every morning and practice for five to ten minutes.
(6) As for quiet breathing, you can practice it anytime and anywhere every day.
3. Breath control skills when sitting quietly
As mentioned above, regulating the breath is an important skill when learning to sit still. Because the breath is not harmonious, the mind cannot be calm. As for the so-called breath, it can be divided into four phases: 1. Wind phase, where any sound coming in and going out is called wind phase; 2. Breathing phase, although the incoming and outgoing air is silent, it is stagnant and not beneficial; 3. Breathing phase , Qi phase, although there is no sound in and out, and there is no stagnation, but it cannot be quiet and fine, it is called gas phase; (these three are all disharmony phases) 4. Breath phase, there is no sound, no stagnation, nor rough and floating, although When it is extremely quiet, you don't feel the breath coming in or out, and the breath appears to be alive or dead, which is called the breath phase, and the breath phase is a harmonious phase.
Anyone who can practice quiet breathing, and has been sitting quietly for a long time, and his mind is stable, as soon as he sits down, his breath will be harmonized within a few minutes, and he will not feel any breathing. It's true, there is no need to focus on adjusting it, but it will make the mind unsettled, because when the mind is stable, the breath will be naturally adjusted. However, beginners are often upset and have inconsistent breathing, which cannot be reconciled according to the following two methods:
(1) Counting breaths means counting silently after sitting still. own breathing. Each exhalation and inhalation is called one breath, or count one when breathing in, don't count when breathing out, and count two when breathing out; or count one when breathing out, don't count the breathing in, and count two when breathing out. Count to ten in this way, and then start counting from one. As you become more proficient, you can count to one hundred as a unit. If you fail to count to ten or a hundred and have distracting thoughts in the middle, then start from the first count again. Count slowly and peacefully in this cycle. If you master it for a long time, you can reap the effects of interdependence in mind and breath and tranquility in body. Eliminate distracting thoughts and drowsiness, which are the two most common problems for beginners to meditate.
(2) After you become proficient in learning the above-mentioned counting of breaths along with your breath, your breath will become empty and your thoughts will gradually become thinner and thinner. The method is to stop counting. But the mind should follow the in and out of the breath, keep it in mind, and the mind will not be distracted. After you become proficient in this method, you will gradually observe and refine it, and realize that the breath seems to be coming in and out of the eighty-four thousand pores, like clouds and mist dispersing. At this point, your body and mind will be ethereal, and all diseases will be eliminated.
After you become proficient in following the breath, and your mind becomes more calm, you can give up the practice of following the breath. Go one step further and do the following mind-aligning skills.
(4) Thoughts during meditation - regulating the mind
The purpose of meditation is not only to improve the health of the body, but most importantly, to tame the delusional mind If you tame your delusional mind, your wisdom will be clear, and your body's health will be nothing more.
Although the counting of breaths, following the breaths, etc. mentioned above are methods of regulating the breath, in fact, they are also good methods of regulating the mind, because when you concentrate on counting the breaths, the mind and breath are dependent on each other, and thoughts cannot Dispersion, so in Buddhism, we teach many scattered living beings to use counting breath meditation to treat them. For the convenience of writing, we have to explain body adjustment, breath adjustment, and mind adjustment separately. In practice, they are originally performed at the same time and cannot be separated. However, our thoughts are complicated and confusing, and it is most difficult to control them. Breathing, etc. are still preliminary methods of regulating the mind, and it is necessary to further control them from the gross to the fine. The method of adjusting the mind is as follows:
1. Focus on the one place of the mind. Our consciousness is just like a stage, and each thought is just like an actor. It comes and goes, and its shadow appears on the stage all the time. There is no moment. 's stop. Therefore, it is extremely difficult to avoid delusional thoughts. However, according to the common rules of psychology, the more obvious the point that our mind focuses on, the more hidden other distracting thoughts will be. Therefore, we can pay attention to a certain point during meditation, and the unintentional thoughts will gradually disappear.
The method of keeping the mind in one place is to put down all distracting thoughts and concentrate on thinking about the navel or the end of the nose. In this way, because the mind is predisposed and gradually matures, it will not have random thoughts, just like locking an ape in one place and it will not be able to jump. .
Two phenomena are most likely to occur when learning to meditate: 1. When you first sit down, your mind is wandering and it is difficult to collect it; 2) When you sit quietly for a while and there are fewer delusions, your mind becomes groggy and you are prone to drowsiness. The method of paying attention to the navel can not only cure looseness and floating, but also according to physiological rules, wherever our mind is focused, the blood will also be concentrated there. Tie between the heart and navel or below the navel, which can make the blood drop and have the effect of The role of healing and fitness. As for the method of treating drowsiness, it is best to pay attention to the tip of the nose to make the mind upward, refresh the spirit, and help regulate the breath. Generally speaking, when meditating in the evening, you are prone to drowsiness due to fatigue during the day. If you meditate in the morning, this will not happen.
Buddhism also uses the method of keeping the Dantian with the mind in order to deal with the evil thoughts of beginners and to treat diseases and health care. For example, "Essentials for Practicing Samatha and Vipassana Meditation" says: "One inch below the navel is called Udhana, and this is the elixir field. If you can keep your mind up here and keep it, you will be cured over a long period of time. ... If you feel at ease below, the four natural worlds will Adjustment will eliminate all diseases. "But focusing on one place of the heart is only a temporary convenience to cure the disorder, and there is a need to go further.
2. Reflective Vipassana Method The above-mentioned method of centering the mind is nothing more than gathering countless delusional thoughts into one place so that they do not scatter. It is also a relatively shallow method of calming the mind to deal with the ups and downs of the mind. . In fact, even though we have something, we are still clinging to delusions, which is not the ultimate peace. Moreover, our troublesome habits such as greed and anger since time immemorial are deeply ingrained, and we must further practice contemplation. Therefore, after the treatment is effective, we must abandon it and then proceed from the shallower to the deeper, using the method of Vipassana. This kind of Vipassana can also be called Vipassana. That is, our eyes usually focus on external objects. Now when we sit in meditation, we can first let go of all the connections in our body and mind, close our eyes, and look inwards to carefully reflect on our thoughts. At that time, I must have felt that delusional thoughts were coming and going, arising and passing away incessantly. Regarding these delusional thoughts, we should neither cling to them nor get rid of them. We only need to know that they are originally empty and silent, and patiently and quietly observe them. Thoughts are empty. When thoughts arise and reflect back, the thoughts are emptied. This is really the method of regulating the mind with its original source.
People who are new to meditating often have the feeling that “if you don’t learn to meditate, you will have few delusional thoughts, but once you learn to meditate, you will have more delusional thoughts.” We must have a correct understanding of this issue. We must know that our thoughts arise and disappear suddenly. There are originally many, but they are usually difficult to detect in the turmoil. Once we get used to being still, we can see them clearly. For example, although there is flying dust in the room, you can't see it, but if sunlight comes in through the doors and windows, you will see the dust flying. Therefore, being able to notice that there are many delusions is the first step to self-awareness. As long as we abandon all thoughts, practice contemplation diligently with unwavering perseverance, after a certain amount of time, delusional thoughts will naturally disappear and we will reach a state of tranquility. If you practice this kind of contemplation in meditation and become proficient in it, you will gradually be able to focus on it every moment in your daily life, and be aware of it with awe. Even if you are not sitting in meditation, your mind can be as calm as when you are sitting in meditation, and you will achieve greater things. Used!
1． The time to meditate is very deep. You should be able to be still and quiet during daily walking, standing, sitting and lying down. However, when you first learn, you have to set a time. The time for meditating can be any time, morning, day or night; however, those who work should sit once after getting up in the morning and before going to bed at night. If you can only sit once a day, it is best to meditate in the morning. Of course, the longer the time, the better, but you don’t have to deliberately seek for it. You should do it step by step according to your own situation. If you can do it for thirty minutes at a time, gradually extend it to forty minutes or even an hour, and continue every day, then It’s not small even if it’s not effective. In short, sitting in the morning can be the main thing and sitting in the evening can be the secondary thing. When you get up early in the morning, first rub your upper and lower abdomen in bed, adjust your breathing according to the above-mentioned breathing practice method, then clear your bowels, wash your hands, and then sit quietly. But if you can't have a bowel movement in the morning, you can follow your own habits.
2. We must have a balanced diet. Since we have this body, nourishment from diet is indispensable. When food enters the stomach, it becomes porridge after digestion. It enters the small intestine and becomes milky. After being absorbed through blood vessels, it turns into blood to nourish the whole body. This shows the importance of diet and life. However, if you eat too much, your stomach will not be able to digest it as much as possible, and the undigested things will have to be excreted out of the body. This will increase the work of the gastrointestinal tract, resulting in shortness of breath, full body, and unrest when sitting. If you eat too little, you will suffer from nutritional deficiencies and physical weakness, which is not suitable for meditation.
Therefore, the diet must be well-balanced. Our general habit is that the disease may be caused by eating too much. Therefore, when eating, if you feel a slight feeling of fullness in the stomach, you should stop. The ancients advocated that "appetite is often small", which makes sense. In addition, the food should not be rich, and it would be best if it is vegetarian. It is most suitable to sit quietly in the morning on an empty stomach. You can sit still about an hour after eating.
3. To coordinate sleep. After working hard during the day, we must rest to restore our physical strength. Sleep is the longest kind of rest. Eight hours of sleep is appropriate. Too much sleep can easily make the mind dizzy and is extremely detrimental to meditation. If it is too little, the physical strength will not be restored and the mind will be confused, which is also inappropriate. Therefore, sleeping at a regular time and in moderation can make your mind clear and clear. Generally speaking, it is advisable to sit down between nine and ten o'clock every night, fall asleep after ten o'clock, and sit up again after six o'clock. If you can often abstain from sexual desire and sleep alone, it will be more helpful to meditate, because sexual desire is not only easy to fatigue the body and most likely to cause dizziness and congestion of the mind, but also is the root of the sufferings of life and death. Anyone who practices concentration and wisdom, Must pay attention to the prohibitions. For people who have become more and more meditative, it is best to sit up after waking up in the middle of the night. It is best if you can stop falling asleep after sitting. If you feel that it is not enough, it is okay to take a nap again. If the effectiveness of meditation is deepened and the time spent sitting is lengthened, the time spent not sleeping will gradually decrease, so there are people who sit instead of sleeping all year round. But this is not something that can be forced into toddlerhood. It is most reasonable to balance sleep so that it is neither too much nor too little.
4. Be persistent. When you first learn to meditate, you often feel depressed. You must make up your mind and persevere, treating it as indispensable as dressing and eating. No matter how difficult it is, we must overcome it and we must not retreat in fear of it; no matter how busy we are, we must continue to practice and we must not be exposed to the cold. Only in this way can we obtain the great effect of meditation.
5. Don’t seek quick results when meditating. You must grasp the principle of “natural” in everything. For example, meditation can eliminate diseases and improve health. However, you should abandon the idea of ????removing diseases and improving health when you meditate. Let everything take its course and do not rush for success. This is because meditation must be accumulated over time to achieve the effect of physical and mental changes, and achieve harmony. The nutrition of food is the same. If you overeat too much, it will harm your stomach, and your mind will be attached, and your qi and blood will not flow smoothly. Therefore, it must be like traveling a long distance, patiently and slowly, and you will eventually arrive.
6. Ignore everything. When meditating, I must let go of everything and focus on studying. Although distracting thoughts are flying around, I just ignore them and don’t get tired of them. I just do my breath adjustment or mind adjustment. During the time, distracting thoughts swirled and dispersed, and dispersed and dispersed, and gradually became calm over a long period of time. Also, when sitting in meditation, closing the eyes can still prevent external objects from being seen, but the external sounds stimulate the ears, and delusional thoughts will arise in the mind, which is the most difficult to deal with. At this time, it is advisable to watch and listen again, without asking or listening, just work hard on your own, practice for a long time, and develop the spirit of "the mountain collapses in front of you but the color remains unchanged."
7. Change your habits and learn to meditate People should always check their behavior and change their habits. When greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance and other troubles arise, they must fight against them and gradually overcome them. Only in this way can meditation skills be continuously improved. Progress. As for always relying on good teachers, fulfilling the three precepts and five precepts of Buddhism, correcting the attitude towards learning, establishing correct knowledge and views, and further achieving purity of desire, these are the necessary conditions for correcting meditation and developing real wisdom.
8. Possible phenomena: When you sit quietly for a long time, your body will often feel trembling and hot, and your brain will often vibrate like a thunderbolt. In terms of psychology, various illusions may sometimes occur because of this. Each person's physique and state of mind are different, and it is all natural. It cannot be forced or suppressed. There are also people who have benefited physically and mentally from meditation for many years and these phenomena do not occur. At the same time, there is nothing mysterious about the occurrence of these phenomena. It can be said that it is just due to the physiological and psychological changes and reactions caused by the establishment of tranquility. People who learn to sit must know that the body and mind are empty, and all states in concentration are like illusions and have no reality. , should not take or give up, be single-minded, and do not be attached, otherwise you will go astray and hinder the practice of concentration.
9. Pay attention to the difference between Dinghui practice and Qigong. With the development of the times, qigong seems to have become a hot topic. Some people regard Buddhist meditation skills as advanced qigong. In fact, the general breathing and breathing guidance of qigong and the practice of concentration and wisdom in Buddhism are basically two different things. Generally speaking, between Qigong and Buddhist zazen, the former focuses on health care and longevity and mobilizing the human body's potential, while the latter focuses on clarifying the mind, seeing one's nature, eliminating confusion and realizing the truth.
Because Buddhism believes that "the four great emptiness of suffering and the five yins have no self", if you insist on the physical body and body, you will not only fail in the end, but also increase your self-view and attachment to the body, and you will not be able to complete the practice of precepts, concentration, and wisdom. hold. Although Buddhism has some methods of regulating the body and breathing during the practice of meditation and Tibetan Supreme Yoga at various levels, which not only prevent the occurrence of Zen diseases and promote longevity and health, but also produce various special functions. Effect, but this is just the primary stage and by-product of practicing Zen and Tantric Kung Fu. The true purpose of studying Buddhism is to combine tranquility and insight, practice both management and management, cut off the attachment to self and Dharma, develop your inherent wisdom, free yourself from the cycle of life and death, and achieve the supreme path of enlightenment.