On Entering Stillness

In General

Entering stillness is a key link in cultivation. Throughout the ages, there have been a plethora of texts about entering tranquility, reflecting the richness and unpredictability of Qigong realms and levels from different angles. However, most of them only reveal the mysterious surface of tranquility, and they are based on mysteries and have no boundaries, which makes many Qigong enthusiasts become more and more confused the more they learn, and they fall into incomprehensible confusion.

It is true that the experience of qigong’s tranquility has a mysterious charm that is difficult to express. To escape from the maze of confusion, on the one hand, students must work hard to improve their literacy and understanding, in order to have a higher understanding. and understanding; on the other hand, it also requires the expression and teaching of "experienced people" who should strive to express the wonderful feelings clearly. Here, we try to condense the qigong insights that are so rich and complex that it is difficult to express clearly into a few broad categories, one by one, to standardize them, and to classify and explain them accordingly. Of course, doing so will inevitably make the ethereal and free feeling of tranquility become a mere formality. Our hope is that through these simple lines, beginners will not be in a mysterious void as soon as they step into the threshold of Qigong, with no boundaries, no support, and no way to start. What we provide is just a stepping stone, and we hope that qigong enthusiasts can use this to knock on the "door". After entering the hall, they must throw it away. They cannot continue to stick to the rules and become a burden that hinders spiritual sublimation.

Author: Kangaroo 101 Posted on 2007-9-29 08:49 Reply to delete this statement

2 Replies: On Entering Jing [Recommended]

1. Entering Static classification

We look at it from a psychological perspective. Qigong's approach to tranquility can be roughly divided into two categories: unintentional tranquility and intentional tranquility.

(1) Entering tranquility unintentionally

People often understand Qigong entering tranquility as sitting upright with eyes closed, stopping thoughts and concentration, and being in a trance in the fantasy world of "sitting and forgetfulness" Apart from this, it cannot be called "quietness". It must be pointed out that this view is not completely correct. In fact, the "quietness" of Qigong varies with the passage of time and the improvement of Qigong. At the same time, many factors such as time, place, people, and environment also affect the depth and quality of human tranquility. These are very normal phenomena. After all, the various wonderful feelings described in Qigong books are typical. It is relatively individual and cannot be generalized, nor can it be considered as practicing Qigong unless it reaches this point, or even suspecting that one is not qualified to practice Qigong.

Author: Kangaroo 101 2007-9-29 08:50 Reply to this statement. Deleted

3 Replies: On entering tranquility [Recommended]

Entering tranquility should not only be understood in the narrow sense of "not having a thought", but should be viewed in a broad sense in daily life. There is also a state of "entering tranquility" - as long as the mind is peaceful (there is no question of whether to enter tranquility or not, only the depth of human tranquility), you can open your eyes, move at will, do things, think, speak, sing, etc. That is to say, you can be quiet anytime and anywhere in your daily life.

Author: Kangaroo 101 Posted on 2007-9-29 08:52 Reply to delete this comment

4 Replies: On Entering Stillness[ Recommended]

2. The realization of tranquility

How to implement tranquility in order to achieve the sublimation of wisdom. This is an issue that practitioners and qigong enthusiasts at home and abroad in ancient and modern times are very concerned about. Each school, school, and sect has also summarized a set of specific methods based on its long-term practice. Some are simple and easy, and some are complicated and complex. There are so many methods, which often leave practitioners confused and confused. In addition, some qigong books or reports are deliberately exaggerated to create a sense of mystery and mystery, making it even more difficult for beginners to know where to start. In fact, students of qigong must understand one truth: everything on the surface looks very different, or even incompatible. The conflicting and opposing methods are actually very similar, with only one essence or purpose: to achieve human tranquility through certain means. The so-called return of all methods to their original origin is to sort out their inner connections from the complex surface phenomena, and to simplify the complex. , grasp the essence.

To implement meditation, we must first grasp the general process of replacing all thoughts with one thought to achieve the sublimation of "thoughts", that is, through "concentrated" thoughts, the human brain The numerous and disorderly "thousands of thoughts" are reduced to the orderly "one thought", and then slowly fade away through relaxation, and finally reach the sublimation of the idea - nothing, only a single soul, in the "emptiness" There is still "one spirit".

"The Sutra of Concentration and Contemplation" puts it well: "Only the irritating mind can be quenched, but the illuminating mind cannot be quenched." The purpose of practicing tranquility is to eliminate the "tempted mind" and use spiritual awareness to reveal the existence of the true nature.

To enter tranquility, you must first be relaxed. It is necessary to point out that many people have People think that relaxation is nothing more than soft limbs. In fact, it is not that simple. To achieve relaxation, there are roughly four levels:

(1) Relaxation of limbs

Generally, assume a certain posture. After the posture, start to imagine, starting from the head down, chest + hands (upper arms) + forearms - palms - ends of fingers + waist + big feet + toes, in this order. Imagine relaxing until you have no strength at all, and you will experience a relaxed and lazy state.

(2) Relaxation of internal organs

After relaxing the body, think about relaxation. From the outside to the inside, imagine that the internal organs are completely relaxed. You can relax one by one according to the order of the internal organs, or you can think about it as a whole. At this time, you can feel a sense of joy without any reason, a kind of tickling similar to sexual pleasure. I feel like I want to laugh, especially in my lower Dantian.

(3) Brain relaxation

Brain relaxation is the overall relaxation of the brain, as well as the relaxation of the spirit. , like a clear spring flowing through the brain, it seems that one can "see" (inwardly) the bright red excitement points in the cerebral cortex. As the degree of relaxation deepens, they gradually fade and disappear, and sometimes the entire brain can be completely transparent. /p>

(4) Relaxation of the mind

This level of relaxation is most easily overlooked, even many well-trained Qigong enthusiasts have not noticed this level. It is precisely the key to whether relaxation and tranquility can go deep into the deep level. Qigong emphasizes overall balance. Relaxation at this level is a return to abstract connotation. It grasps the entire practice state macroscopically and holistically. The previous three levels. The relaxation is stuck in the local part. At this time, it is necessary to adjust the overall balance of the mind and synchronize with the balance of the universe. To do this, just use your mind to observe the whole (the whole inside and outside the body), and feel the overall coordination between man and the natural universe. Just achieve a complete and harmonious balance. Maybe this is what some people call the secret. It's easy, isn't it? Don't think of Qigong as too mysterious.

Relaxation will come naturally. If you still feel that you are not so skilled, not so comfortable, not so sure, and not very confident, then we will provide several more practical transitions into tranquility by replacing all thoughts with one thought. The method (just a transition, not a real meditation) is for reference and choice (of course, you can also design other methods by yourself)

① Breath-counting method (or breath-listening method)

During the practice, adjust your mind so that it can follow each exhalation and inhalation, go in and out naturally, and follow the mind and breath, so that the mind can gradually calm down.

② Guanqiu method

Just like the relaxation of the limbs, the Guanqiu method is to imagine that the cosmic energy on the head is integrated into a white mist-like air mass, "penetrating" from the Baihui point, slowly flowing down like a sweet spring, from The brain, neck, chest + waist and legs flow out from the soles of the feet and into the ground, taking away the dirt on the body.

③ Mind-keeping method

Most practitioners use the intention to keep the lower Dantian or Yongquan point. Of course, there are other ways to keep the mind, focusing thoughts on the place where the mind is kept, but the mind It should be light but not heavy. It should be as if it is guarded but not guarded, if it is present and if it is not. By focusing on one thought, other distracting thoughts are eliminated.

④ Diversion of attention method

Watching TV or listening to music to focus on numerous distracting thoughts can help relax psychological tension, especially for those who are more nervous and sensitive. Or for those who are often troubled by being unable to remain calm, sometimes the effect is better if they use this method of transition. But be careful not to be too immersed in watching TV or listening to music, and be half-watching but half-watching, half-listening.

⑤ Imagination method

Imagine beautiful scenery during practice, such as starry sky, bright moon, white clouds, mist, green mountains and beautiful water, flowers and grass, green cypresses and pines, etc. You can also meditate and think about "pine tranquility", "health", etc. to achieve peace of mind.

⑥ Induction method

Achieve tranquility through induction by yourself or others, such as placing your hands lightly on the lower abdomen and massaging gently. It can also be induced by signals such as breathing and speech to achieve tranquility.

In addition to the above 6 methods, there are also many methods, most of which are similar. No more enumeration here.

Practitioners can freely choose one or two methods to practice according to their own characteristics.

Author: Kangaroo 101 Posted on 2007-9-29 08:54 Reply to delete this statement

5 replies: On Entering Jing [Recommended]

3. Entering Levels of stillness

As mentioned before, there are deep and shallow levels of tranquility. Although there is no obvious boundary between levels in this gradual transition of levels, for the convenience of expression, we call it It is divided into four levels: Ning Realm, Quiet Realm, Empty Realm, and Spiritual Realm, which is called "Tranquility and Empty Spiritual Word Jue".

Here "Ning" and "Jing" are at a superficial level, which we call shallow static state, while "emptiness" and "spirit" are at a deeper level, which we call deep static state.

(1) Ningjie

Ning refers to a peaceful and peaceful mind with fewer distracting thoughts (bad and messy thoughts, benign thoughts are not called distracting thoughts). This is the practice of practicing Qigong to achieve tranquility. At this time, you can’t rush for success, and don’t blindly pursue the ethereal and ethereal realm introduced in the book (of course it’s best if you can achieve it). If you can’t achieve it, you will doubt whether you are the material for practicing, whether it is the skill or yourself. There is something wrong with the practice method, or the master is unwilling to teach or does not teach well, etc.

In fact, most people find it difficult to enter deep static state at first, and often only enter shallow static state. After a relatively long period of persistent and patient training, we can gradually progress from the shallower to the deeper. We must firmly believe that success comes naturally. Of course, we do not deny that some people enter meditation very quickly, especially children, relatively simple women, and some people. People with special characteristics are less constrained by acquired inherent concepts and are easiest to relax their thoughts and enter a deeper level of tranquility.

At this stage, when the brain is more relaxed, inspiration will occasionally occur. Many more dedicated scientists, scholars, businessmen, politicians, economists, etc. will have similar effects and will generate inspiration in a specific unconscious "Ning" state.

(2 ) Jing Jie

With the deepening of Kung Fu, practitioners begin to relax their consciousness freely and enter a state of "tranquility". Gradually they forget about consciousness and enter a state of subconscious activity. "Quiet" will appear, like falling rocks. The "quiet" state is characterized by a high degree of tranquility in the mind, basically free of interference from the outside world, and no distracting thoughts. The entire universe creates a sense of connectedness, and a single thought exists alone in a warm and pleasant feeling that is both strange and familiar. A trance-like space, free from worries, light and comfortable. At this stage, due to the relaxation of the brain, some more wonderful inspirations often arise in the "quiet" state, although the subconscious activities are more active (including " "Eight Touches" and hallucinations, etc.), but only through the relaxation and tranquility of thinking can one enter, that is, the relaxation and tranquility of the conscious consciousness. The movement of the subconscious mind can only occur on the basis of the tranquility of the conscious consciousness (in patients with mental illness, both subconscious and conscious consciousness are active, Only by mixing and interfering with each other can we create a harmonious and beautiful spiritual state and obtain a sense of joy.

(3) The realm of emptiness

"Empty". The state of tranquility (not empty space) is the sign of Qigong people's level of tranquility from elementary to advanced. In the realm of "quietness", after the subconscious mind is fully activated, it begins to relax and quiet down (this is the development law of the universe). , that is, the connotation that things must be reversed when they reach their extremes), this will mark that Qigong has entered a state of true tranquility (not the "quiet" of the "quiet world"), forgetting the universe, forgetting oneself, and forgetting the "quiet" itself. This is the so-called "quiet" in Qigong. "empty" realm.

Sometimes, this "empty" state only appears for a moment during practice, sometimes it takes a long time, and it cannot be generalized. This is a sublimation of the material realm, from the material realm to the spiritual realm. According to my personal experience: this kind of sublimation is when the spirit enters another dimension of space. After entering this dimension, it will gain some supernatural power.

(4) Spiritual Realm

After realizing the sublimation of the "empty" realm, Qigong people are still looking forward to a qualitative leap in the realm of tranquility, which is from "empty" to "spirit". "boundary.

The "spirit" world is "empty" and then "creates something out of nothing" into a great consciousness, a perfect spiritual state. Return to all things and reach the advanced qigong state of unity between man and nature. At this time, all senses seem to be integrated in another dimension, and the sensory holographic elements of the cells in the whole body shift from the hidden state to the explicit state (ear hearing, third eye perspective, etc. are partial manifestations of this phenomenon), appearing to be extremely sensitive.

4. Conclusion

Some beginners will ask: Is it effective if you can’t be still while practicing Qigong? The answer can be affirmative. Yes! As long as you are confident and persistent. Many Qigong practitioners suffer from the inability to achieve the state of "mind without distracting thoughts". In fact, everything has two sides. Excessive focus on the absence of distracting thoughts will put oneself in a state of self-contradiction and nervousness. "Entering tranquility" in Qigong It’s not that there are no thoughts. In essence, it should be a proxy for a person’s self-peace of mind. When practicing Qigong, the key is whether the mentality at this time is calm. It should be like a lake of clear water blown by the breeze, stretched and leisurely.

Beginners often confuse the two different concepts of "distracted thoughts" and "consciousness". "Thoughts" can be divided into "good thoughts" and "bad thoughts (distracted thoughts). The so-called distracting thoughts are only Refers to bad thoughts, such as anxiety, uneasiness, fear, etc., which are naturally not good. Therefore, qigong books often tell people to "have no distracting thoughts in the mind instead of not having any thoughts at all. Appropriate benign thoughts are often helpful to the practice of qigong." , especially for beginners, many exercises also teach people to meditate on certain beautiful things.

Of course, even in Qigong practice, there is a state of "not having a single thought". However, this is generally not something that beginners can achieve all at once. They should proceed step by step and gradually enter the deep state during the long process of practice. level.