09-09-2010, 12:00 AM
Monks
in Hakuins Monastry were often sick in their bellies, with
tuberculosis, and dehydration, due to poverity and lack of food. Because
it was so hard to see, Hakuin could no longer bare this, and
he gave in to his grandmotherly kindness and taught them the
internal meditation so that their great passion and burning
motivation would not be lost. These young people
were daily becoming more and more pathetic, yet the
training they were doing meant they could not be indulgent.
Neither could they lose their training energy and
motivation, so this paradox troubled Hakuin. Finally, he
could not endure seeing them like that and decided in a
fatherly way to do whatever he could to help them and taught
them the way of the Introspective Meditation.
So
what are the secret points of this meditation?
He
said: “If one of you superior religious seekers who
are vigorously engaged in Zen training finds that
his heart-fire is mounting upward against the natural
flow, draining him physically and mentally and
upsetting the proper balance of his five organs, he
may attempt to correct his condition by means of
acupuncture, moxacautery, or medicines. But even
if he could enlist the aid of a physician as illustrious
as Hua T’o, he would find it impossible to
cure himself. “Fortunately,
I have been entrusted with a secret technique,
perfected by the divine sages, for returning
the elixir to the sea of vital energy below
the navel. I want you to try this technique. If
you do, you will see its marvelous efficacy for yourselves:
it will appear to you like a bright sun breaking
through a veil of cloud and mist.
“If
you decide to practice this secret technique you should,
for the time being, cease your practice of zazen.
Set
aside your koan study. First of all, it is important
that you get a sound night’s sleep. Before you
close your eyes, lie on your back, put your legs together,
and stretch them out straight, pushing downward
as hard as you can with the soles of your feet.
Periodically
observe the following thoughts:
1.
This elixir field located in the sea of vital energy,
the
lower back and legs, the soles of the feet—it is
all
my true and original face. How can that original
face
have nose holes?
2.
This elixir field located in the sea of vital energy,
the
lower back and legs, the soles of the feet—it is
all
the home and native place of my original being.
What
news or tidings could come from that native
place?
3.
The elixir field located in the sea of vital energy,
the
lower back and legs, the soles of the feet—it is
all
the Pure Land of my own mind. How could the
splendors
of that Pure Land exist apart from my
mind?
4.
The elixir field located in the sea of vital energy—it
is
all the Amida Buddha of my own self. How could
Amida
Buddha preach the Dharma apart from that
self?
“Turn
these contemplations over and over in your mind.
As you do, the cumulative effect of focusing your
thoughts on them will gradually increase. Before
you even realize it, all the primal energy in
your body will concentrate in your lower body, filling
the space from the lower back and legs down to
the soles of the feet. The abdomen below the navel
will become taut and distended—as tight and full
as a leather kickball that has never been used. “Repeat
these contemplations over and over. Perform them
assiduously in the same way. In as little as five to
seven days, and in no more than two or three weeks,
all the infirmities that have been afflicting your
vital organs and making you physically and mentally
weak will disappear completely. If by then you
are not totally cured, this old neck of mine is yours
for the taking.”
in Hakuins Monastry were often sick in their bellies, with
tuberculosis, and dehydration, due to poverity and lack of food. Because
it was so hard to see, Hakuin could no longer bare this, and
he gave in to his grandmotherly kindness and taught them the
internal meditation so that their great passion and burning
motivation would not be lost. These young people
were daily becoming more and more pathetic, yet the
training they were doing meant they could not be indulgent.
Neither could they lose their training energy and
motivation, so this paradox troubled Hakuin. Finally, he
could not endure seeing them like that and decided in a
fatherly way to do whatever he could to help them and taught
them the way of the Introspective Meditation.
So
what are the secret points of this meditation?
He
said: “If one of you superior religious seekers who
are vigorously engaged in Zen training finds that
his heart-fire is mounting upward against the natural
flow, draining him physically and mentally and
upsetting the proper balance of his five organs, he
may attempt to correct his condition by means of
acupuncture, moxacautery, or medicines. But even
if he could enlist the aid of a physician as illustrious
as Hua T’o, he would find it impossible to
cure himself. “Fortunately,
I have been entrusted with a secret technique,
perfected by the divine sages, for returning
the elixir to the sea of vital energy below
the navel. I want you to try this technique. If
you do, you will see its marvelous efficacy for yourselves:
it will appear to you like a bright sun breaking
through a veil of cloud and mist.
“If
you decide to practice this secret technique you should,
for the time being, cease your practice of zazen.
Set
aside your koan study. First of all, it is important
that you get a sound night’s sleep. Before you
close your eyes, lie on your back, put your legs together,
and stretch them out straight, pushing downward
as hard as you can with the soles of your feet.
Periodically
observe the following thoughts:
1.
This elixir field located in the sea of vital energy,
the
lower back and legs, the soles of the feet—it is
all
my true and original face. How can that original
face
have nose holes?
2.
This elixir field located in the sea of vital energy,
the
lower back and legs, the soles of the feet—it is
all
the home and native place of my original being.
What
news or tidings could come from that native
place?
3.
The elixir field located in the sea of vital energy,
the
lower back and legs, the soles of the feet—it is
all
the Pure Land of my own mind. How could the
splendors
of that Pure Land exist apart from my
mind?
4.
The elixir field located in the sea of vital energy—it
is
all the Amida Buddha of my own self. How could
Amida
Buddha preach the Dharma apart from that
self?
“Turn
these contemplations over and over in your mind.
As you do, the cumulative effect of focusing your
thoughts on them will gradually increase. Before
you even realize it, all the primal energy in
your body will concentrate in your lower body, filling
the space from the lower back and legs down to
the soles of the feet. The abdomen below the navel
will become taut and distended—as tight and full
as a leather kickball that has never been used. “Repeat
these contemplations over and over. Perform them
assiduously in the same way. In as little as five to
seven days, and in no more than two or three weeks,
all the infirmities that have been afflicting your
vital organs and making you physically and mentally
weak will disappear completely. If by then you
are not totally cured, this old neck of mine is yours
for the taking.”