Chapter 4 mind-body state of meditation

In order to facilitate the understanding of the psychological and physical issues related to "sitting in meditation", we must first start from the psychological.People, why do you want to "sit still"?Of course, there are many reasons for this. It would be too general to say: "Return to the Buddha with a white head and a lifetime of heart", or "I want to leave the world".If it is summed up, it is as mentioned above: for "cultivating the Tao", for "keeping in good health", for "nourishing the heart" and other desires, all in all, there is always a purpose.

Who produced this purpose?Of course it will say: "It's me." Then, what kind of motivation is "I"?It must be said: "It is the heart"-the so-called heart here roughly includes the brain, consciousness, thought and other terms in modern concepts.Well, since it is my "heart" that wants to "meditate", or "meditate" first seeks "meditation", why do I feel that I am thinking and my mind cannot be quiet when I "meditate"?Little do we know that our human heart—meaning and thinking, from birth to death, from dawn to dusk, is simply used to thinking. It is like a waterfall of flowing water, which never stops; I don't think I usually have so many thoughts. Once it's time to "sit in meditation", in a relatively quiet situation, I will find that my mind is too chaotic.

In fact, this is the first step of "meditation".For example, like a glass of cloudy water, when it is originally cloudy, there is no dust residue at all.If you put this glass of water there safely and quietly, and add a little clarifier, you will soon find that the dust in the glass will settle down one after another.It wasn't because the glass of water was in a quiet state that it was dusty. In fact, there was dust in it, and it was discovered because it was still.Another example is a house, where dust is usually invisible, but when sunlight suddenly passes through the cracks, you will find dust dancing in the cracks of light. Don't move, don't increase or decrease it, slowly stop still, it will naturally stop flying.

But the most likely problem here is that when the quiet situation comes, people often want to sleep, or unconsciously, they enter the state of sleep.In such a situation, what should we do?At that time, you have to examine carefully and experience yourself. If it comes from mental-physical fatigue, or mental exhaustion, you might as well simply put your body to sleep, wait until you have enough sleep and feel refreshed before you come to "meditate".If you find that there is no fatigue in your mind and body, then it is best to get up and do some exercise, or to raise your spirits so that you can always maintain a moderate and stable static state.