{"id":3934,"date":"2011-08-14T00:49:53","date_gmt":"2011-08-14T05:49:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/yang-sheng.com\/?p=3934"},"modified":"2011-11-19T22:43:08","modified_gmt":"2011-11-20T03:43:08","slug":"the-essential-work-of-being-one%e2%80%99s-self","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yang-sheng.com\/?p=3934","title":{"rendered":"Methods of Better Meditation"},"content":{"rendered":"


\nThe Essential Work of Being One\u2019s Self<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Jill Gonet, MFA and Guan-Cheng Sun, PhD <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>In the view of Qi-cultivation, at the beginning of the self-development stage, one\u2019s essential self resides deep inside the individual, not outside the individual.\u00a0 However, in general, in our conventional education system, we have been trained intellectually, and our mind is used to being outwardly directed all the time.\u00a0 We have trained the brain and the body how to bring knowledge and information into the body system, but we\u2019ve not been trained how to bring the inherent gifts and talents out efficiently.\u00a0 In other words, conventional education is more focused on input training, not enough on output training.\u00a0 Over time, the conventional education system creates extremely imbalanced people. The internal intelligence always tries to do us a great service, working very hard to send signals and messages to the mind to tell us what is wrong internally or in our activities; however, the busy mind cannot see it and cannot hear it. The internal intelligence, the body\u2019s information system, is either being ignored or abused by the mind all the time.<\/p>\n

From the perspective of Qi-cultivation, an education system should not only focus on intensive intellectual training, but, equally importantly, it should focus on energetic and intuitive training.\u00a0 In other words, an education system should not only focus on knowledge from the outside but also focus on the intelligence and wisdom within.\u00a0 During the process of internal cultivation, one important aspect is establishing a stable and peaceful mind through combining meditation with internal Qi cultivation and development.\u00a0 The establishment of a stable and peaceful mind allows us to observe and recognize the thoughts, emotions, images, and memories on the mind screen and to learn how to identify where they come from, where they go, and how to identify which is yours, which is not, and how to respond to them and manage them.\u00a0 For example, during your meditation, a thought of eating pizza or drinking a cup of coffee rises up to your mind screen–are you aware if this thought is yours or has it come from outside? Or to take another example, during your meditation, a feeling of anger suddenly rises up–are you aware if this emotion and feeling is yours or has it come from another person? In these kinds of situations, how do you respond to these thoughts and emotions? How do you choose to be \u201cyourself\u201d?\u00a0\u00a0 Boundaries, and awareness of self and other, are a very demanding and intensive aspect of energetic cultivation and education.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>With Qi-cultivation, practitioners are able to experience the functions of the body at a subtle energy level.\u00a0 The body functions like a mirror for the mind, reflecting thoughts and emotions seamlessly and precisely.\u00a0 The body provides very useful feedback and information regarding one\u2019s own thoughts and emotions, as well as reflecting the thoughts and emotions of others.\u00a0 The goal here is to recognize others\u2019 thoughts and emotions and not be carried away by them if it is not in accordance with the Dao<\/em>; once the practitioner has mastered that, the next goal is to recognize what is originating from oneself and not be carried away by that either if indeed it is not in accordance with the way of health.\u00a0 Qi-cultivation, therefore, plays an important role in self-realization and self-refinement.<\/p>\n

Have we left behind the question of what is yours? Mine? Ours?\u00a0 Lao-Zi describes the ever-widening circles of growing virtue in the following passage from the Dao De Jing:<\/em><\/p>\n

Cultivating the body within and developing the character is the way of building genuine virtues; if the way of the virtues can be practiced in a family, the virtues of its family will be more than sufficient; if the way of the virtues can be practiced in a community, the virtues of its community will be carried on; if the way of the virtues can be practiced in a country, the virtues of its country will flourish; if the way of the virtues can be practiced in the world, the universe will be filled with virtues. <\/em><\/p>\n

–Lao-Zi (Dao De Jing Chapter 54) <\/em><\/p>\n

At this level of cultivation, who is this true self?\u00a0 Is it an individual or small self?\u00a0 How much of such an individual may already have been discovered to be a mental construction, an illusion or delusion based on supplemental self-importance, not on genuine \u201cmind-seal\u201d or \u201cheart-seal,\u201d where the individual is linked to the light of divine consciousness\/Dao<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Guan-Zi shared his perspectives on Qi-cultivation as follows:<\/p>\n

The qi cannot be detained through physical force, but may be brought to rest by force of virtue.\u00a0 It may not be summoned by means of sound, but may be received through one\u2019s thoughts.\u00a0 To guard it alertly without fail, this is called perfect virtue.\u00a0 When virtue is perfected wisdom emerges and all the things of the world are grasped.<\/em> (–Translated by R. Eno)<\/em><\/p>\n

Cultivating the body within and developing the character is the key of self-refinement and development.\u00a0 Once practitioners are following the way of virtues, their progress at each stage should not be a pathway of delusions, but should be tested or identified through actual achievements and demonstrations of mind seals.<\/p>\n

When a practitioner is on a pathway of delusion they are fixated and captured by thought-forms, experiences, and programs from their own past and from the outside as well.\u00a0 This will bring frustration and failure, because they are not meeting up with reality; on an energetic level the body\u2019s nerves are constantly being bombarded by and resonating to what they think and what they react to passively.\u00a0 Then all the energy is used on behalf of delusional activities and will bring exhaustion and the wasting of the energies and make their system weak and sick.\u00a0 Whereas, when an individual has cultivated their internal Qi system, the body provides important information and intelligence.\u00a0 It gives the mind valuable feedback about where and how to make adjustments and corrections, and helps to synchronize the personal mind with the mind of the Dao<\/em>.\u00a0 This is the demonstration and verification of the \u201cmind seal\u201d or \u201cheart seal,\u201d where the true self is integrated with reality.<\/p>\n

So much of what can get in the way of great realization for cultivators can be traced to educational and cultural conditioning and programming where the individual so habitually identifies the self with cultural concepts or ideas, or identifies the self as the body\u2019s conditioned programs and memories, that the larger picture of true self has become lost, inaccessible, or is a terrifying immensity, the achievement of which could easily be equated with the annihilation of all that the individual has ever been told to value and uphold.\u00a0 It is a large project to realize the Dao<\/em>.\u00a0 Qi is part of the project, but so is the willingness and courage to become something or someone else.<\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a>Jill Gonet, MFA <\/strong>earned her BA at the University of Massachusetts, and her MFA. from the University of Washington. Her writing has appeared in numerous literary journals over the years, including Poetry<\/em>, Ploughshares<\/em>, The New England Review<\/em>, The Gettysburg Review<\/em>, and The Best American Poetry<\/em>, among others. She is the recipient of awards from the Poetry Society of America, as well as grants from the Seattle Arts Commission. She was interested in ancient Daoist classics since high school years, and has studied Dao De Jing-the Way of Virtues<\/em>, Yi Jing-the Book of Change<\/em>, Ling Shu-the Spiritual Pivot, Zhuang-Zi, Lie-Zi, <\/em>diligently. <\/em>She meditated and practiced Qigong daily for over 20 years. She has combined her interests in writing, Chinese culture, and the art of internal cultivation by collaborating on many writings with Dr. Sun.<\/address>\n
\"\"<\/a>Guan-Cheng Sun, PhD <\/strong>is the founder of the Institute of Qigong & Integrative Medicine. Dr. Sun earned his Ph.D. in molecular genetics from the Graduate University for Advanced Studies in Japan in 1993, and was awarded a fellowship from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science. From 1994-1997 Dr. Sun conducted postdoctoral research in molecular endocrinology at the University of Washington. This research enriched his theory and practice of Qigong. His understanding of modern molecular genetics and scientific principles, as well as his experience with internal cultivation, allowed him to create a unique bridge between cultures. Dr. Sun has spent over 30 years refining his skills and has developed a new system of Qigong called \u201cYi Ren\u00ae Qigong.\u201d He is currently engaged in Qigong and Integrative Medicine research at Bastyr University and University of Washington, Seattle, Washington.<\/address>\n

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