In Buddhism, "precept", "determination" and "wisdom" are three things that are not missing, that is, complete knowledge. Now just say "yes"! "Ding" is the center of "abstinence" and "wisdom" and the foundation of all Buddhist practices. In other words, anyone who wants to learn Dharma must start with "cultivation".

With "determination", we can truly achieve a solemn "precept" body, stimulate "wisdom" and reach a bright realm. The 84,000 Buddhist practices are all based on the "fixed" power before they can reach the Bodhi Fruit Sea. The practice of any sect can not be separated from revision, which shows how important revision is.

However, the so-called determination does not refer specifically to meditation. In Buddhism, people's daily life is classified into four different postures, namely, walking, living, sitting and lying, which are called four kinds of dignity. In the four virtues, "sitting" is just a gesture. If you want to be fixed, you should not only be fixed when sitting, but also be fixed when walking, living and lying. However, in the early stage of review, sitting is relatively easy to get started.

There are many kinds of sitting postures, including as many as 72. According to the Buddha, among all meditation postures, squatting is the best one.

After you have cultivated your concentration by squatting, you should pay attention to continuing to exercise in the other three postures of walking, living and lying, so as to further achieve the state of not losing your concentration when dealing with all affairs and speaking. This is the real solid concentration.

It is quite convenient and handy to get bodhi with solid determination, just like climbing branches to get fruit; However, if the insight is not correct and thorough, practice can easily go astray.

Now I will briefly describe the key points and concepts of Buddhist practice. If you want to explore further mysteries, you need to study all the classics, especially the Zen classics, such as Tiantai Intuition and Tantric Buddhism, which must be studied in detail. Now let's talk about the method of sitting:

Seven-legged sitting method of Pilu Zen Buddhism

1. Two feet crossed (commonly known as double disk). If you can't stagger, use king kong sit (right foot on left leg) or sit casually (left foot on right leg).

Second, bind your hands three times (put your right palm on the palm of your left hand and touch your thumbs gently).

Third, the back is naturally upright, like a string of copper coins (people who are not healthy at first can't stand upright, so let it go, and they will unconsciously stand upright naturally after practicing for a long time).

4. Keep your shoulders stable (don't lean sideways, and don't use force intentionally).

Fifth, the head is closed (the back of the head is miniature, the chin is retracted inward, and the left and right arteries of the neck are gently pressed).

Sixth, the tongue touches the palate (the tip of the tongue gently touches the midpoint of the salivary gland of the upper root).

Seven, the eyes are half closed (that is, the eyes are half closed, if the eyes are easy to set, they are open, but they can't be fully opened, which means convergence. If the eyes are easy to set, they can close their eyes, but they can't be sleepy).

Matters needing attention

First, during meditation, all things that bind the body, such as belts and ties, should be loosened to relax the body and have a thorough rest.

Second, when the climate is cold, wrap your knees and back neck to keep warm, otherwise the cold will invade your body during meditation and there is no cure. Pay special attention to this point.

Third, people who meditate for the first time should pay attention to adjusting the air and light. Too strong light is easy to disperse, too dark is easy to faint. Three feet in front of the seat, the air should be able to convection.

Fourth, people who decide from the beginning should not meditate when they are too full. If they feel sleepy, don't just sit still. They should get enough sleep before sitting down, so that they can settle down easily.

Five, no matter * * at the beginning or for a long time * *, raise your hips by two or three inches. For those who have just started meditation, your legs are stiff, so you can raise them by four or five inches, and gradually lower them after a long time (if your hips are not raised, your body's center of gravity will definitely lean back, which will block your breath, which is also futile).

Six, the seat, with both hands * * face and feet, make qi and blood activities, and then leave the seat, and should do moderate exercise.

Seven, sitting with a smile, let the facial nerves relax, kind and natural. Don't let your facial expression become stiff and cold, your heart will become stiff and tense.

Eight, the initial * * sit, sit less at a time, but sit more times. If you sit for a long time, you will get bored. It is better to sit for a short time several times a day.

When you start practicing meditation, you should pay special attention to your posture. If the posture is not correct, you can't correct it if you get used to it. But also has an impact on both psychology and physiology, and it is easy to get sick. Seven-legged sitting method has a deep meaning, which is very in line with the natural laws of physiology and psychology and should be strictly observed.

A person's life depends on spiritual abundance, so to achieve a healthy life, it is necessary to cultivate the spirit. To cultivate the spirit, the first thing to do is to make the mind free from delusion and the body peaceful forever; If the heart is empty, the physiological function will be endless. Being able to live endlessly, in turn reducing consumption, will naturally reach a state of more energy than usual.

The human spirit is rich or poor with the decline of qi and blood. If you think too much and are too tired, your blood will gradually weaken. So you can settle down, you can nourish your heart, and you don't have to worry about giving up your desires. In other words, if you keep your body stable, your life will have roots, you will lose your thoughts, abandon your desires, and your spirit will be cultivated.

According to ancient medicine, the vitality of human body is enriched by gasification, and the movement of qi follows the pulse route. The pulse mentioned here is not a blood vessel or nerve, but a regular route of qi moving in the body. This theory of qi pulse is quite subtle, which is not easy for ordinary people to understand.

The eight strange meridians mentioned in Huangdi Neijing were born out of the viewpoint of ancient Taoism. Taoism believes that the three veins of "Ren", "Du" and "Chong" in the human body are the most important for preserving health and cultivating immortality. Tibetan tantric concept holds that the three veins and four wheels in the human body are also the key to becoming a Buddha. In the esoteric version, there is an ode to the deep inner meaning. Compared with Neijing and Huangtingjing, the theory of Qi pulse discussed in Poems about Huai has its own uniqueness.

Although both Zangmi and Taoism advocate the cultivation of three veins, Taoism mainly focuses on the front and back of Ren Du's two veins, while Zangmi mainly focuses on the left and right veins. Although the revision methods are different, both schools focus on the midvein (impulse pulse).

As for the posture of meditation, the Pilu seven-legged sitting method is adopted. Although it is not explicitly said that we should attach importance to qi pulse, the effect of meditation actually includes the problem of qi pulse.

Sitting on two feet can not only keep the gas from floating, but also make the gas sink into the abdomen and make the breath calm. In this way, the heart can calm down, and the qi will not rush around, but gradually follow the flow direction of each pulse and return to the middle pulse. When the qi pulse can return to the midvein and achieve the purpose of relieving the heart, you can forget yourself. Only in this way can we enter a firm realm. It is absolutely impossible to say that a person's pulse has not calmed down, but that he can settle down.

When ordinary people are healthy and normal, they feel happy in their hearts and have fewer thoughts in their minds. When they are ill, the situation is just the opposite. For another example, people who have just settled down will feel relaxed and happy when they begin to see an empty heart. That refreshing taste is beyond words. It can be seen that psychology and physiology influence each other and are two sides of the same body.

Nerve veins in the human body develop and distribute from the central nervous system to the left and right sides, and they cross in opposite directions. Therefore, when you meditate, gently press your thumbs into a circle, and the qi and blood on the left and right sides of your body will have a communication effect.

The internal organs and organs of the human body are attached to the spine. If during meditation, the back bends and the five zang-organs can't keep natural and comfortable, it is easy to cause diseases, so it is necessary to straighten the spine and make the qi pulse of the zang-organs Shu Tai. If the ribs droop, it will also affect the contraction of the lungs. Therefore, keep the shoulders flat and stretched, so that the vital capacity can be fully expanded freely.

The back of our head is the center of thinking and memory, and the route of arteries is on both sides of our neck. Because of the activity of arteries, blood can be transported to the brain and the activity of cranial nerves can be increased. When meditating, the back of the head is retracted, and the mandible slightly presses the arteries on both sides, so that the qi and blood run warm, which can reduce thinking and calm down easily.

Body fluids produced between the salivary glands of two teeth can help the digestion of the stomach, so it is necessary to connect the salivary glands with the tongue and let nature take its course.

The heart and eyes are the keys to the soul. A person will be moved when he sees the color (his thoughts will be scattered when he hears the sound), which is first influenced by the function of his eyes. If you are distracted, your eyes will keep rolling. If you are proud and absent-minded, your eyes will always look up. A gloomy and thoughtful person often looks down; Evil and insidious people often squint left and right. When you meditate, you can stop your scattered thoughts by half-closing your eyes.

Relaxing the bondage of clothes during meditation can make the body comfortable; Always smiling can make you happy. These conditions are very important for meditation.

Therefore, meditation posture is closely related to qi pulse. Although meditation does not pay special attention to harmonizing qi-pulse, this problem of harmonizing qi-pulse has been included. If we pay special attention to the cultivation of qi and pulse, it is easy to have "understanding" and will enhance one's self-attachment. This kind of self-attachment and body perception is a big obstacle to consciousness.

Sitting posture is very important. If you don't adjust your posture properly, you will stoop. In the long run, you will definitely get sick. Many people who practice meditation, some suffer from qi stagnation and some vomit blood, which makes their bodies suffer from Zen disease. It is all caused by incorrect meditation posture, so people who practice meditation must pay great attention to their posture.

If you practice * * in the right way and posture, the instinctive activities of the body will come into play, the qi in the body will naturally become popular, and the function will naturally become lively, so you will have a feeling of great joy, which is a phenomenon caused by the friction and agitation of the interaction between body and mind.

For this phenomenon, we should not be serious or persistent, because the phenomenon is a phenomenon and will soon disappear and become a thing of the past. If we persist in the phenomenon, we will enter the magical field, that is, we will seek it.

If you live in the right way, you will benefit both physically and mentally. For example, if you are clear-headed, alert and clear-eyed, you can take a deep breath into your stomach and your limbs are soft and smooth. Even simple refreshments and simple meals will be as delicious as delicacies. If you are sick, you will recover without taking medicine and feel full of energy. At this stage of revision, attention should be paid to reducing consumption. If we have sexual desire, it will cause qi stagnation and psychosomatic diseases.

-Excerpted from South's "Xiu and Zen"

Some people suspect that sitting on your feet is not only harmful to human health, but even causes disease because of the oppression of blood vessels in your feet. So if you sit still for a long time, you will feel numb. This is a misunderstanding. In fact, people's health has a great relationship with their legs and feet. The ancient Taoist medical theory in China believed that "essence comes from the soles of the feet", which was not easy or reasonable. A person's health and longevity are definitely related to his legs and feet. So babies and children's activities are on their feet. After middle age, I gradually become weak from the waist down and my legs, and I like to sit with my feet crossed or on tiptoe. Most of people's aging and death start from the legs and gradually move towards the trunk and head.

Sitting still with your legs bent and feeling numb in your feet and legs just shows that the nerves and blood vessels in your feet and legs are not smooth, which proves that your health has potential problems. So let go of your legs and wait for numbness, but there will be something you have never experienced. If you persevere, you can sit on your feet and legs with smooth blood and ensure that your feet and legs reach your back and whole body, so you don't want to sit down and loosen your legs.

Secondly, we must understand that the human body is like a plant. A tree, its roots winding under the soil; Get sunlight, air, water and soil nutrients, so that plants can thrive. Where are people? But contrary to plants, his roots are in his head and his soil is empty. The human foot is like a branch of ginseng, and rolling it up is equivalent to rolling a ginseng or pine branch into a knot, so that its hair growth ability will not be scattered outside; Return to the original and cultivate the yuan, thus making yourself more robust. Therefore, it is not only harmful to human health, but also absolutely beneficial and harmless to health and longevity in the right way.

According to the records in Buddhist scriptures, this seven-legged sitting method has long been lost. Later, there were five hundred arhats who practiced for many years and never settled down. Although I know that this sitting posture has existed since ancient times, it is always irrelevant. Once they found a group of monkeys deep in the snow-capped mountains. They meditated in this way, but they still learned * *, from which they got the Arhat grosvenor. This myth and legend cannot be verified. In a word, it conforms to the laws of nature, which is beyond doubt. And this posture, on the whole, is very similar to the static posture of the fetus in the mother's womb, serene and serene.

The so-called seven-legged sitting method refers to the seven main acupoints of the limbs during meditation:

(1) Biped feet. If you can't double disk, use a single disk. Or put your left foot on your right foot, which is called wishful sitting. Or put your right foot on your left foot. This is called king kong sit. When you start sitting, you can cross your legs even if a single dish is impossible.

(2) The spine is upright. Let every joint in the back be like an abacus. But if you are weak or sick, don't be too rigid or too hard at first.

(3) The left and right hands are tied under the abdomen (lower abdomen) and placed flat on the hip bone. Palm up, right hand back flat in the center of left hand, thumb gently together. In Buddhism, this is called "handprint", and this gesture is also called samadhi seal (meaning fixed seal).

(4) The left and right shoulders are slightly flat and moderate, and the shoulders cannot be sunk.

(5) the head is straight and the back of the head is slightly retracted. Anterior jaw adduction (not lowering), the activity of the left and right arterial catheters in the neck can be slightly inhibited.

(6) the eyes are slightly open, like closing and opening, like half closing and half closing. Feel free to look at the front of the table seven or eight feet, or one foot two. For example, people who usually work with their eyes, it is best to close their eyes at the beginning of meditation. )

(7) the tongue licks the upper jaw slightly, just like a baby who has no teeth yet when he is asleep.

Additional notes:

(1) When sitting quietly, you must relax your whole body's cranial nerves and muscles, and you must not feel nervous. It's best to smile, because when people laugh, their nerves will naturally relax.

(2) Beginners should not meditate after eating, so as not to interfere with digestion. At the same time, don't meditate when you are hungry to avoid distraction.

(3) The air must circulate during meditation, but the wind cannot blow directly to the body.

(4) When sitting quietly, the light should not be too dark, otherwise it is easy to get dizzy; The light can't be too strong, otherwise it will be easy to get nervous.

(5) When the climate is cold, keep warm and wrap your knees and the back of your head. Don't show your knees even when you meditate in hot weather.

(6) Beginners should not sit still for too long, and take short time and multiple times as the principle.

(7) At the beginning, most people can't have two sets of meditation, but it is better to have a single set. When serving, you must pad your hips. The height of the cushion depends on everyone's physical condition, and always takes comfort as the principle. If the mat is too high or too short; It makes you nervous. As for the hardness of the cushion, it must be moderate, otherwise it will cause physical discomfort and affect the mood and effect of meditation.

"Double Squat" Description:

(1) Sitting with two legs and two boards is the most formal sitting method with seven legs.

(2) when sitting, you should also add a cushion, and you must completely connect the qi to do it.

(3) Beginners can't sit still in most cases, so use the following other sitting positions as appropriate.

Description of "single board sitting":

(1) The cushion is about two or three inches. Adjust according to everyone's comfort.

(2) If you can't sit on your legs at first, use a single plate. According to everyone's physiological condition, you can choose king kong sit freely or sit at will.

(3) If you can't sit alone, or you want to continue to study hard, you can use any of the following postures.

Description of "Other Sitting Positions":

(1) Sitting in a dangerous position has always been a meditation posture used by Confucianism.

(2) The auspicious sleeping position advocated by Buddhists. If pregnant women use a single plate to put pressure on their abdomen, they can switch to auspicious position or choose a more comfortable sitting position for themselves at will.

-from nan huaijin's meditation and immortality.

Be careful not to learn to meditate casually. Let me ask you, you have read my book, and my book tells you how many postures there are in meditation. 96 kinds. So what does the Buddhist scriptures say about seven-legged sitting? Sakyamuni Buddha is not a religion, but a scientist and a great philosopher. He said that there were many buddhas in the past dynasties, and there were many buddhas in every disaster. The last disaster was called a solemn disaster, and now this disaster is called the disaster of the sage. Buddha 1000, Sakyamuni Buddha 4, Maitreya Buddha 5. The Tripitaka shows that there are several buddhas in China, several in Afghan and several in Indian. All the buddhas have prophecies, which are wonderful. So generally speaking, when studying Buddhism, you don't read Buddhist scriptures when you become a monk at home. You just read a little Buddhist books and think you know Buddhism.

Sakyamuni said that this seven-legged Zen method was lost in the last days, that is, when science developed and culture declined. So the Buddha's dharma is over, and 500 arhats can't practice in the mountains. Then 500 monkeys were moved. It was the Lohan in Kayafo's time who turned into a monkey and meditated and demonstrated on the mountain. These 500 practicing arhats learned to meditate only after seeing them. Only after they learned the Tao did they know that it was not a monkey, but an enlightened Lohan, who showed it to them on purpose, so they learned this seven-legged sitting method.

The first branch, what is the so-called branch? Branch is the most important meaning. The first branch is two legs. When tripping, if you sit still and don't need a cushion, you can get up (the teacher can hold the whole body up with both hands), and the yoga learner can jump up, so the legs are crossed and the hands jump over. This is the double sitting method, that is, the left foot is placed inside and the right foot is placed outside. On the contrary, putting your right foot inside and your left foot outside is the same exchange. One leg needs a cushion, under the left foot and on the right foot; Or right foot down, left foot up. When you sit down and look at yourself, you will feel. If the right foot is down, the body leans here, affecting the left brain; What should I do under my left foot and on my right foot? It leans to the other side again. Please feel it. This is an experience! Study! Don't listen! This is scientific, that is to say, the left and right cranial nerves are affected differently. This is sitting.

But personal physical relations, like this side, don't like that side, you will know that the structure of the body has been biased to that side. So, you should stand up straight. Look at everyone. I laughed at them yesterday because they were used to being monks. Everyone is dishonest, and no one is upright. If it is a double disc, with the left foot inside and the right foot outside, it is called Vajrayana magic sitting method; If the right foot is inside and the left foot is outside, this is called lucky sitting. Look at Buddha statues and learn Tantric Buddhism. Sit up like this (with the teacher's back to the students), starting from the tail to the seventh period, so stand upright. These seven joints are very important.

During the Anti-Japanese War, I met an old Taoist in Chengdu, saying that he was a monk and didn't look like a monk. He is wearing a robe. I went to see him and kowtowed to him, and he scolded me and told me not to kowtow. Why bother? We talked for a long time and finally left. I said, teacher, why are you in such good spirits now? He is seventy or eighty years old, and I am only in my twenties. He just laughed, walked me to the door and said, "Now I pay attention to the bone in the seventh section above my ass." I said, master, what does this mean? "ah! Nothing, nothing! Go! " He kicked me out and never saw him again.

I didn't realize this sentence until I was in my fifties. People are old, and this is very important. The fifth to seventh sections on the coccyx of the hip correspond to the abdomen. Old people bend over here, both men and women. In fact, he just told me that he would encounter this problem in the future. Maybe I don't understand either. He told me first. My karma is really good, so pay attention to this.

The two legs must be exchanged and arranged, which is so important to the body. Look at the tantric Buddha statue with thin waist, big hips and big breasts. Keep your waist straight and your chest straight. So yesterday I laughed at them and everyone bowed their backs. Now I stand up, my body is not as bent as yours. I can read newspapers without glasses, and I can lead them to move these things.

I told you in the book that you can break up without two offers. Don't cross your legs when you leave, so your body will be tilted and flat. If you change your feet, you should also put them flat. But when I was a child, I studied Buddhism, and a monk in Hangzhou told me that cross-legged is very important. He said that there was a monk who practiced outside at night, meditated on the grave and sat on a double plate until after midnight when he suddenly heard the sound of chirping. When he looked at it, some ghosts knelt down and worshipped him. "oh! There are bodhisattvas here! Golden light. " Later, when he got tired of sitting, the double disk became a single disk. Those ghosts are wrong, changed, bright or not, and the golden tower has become a silver tower, almost. When he gets tired of sitting again, he will sit on a plate, and the ghosts will throw mud at him and say, what is this? There is a pile of mud here. Hearing this, he quickly tilted his legs, and ghosts came to worship again. This is the story I heard in Hangzhou that year.

Besides, when people get old, their legs die first. If you can't move this leg when you are old, it won't work. Life comes from below. Then you said that Tie Guai Li of the Eight Immortals was still limping. Of course, it can be repaired. Because of qi, the whole body should be connected. This is the first and most important one.

The second spine should be straight, not deliberately, as straight as a string of copper coins. In the past, copper coins were all strung in straight strings. It should be noted that there were five or seven knots from the coccyx to the waist. Especially in the two places where you go to practice martial arts, this rejuvenation is related to your stomach and heart, so you must sit still. This posture is wrong. Don't talk about it if you are in poor health.

Look at these middle-aged people now, their backs are hunched here, and they are still so intrigued and meditation, completely aging. For example, when I sit like this, I can look straight and see both sides; Turn your head flat, you can see the back a little, and this way is ok. Turn your face completely behind your back. I haven't done it yet. I may be able to do it if I live a few more years. The neck should be soft here. This means that the back bone should be stiff, the second branch.

The third shoulder. The point is to keep your shoulders flat. You sit up like this. Now look at me! Stretch your shoulders like this! Don't stand up on purpose! If you widen it again, it will flatten out. What about short hands? This handprint doesn't need to be tied. You can put your hands on your beard like this, or on your knees if it is too long.

The fourth one has a handprint. Just now I talked about the length, and then I talked about the anatomy, physiology and pulse of traditional Chinese medicine. This lecture is very long, and we should basically do it well.

The fifth one talks about eyes, so it's better to close them. The ancients talked about half-opening and half-closing, but my book insisted on closing its eyes, because people in this era use too many eyes, so the method should be changed.

The sixth tongue reaches the palate and the seventh cervical vertebra is straight. Where is the upper jaw? You touch your mouth with your finger There is a depression on it, which is the so-called maxilla. That's why I'm telling you that your tongue touched the upper jaw. If you touch the back root of the upper gum, it is wrong. You have to go in a little. This depression is the meridian, and there is no problem in needling this meridian, so it is called the palate. It's called sitting on seven legs.

Talking about the emergence of seven sitting methods and meditation. Don't think that you will understand after listening. It's still far away! At least take a closer look at my book Meditation and Immortality, and study the main points of the seven sitting methods mentioned above clearly.

—— Excerpted from nan huaijin's "Zen and Life Cognition"