by Yin Shih Tzu
“Master Yin Shi Zi’s book so enthralled me that I read it in a single sitting. His training in classical Chinese medicine and as a professor of physiology enables him to express both his own experiences and his guide to cultivating a practice of these methods in a language easily comprehensible to the modern reader. His book is a wonderful contribution to our understanding of the nature of Taoist/Buddhist yoga, meditation, and inner science.”
—Glenn H. Mullin, author of Selected Works of the Dalai Lama and Death and Dying
“The reader can really better understand the mental and physical phenomena encountered when progressing through meditation. If anyone ever wondered what changes may occur during intense study of meditation, this book helps to provide answers.”
—Master Tsung Hwa Jou, author of The Dao of Taijiquan and The Tao of Meditation
“This wonderful book has been very influential in my own practice and I was elated to find that Shifu Hwang and Cheney Crow have completed such a clear translation. Tranquil Sitting provides inspiration for all those who want to practice meditation, but may feel that their life contradicts or obstructs that practice. Yin Shi Zi is deservedly considered one of China’s most celebrated meditation practitioners.”
—Stuart Alve Olson, author of Cultivating the Ch’i
Tranquil Sitting
A Taoist Journal on Meditation and Chinese Medical Qigong
Yin Shi Zi
Translated by Shifu Hwang and Cheney Crow, Ph.D.
Forewords by Master Zhongxian Wu and Glenn H. Mullin
London and Philadelphia
This edition published in 2013
by Singing Dragon
an imprint of Jessica Kingsley Publishers
116 Pentonville Road
London N1 9JB, UK
and
400 Market Street, Suite 400
Philadelphia, PA 19106, USA
www.singingdragon.com
First published in 1994
by Dragon Door Publications
Copyright © Shifu Hwang and Cheney Crow 1994, 2013
Foreword copyright © Master Zhongxian Wu 2013
Foreword copyright © Glenn H. Mullin 1994, 2013
Cover illustration copyright © S. Robertson 2013
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form (including photocopying or storing it in any medium by electronic means and whether or not transiently or incidentally to some other use of this publication) without the written permission of the copyright owner except in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 or under the terms of a licence issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd, Saffron House, 6–10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. Applications for the copyright owner’s written permission to reproduce any part of this publication should be addressed to the publisher.
Warning: The doing of an unauthorised act in relation to a copyright work may result in both a civil claim for damages and criminal prosecution.
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
A CIP catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 978 1 84819 112 9
eISBN 978 0 85701 090 2
Converted to eBook by EasyEPUB
Meditation develops your innate energies. With practice, you can take charge of your mind and body, preventing disease before it arises. Shouldn’t everyone make an effort to learn something like this? Superficially, meditation looks easy, but if you practice without patience, determination, and a long-term sense of devotion you will never realize its benefits. To give readers a guide to meditation, I have therefore summarized my many decades of experience.
Yin Shi Zi, October, 1954
Yin Shi Zi
Contents
Cover
Foreword
Foreword
ABOUT THE TRANSLATION
Translator’s Introduction
A TAOIST JOURNAL On Meditation and Chinese Medical Qigong
PREFACE
PART I
CHAPTER One The Theory of Tranquil Sitting
The meaning of tranquility
The conflicting states of the body and the mind
CHAPTER TWO The Physiological Features of Meditation
The relationship between tranquil sitting and normal physical function
The circulatory system
Breathing
Regeneration
CHAPTER Three How to Meditate
Adjusting your diet
Adjusting your sleep
Adjusting your body
Adjusting the breath
Adjusting the mind
CHAPTER Four The Principle of Zhi Kuan
CHAPTER FIVE The Six Mystical Steps
Step One: Counting Practice and Fulfillment
Step Two: Relaxing-mind Practice and Fulfillment
Step Three: Resting Practice and Fulfillment
Step Four: Visualization Practice and Fulfillment
Step Five: Returning Practice and Fulfillment
Step Six: Clarification Practice and Fulfillment
PART II
CHAPTER Six My Experience
My childhood
My adult history
Studying Eastern Tantra
The changing sensations of my physical body
The first episode
The second episode
The third episode
The fourth episode
The fifth episode
The sixth episode
The seventh episode
The eighth episode
CHAPTER Seven My Study and Practice of Tibetan Mahamudra
Learning the secrets of Tibetan Tantra: opening the crown of the head
About the practice of Tibetan Mahamudra
CHAPTER Eight Conclusion of My Experience
ABOUT THE TRANSLATORS
Foreword
Simplicity is the Best
The Dao 道 is simple.
The healing method that follows the Dao is simple.
A harmonious life is simple.
Qigong 氣功 is a way of life and a way to help people live simply in health and happiness.
In my audio CD, Three Treasures—The Medicines of Shamanic Healing and Internal Alchemy, published by Chinese Wisdom Traditions, I emphasize that there is only one type of disease: Qi stagnation (or blockage). The NeiJing 内經 (one of the most important classical texts of traditional Chinese medicine) mentions this idea—BuTongZeTong 不通則痛—“Where there is obstruction, there is pain.” This obstruction forms irregular patterns in the body on either energetic or physical planes. Left unchecked, these areas of stagnation are then later diagnosed as the myriad of diseases known to modern medicine. The NeiJing further states that all pain is related to the Heart. The Heart in this context refers to the mind and to our Shen 神, the spirit within our body. In other words, the classics tell us that an uneasy mind or a weak spiritual body will cause a weakness in the physical body. This connection should never be ignored.
By learning to work with Heart and Qi within the body, one may recover from illness, restore health, and maintain wellbeing. In Tranquil Sitting, the remarkable Qigong master JiangWeiQiao 蔣維喬 (CE 1873–1958) teaches us some simple traditional Chinese sitting meditation methods to work with our Heart and Qi. He personally recovered from tuberculosis and other significant health issues through his dedicated cultivation practice. These simple methods originate from Daoist internal alchemy meditation and the TianTai 天台 school meditation techniques. The TianTai school is one of the Eight Buddhist Schools in Chin
a. The founder master, ZhiYi 智顗 (CE 538–597), created the TianTai school based on his knowledge of Buddhism, Daoism, and Confucianism.
In 1914, JiangWeiQiao introduced these ancient meditation methods to the general public through his book YinShiZi JingZuoFa 因是子靜坐灋 (YinShiZi’s Tranquil Sitting Methods. In Tranquil Sitting, this title is translated by Shifu Hwang and Cheney Crow as Yin Shi Zi’s Meditation), which was published under his spiritual name YinShiZi 因是子. To my knowledge, this marked the first time these ancient methods were explained in modern language, without any mention of traditional internal cultivation terms such as YinYang, Five Elements, KanLi (water and fire), or Lead and Mercury, making the content very accessible to the general public. While JiangWeiQiao focused on the practical aspects of traditional meditation techniques, he also included stories of his personal insights in order to give his audience an idea of the long-term process involved in achieving deep healing results. Over the years, his book has been very well received throughout China, having been republished over twenty times, and is widely considered to be a modern classic Qigong self-healing book. There are countless individuals who have recovered from all manner of illness and disease by studying and practicing methods from his book. In honor of his great contribution to our people and to our culture, all throughout China we regard him as the Grand Father of modern Qigong.
I am so pleased that Singing Dragon is republishing the English version of Master Jiang’s tranquil sitting methods. It is my honor to write this foreword and help re-introduce his exceptional work to the Western world. If you are looking for some simple methods to help you recover from illness, and live in health and peace, I believe that with devotion to your daily practice, this marvelous book will help you achieve your dreams.
Harmonious Qi,
ZhongXian Wu
Summer Solstice, 2012, Orchard House, Blue Ridge Mountains
Foreword
In 1954, at the age of eighty-one, the venerable Chinese master Yin Shi Zi put to paper a remarkable account of his experiences in the practice of meditation, in which he had combined Taoist and Buddhist techniques in a traditional blend of spiritual exercises for health and enlightenment. Moreover, he complemented his spiritual biography with a section on practical exercises for inducing the experiences of body and mind that he himself had realized.
From its most ancient times China developed and preserved a most unique culture of meditation for health, harmony, and self-fulfillment. The early Taoist masters well understood the nature of the human predicament, and responded by setting forth clear guidelines whereby trainees could extract the essence of the human potential. Later, with the importation of Buddhism from India, these two traditions confronted one another in what may be called a most exquisite marriage of spiritual technologies. Master Yin Shi Zi addresses this marriage not as historical data, but as a living dynamic. He began his training as a Taoist, and later supplemented his practice with elements from the Tian Tai school of Chinese Buddhism. Several decades later he complemented this body of techniques with several methods coming from the esoteric Vajrayana Buddhism of Tibet. He discusses these with disarming intimacy and humility.
From birth Master Yin Shi Zi was afflicted by chronic health problems, and as a teenager took up the practice of Taoist yoga and meditation solely in order to cure himself. Only after he had witnessed the healing powers of these techniques did he become fascinated with the spiritual implications of the methods he had been utilizing, and thus begin to apply himself to them from within a spiritual perspective. His account of his experiences in these two areas, firstly medical and then spiritual, thus provides the reader with a glimpse of the multidimensional impact of these ancient practices.
His training in classical Chinese medicine and as a professor of physiology enables him to express both his own experiences and his guide to cultivating a practice of these methods in a language easily comprehensible to the modern reader. He lived in a special period, when China was making the transition from an ancient and somewhat insular culture to a modern nation aware of international attitudes and perspectives. Thus he stood on a bridge in Chinese history, and his education on both sides of the bridge provided him with a unique insight. His book is a wonderful contribution to our understanding of the nature of Taoist/Buddhist yoga, meditation, and inner science.
Shifu Hwang and Cheney Crow have done an excellent job of translating the manuscript from the original Chinese, and we owe a great debt to them for their efforts.
Glenn H. Mullin
Author and lecturer, October, 1994
ABOUT THE TRANSLATION
Yin Shi Zi’s book, written in 1954, was published in a collection of writings on meditation called Jing Zuo Fa Ji Yao (The Collection of the Way of Meditation), by His Yo Publications in January 1962. Yin Shi Zi, once a professor of physiology at Kuan Hua University, divided his text into two sections. The first is didactic, with sections on theory, physiology, preparation, and instruction for meditation. The second section is a diary account of his personal experience and meditation practice (his illness, his early Taoist practice, his self-healing, then his initiation into and practice of the Tibetan Tantric practice of opening the crown of the head).
Translators make many choices as they work. We chose to adhere as closely as possible to a literal translation, which the differences between Chinese and English render almost impossible. There are instances, therefore, where we added words or phrases [in square brackets] to the original Chinese to facilitate reading. All parentheses are from the original text. Transcription for Chinese characters was done using the Chinese government’s Latin-Han Zi transcription system, which is promoted by the Confucius School.
It is with humble gratitude that we offer this unrevised text to fellow seekers, in hopes they may experience what we did in working on this somewhat awkward text: moments of inspiration, wonder, reassurance, and a heightened sense of compassion for those on the path we share.
Cheney Crow, Ph.D.
February, 2012
Translator’s Introduction
My life was profoundly influenced by this book, originally titled Jing Zuo Fa and written by Master Jiang Wei Chiao, who took the Taoist name Yin Shi Zi. The guidance it offers helped lead me out of an unhealthy life towards a life devoted to cultivation of the Tao. My friend and student Cheney Crow agreed to collaborate with me to translate this book into English. We completed this work in November, 1993, and it was first published in 1994. We are pleased that Singing Dragon has chosen to make this book available to others interested in learning these methods and reading about the experiences of Yin Shi Zi as he began and developed his practice.
Like him, I was unhealthy in body and spirit before I began meditation. For ten years after graduating from university in Taiwan, I ran a business. Like many other businessmen, I indulged in smoking, drinking, nightlife. Because of my unrestricted lifestyle, my health and my business deteriorated. I developed a persistent cough. When my business began to fail, I was coughing up blood. In 1982 I was bankrupt, very sad in heart, and physically exhausted. I emigrated to the United States.
Recognizing my undisciplined lifestyle as the root cause of my physical and financial distress, I sought help. To heal my body and my mind, I chose Taoism. I studied many Taoist scriptures, but they were hard to understand, and even harder to practice. Eventually, I found this book. I could understand the author’s writing and his instructions, so I followed its principles and began to practice meditation.
At first, I was troubled by the meditation postures and by random thoughts; however, I persevered. After almost four months, I began to notice physical effects from the practice, and changes in my body. I felt a pulsing force in three areas of my back: at my tailbone (Wei Lu), middle spine (Jia Ji), and at the base of my head (Yu Zhen). I had the sensation of sweet dew flowing down from the crown of my head, across my face, down through my chest to the lower Dan Tien (about 4 inches below the navel). Three times I had a sensation
, and intuitive awareness, of white light shooting out from my chest. When this happened, I know I had completed the Xiao Zho Tian (small heaven circulation) training.
My body and my mind were healing; I felt healthy and optimistic. My memory became clearer. There were other physical sensations. I heard a sound like wind blowing in my ears, sometimes all day. I felt a buzz, like electricity, at the crown of my head. There was so much movement in my back that it felt like I was getting a massage. I did not feel tired, even when I worked two or more hours longer than usual.
I knew then that Taoism was not empty talk, that there were true benefits in this lifetime. I studied more Taoism scriptures. One day, as I read a book by master Chang San Feng, these words got my attention, “Training in Tai Chi is the way to build a foundation for entering the Tao.” I began diligent study and practice of Tai Chi and other martial arts. I became proficient, and was a martial arts instructor for twenty years, teaching Tai Chi, Kung Fu, self-defense, and wrestling.