Gestión de los recursos. La empresa debe determinar y proporcionar los recursos necesarios para implementar y mantener el sistema de gestión de la calidad y

We discussed the importance of the mindfulness of anapana, which in common parlance is called refining the breath. Anapana means culti­

vating the breath as it moves in and out. It includes many techniques belonging to both the exoteric and esoteric teachings of Buddhism, but the fundamental principle is the same. If we add to this Indian Brahmanism and yogic techniques, and Chinese Taoism, there are at least several hundred kinds of methods. Although there are many methods, in the final analysis they are all methods of refining the ch'i and refining the breath. One must remember, however, that the work of refining the breath and realizing the fruit of enlightenment are two different things. Unfortunately, everyone likes contrived methods and students of Buddhism pass these methods on to others in such a fashion that they get them wrong. Pay attention to proper method.

If you can hear the sound of your breathing even when you are in a very noisy place, you have accomplished stable, still meditation.

When the Zen patriarch Bodhidharma entered samadhi on Mount Sung, he heard the sound of the ants under the stairs fighting as loud as thunder. Such things really happen.

A great disciple of Hsuan-tsang was the Dharma master K'uei­

chi, who was also called Master San-ch'e. He went to Mount Chung­

nan to visit the Vinaya master Tao-hsuan of the Vinaya school [the school that concentrates on discipline]. Vinaya master Tao-hsuan had perfected the merit of maintaining the precepts of discipline, and so male and female devas often came to his abode to make offerings of food to him. When K'uei-chi tried to look up at those devas, the devas did not appear, and so all he and Tao-hsuan could do was endure their hunger.

At night as he slept, Vinaya master Tao-hsuan sat up and did not lie down. K'uei-chi paid no attention to this, and lay down and fell asleep. His appearance as he slept was not very good and he also snored. The next day Vinaya master Tao-hsuan said to him:

164 I Master Nan Huai-Chin

"According to the guidelines for monks, if you do not sleep sitting

up, then you must lie down in an auspicious posture. You sleep in a _{. 1} way that goes against these guidelines, snoring and tossing and

turn-ing, and you bothered me all night with your noise."

K'uei-chi said: "I did not sleep well the whole night, and I was bothered by the noise you made. I slept fine until midnight, but then something happened. You had a flea on your waist, which bit you.

You stretched out your hand, intending to swat it, but then you thought it over some more, and you could not kill a living thing, so you took it and put it down on the ground. You had to put it down with all your strength, and putting it down from so high, you snapped off one of its legs, so it cried in pain all night long, and made so much noise I could not sleep well."

Vinaya master Tao-hsuan did not dare say anything. He thought to himself: "Since this really happened, how did he know?" After K'uei-chi left, the devas came again at noon with offerings of food.

Vinaya master Tao-hsuan asked the devas: "Why didn't you come at noon yesterday?" The devas replied: "We did come yesterday at noon, but we saw the whole mountain peak covered with auspicious five­

colored clouds, and we could not find your thatched hut. Moreover, on the outside of the auspicious clouds there were many diamond spirit protectors of the Dharma. We knew for certain that there was a great bodhisattva on the mountain, and we minor devas from the heavens of the realm of desire could not approach. When Vinaya master Tao-hsuan heard this, there was simply nothing he could say.

How is it that K'uei-chi could be aware of such a small sound while he was asleep? What power of samadhi is this? When the Zen patriarch Bodhidharma entered samadhi on Mount Sung and he heard the sound of the ants fighting under the stairs as loud as thunder, it was the same principle.

When you are in a noisy place, it is very difficult to hear the sound of your own breathing. At the beginning you can hear the sounds of the pulse moving, the sounds of the heart, and the sound of the blood circulating. People who have accomplished stable, quiet meditation can hear if something is not right in the sound and then know where the body has developed a problem.

A student came to me with the following comment: "When I try to practice the method of anapana, after six or seven days the follow­

ing situation develops. As soon as I sit down, because I have stud­

ied Buddhism for many years, it spontaneously changes to counting

WORKING TOWARD ENLIGHTENMENT / 165

breaths. Then I focus my attention on my nose, but I am not aware if my breaths are long or short or cool or warm. Later I gradually adjust and become aware of this. But after I have counted about three breaths, I forget to focus my attention on my nose, and I again forget whether my breaths are long or short or cool or warm. Then a strong light suddenly appears. I clearly realize that I cannot covet it, or this would be clinging. After I become aware of my mistake, I gather in my mind again, and again resume focusing attention on my nose. The more I do this, the more disturbed I become, and it changes into doing breath-work, not cultivating practice. Later I may count breaths, or I may see this light, but the more I try to bring myself to order, the more chaotic I become."

If you are in the midst of counting breaths, like this student was, as soon as a thought stirs-as soon as miscellaneous thoughts diverge from your breath-you must begin counting again. No miscellaneous thoughts are permitted: you should go straight along. Lu Fang-weng' s poem says: "Count a thousand breaths at one sitting." This indicates that one sitting is at least several hours. In their time, famous men like Lu Fang-weng and Su Tung-po did meditation work.

Anyone who eats too much, or who has high blood pressure, or who cannot sleep, or has a lot of miscellaneous thoughts and extrav­

agant desires, must count the breaths going out. Anyone whose body is feeble, or who has low blood pressure, or whose brain and nerves are weak, must count the breaths coming in. This is the way to deal with what ails them. Buddha is the great king of physicians: he can cure the illnesses of sentient beings. The first step in cultivating prac­

tice is to understand medical principles. You cannot cultivate practice properly without understanding medical principles. People whose bodies are neither good nor bad should divide the day into before and after noon, and count breaths as they go out before noon and breaths as they go in after noon.

We have discussed liberation from the eighty-eight bonds and compulsions. When I explain the methods of refining the breath, stu­

dents think they have gotten a great secret. They think they have got­

ten a precious jewel, and that this is the Buddha Dharma. Rather, the real Buddha Dharma is a matter of mental practice, of liberation from the eighty-eight bonds and compulsions.

The student who asked this question has not been able to coor­

dinate seeing the truth with his meditation work. His knowledge is not clear, and he has not penetrated the true principle. Tempering

166 I Master Nan Huai-Chin

Realm

Desire Form Formlessness

THE THREE REALMS

Formless Realm

Realm of Form

Realm of Desire

Taoist Esoteric Buddhist

Correspondences Correspondences Vitality (Ching) Bliss

Energy (Ch'i) Illumination Spirit (Shen) No-thought

THE CHAKRAS

Brahma Opening (Sacred Chakra) Crown Chakra B row Chakra

I

Navel Chakra

Bottom of the Sea (Root Chakra)

Figure 1. The three realms and their correspondence to Taoist and Esoteric Buddhist concepts.

WORKING TOWARD ENLIGHTENMENT / 167

the breath and stopping the breath are no more than elementary techniques for getting rid of miscellaneous thoughts. Once miscella­

neous thoughts are gone, these techniques are of no further use. In The Diamond Sutra Buddha says: "You monks know that the Dharma I expound is like a raft to be abandoned when you have crossed to the other shore of the ocean of affliction. You must relinquish even the Dharma, to say nothing of all that is not the Dharma." Thus, to cross a river you use a boat. But after you have crossed the river, if you put the boat on your back and walked off, wouldn't that be very stupid? This student's question arises because he has done too much tempering the breath. It is like taking too much nutrition, which also may produce sickness.

When light appears before your eyes, you must temper your breath properly. When the breath fills you, an inner light will cer­

tainly arise. At that point, without using a lamp at night, you will be able to see as clearly as you would with a lamp. This is the effect of the breath, but it is not the fruit of enlightenment.

In the illustration (on opposite page) the region below the heart cavity belongs to the realm of desire, the region from the heart cavity up to the eyes belongs to the realm of form, and the region above the eyebrows belongs to the formless realm, joined to empty space.

What the Taoists call ching (vitality), ch'i (energy), and shen (spirit), and what Esoteric Buddhism terms bliss (if the vitality does not descend, bliss is not born), illumination, and no-thought, are other formulas for expressing the three realms. Thus, Rahula's route of cul­

tivating the breath in Buddhism is a method of cultivating the realm of form.

The achievement of a buddha's body of bliss, buddha's samb­

hogakaya, is an accomplishment in the realm of form. If you do not move beyond the realm of desire and reach the realm of form, you cannot become a buddha. If you cannot sublimate and reach the realm of form, you cannot achieve sambhogakaya, the body of bliss. Vairocana Buddha is dharmakaya buddha, the body of reality, the ontological absolute. Dharmakaya is the essence; sambhogakaya is the appearance.

Shakyamuni Buddha represents nirmanakaya buddha, a physical man­

ifestation of buddha: this is the function.

By studying Zen and the other methods of exoteric Buddhism, it is easy to achieve the dharmakaya, but it is very hard to achieve the sambhogakaya and even harder to achieve the nirmanakaya.

168 / Master Nan Huai-Chin

When you have properly tempered the breath, it is very easy to produce a realm of light. But once the realm of light arrives, it is easy to produce a contradiction. That is when your knowledge of Buddhism must come in to say to you, "How can you be attached to form? This is false thought." In fact, whether you are attached to form or not, you must forget your body and not become attached to the light, but just be spontaneous within the light. At this point, if you feel it is not correct, this is because you have too much knowledge of Buddhism. While you are in the light, you forget about your body, about the four elements, about your breathing: you don't pay attention to anything. Then the light changes into peaceful stillness, pure peace­

ful stillness, and it also may change into other realms. What it's like after this transformation, I'll tell you when you get there.

People who have succeeded in cultivating this technique are all very optimistic. They have no worries or afflictions. There are also many other advantages. For example, it is easy to reach the realm where

Waves fly in the great ocean but the mind does not dwell on them Clouds arise on the shore of delusion and you soar in dreams.

Your body may be especially hale and hearty. When your medita­

tion work reaches this point, your saliva is sweet, indescribably sweet.

This is due to the pituitary hormones coming down. The glands in your chest and the sexual glands in the lower part of your body cor­

responding to the realm of desire are completely transformed.

However, this vigor of the nervous system can easily bring on desires, so it is just as the line in the poem says: "Waves fly in the great ocean but the mind does not dwell on them." When the breath is too vigorous, when you have nurtured it too well, if you do not understand the Buddha Dharma, if you have not set to work on the Dharma Gate of the mind-ground to deal with the eighty-eight bonds and compulsions, then it turns into a spirit of reckless, overexuberant heroism. When this happens, "clouds arise on the shore of delusion and you soar in dreams," and people all feel that they are about to fly away. (Immortal swordsmen must pass through this process before they are completely refined.)

If you return from this state to the Dharma Gate of the mind­

ground, then you can realize the fruit of arhatship. As for the Taoist spiritual immortals, they, too, go forward from this.

WORKING TOWARD ENLIGHTENMENT / 169

When you eat your fill, you cannot do breath-work, because to do breath-work your bowels and stomach must be clear. When we study Buddhism, we are following the Dharma Gate of the mind­

ground. When we make use of refining the breath in our practice, this is only an auxiliary method. It is not that we concentrate on doing breath-work.

After you have really managed to refine the breath, the Taoists have a few lines for you based on their experience: "When vitality (ching) is full, you do not think of lust. When energy (ch'i) is full, you do not think of food. When the spirit (shen) is full, you do not think of sleep." After your spirit has become full, if you still talk about not giving your all, it is correct. When your energy is full, you will feel your body to be like a burst of energy. It will really be that "clouds arise on the shore of delusion and you soar in dreams." Walking on the road will be like stepping on cotton, and you can cultivate a feel­

ing of lightness.

But people who have studied Buddhism will not be drawn to these aspects. They know that everything is created by mind alone, and that if the mind concentrates on making things in that area, it will become that way.

When your meditation work reaches a certain level, and you want to experience the result and enter samadhi, it will be impossible if you do not stop eating grain. At most you will eat a little fruit: your bowels and stomach will not need anything else. If monks and nuns can refrain from eating after noon, and in the afternoon do all they can to make efforts and cultivate their breath, they will get great advan­

tages. After you have a basis in your meditation work, nutrition won't matter anymore. Men and women differ in this.

Another issue to consider in regard to cultivating the ten forms of mindfulness are sexual impulses, for they form an obstruction to cul­

tivating practice. The reason why people cannot realize the fruit of enlightenment is because of sexual desire and the desire for food and drink. If you cannot transform these, you will have no basis for cul­

tivating realization. In terms of doing breath-work, if you let the elixir leak away it will not work.

For women, just before and just after their menstrual periods, the relationship of the physical state and their breath-work is very close. If they can cultivate practice properly, their menses will grad­

ually be reduced, until they completely stop, and their bodies will return to a youthful state. Men take on the characteristic of Buddha,

170 / Master Nan Huai-Chin

whose penis was hidden inside his body. After they have become like this, the pressure of desire is reduced seventy percent. The other thirty percent is very difficult to be liberated from. At that point it is not that your mind wants something, and it is not that your sixth consciousness is setting thoughts moving. Rather, it is what Yogacara theory calls the seeds of habit energy in the storehouse conscious­

ness. If you can transform these seeds of habit energy, then you can transcend ordinary life and enter into the realm of sagehood.

For the desire between men and women, the Chinese language uses the word hsing, which in modern Chinese is the usual word for sex. In the Zen formula "illuminating mind and seeing inherent nature" the word hsing is also used, but in its classical meaning of

"inherent nature." This usage is very wondrous, because the hsing of sex and the hsing of inherent nature are almost the same thing, and very hard to distinguish. Desire is the ultimate item of ignorance. If you cannot finish with this item, then you will not be able to leap out of the realm of desire.

By following the path of cultivating breath, it is easy to ascend to the heavens of the realm of form, a level higher than the realm of desire. If you cultivate practice according to the Zen school's path of "no-thought," you can ascend to the formless realm. But each of the three realms has its biases. If you only follow the method of cultivation that belongs to any one of them, you will never be able to experience the fruit of enlightenment or consummate the path of enlightenment.

If you refine your vitality and attain bliss, your whole body will feel comfortable beyond compare. This is called a bodhisattva's inner contact with wondrous bliss. Every cell is happy with the finest, most subtle feeling of happiness. You must be this way before you can attain samadhi. But it is very easy to fall from this state, and sink down into the realm of the bliss of desire.

These states all belong to the four intensified practices. Intensified practice means to add effort. If you add effort without adding it right, don't even talk about studying Buddhism or cultivating the path of

These states all belong to the four intensified practices. Intensified practice means to add effort. If you add effort without adding it right, don't even talk about studying Buddhism or cultivating the path of