As practitioners of life cultivation, we practice the Mustang Tuna (deep breathing) Technique and the Mustang Jingzuo Technique (meditation) on a daily basis. Very few of us will go on and practice the Mustang Ruding (Fixation or tranquility) Technique. The Mustang Ruding Technique is a more advanced form of the Jingzuo Technique. The word Ruding is a phonetic translation of two Chinese words, Ru and Ding, which means going into fixation.
The Ruding Practice is a common practice in Zen Buddhism which refers to it as Samadhi. The monks practice Samadhi by sitting upright with eyes closed and mind focused. Sometimes the silence of those who have attained the Way is also called Ruding (Samadhi).
Ruding is one of the three studies and five points of the Dharma body, it can make the mind focus on one situation. As a body of knowledge, it can be divided into conscious Samadhi and unintentional Samādhi and so on.
There are those who enter into Ruding for Buddhist practice, and there are those who enter into Ruding to wait for the arrival of the saint who will appear in the world after many years. If you want to wake up someone who is in the state of Ruding, it is better to snap a finger at the person.
According to the Records of the Western Regions of the Tang Dynasty, Mahakasyapa was instructed by the Buddha to go into the Ruding state in Jizu Mountain. The debater went into the Ruding state in the Asura Palace in southern India, waiting for Maitreya to be born.
The Great Wisdom Theory also says that those who enter into the Ruding state cannot be harmed by water and fire, and they will not end in life. They become immortal.
In yoga and right-brain meditation, Ruding is similar for entering into an alpha wave state (or transgender consciousness).
Legends
There were many legends on the Ruding Practice. We will not go into those legends. As practitioners of life cultivation, very few of us bother to practice Ruding routinely. However, there may be someone who likes to know about the Ruding Technique. Let us discuss the practice of Ruding right away for those who might be interested.
The Practice of Ruding Technique
There are several ways to practice the Ruding Technique. The success of Ruding Practice is said to be pre-ordained. We will discuss the most popular way extended by Zen Buddhism here. This particular way to practice is sometimes referred to as Zending, that is, Ruding the Zen Way.
01 Away from the five barriers
There are many ways to practice the Ruding Technique. According to the Buddhist Zending method, we must enter the first, second, third, and fourth Zending Level to gradually attain the Ruding State. To enter into the Ruding state (samadhi), we must have some karmic conditions, that is, we must leave the five barriers at that time.
The so-called five barriers are: lethargy, regret, hatred, doubt, and greed. When these afflictions are not present, if the practice is correct, there is a chance to enter into samadhi. If these afflictions exist, it will be difficult to enter into the Ruding State. In addition to the causes and conditions of afflictions, there are certain obstacles in our body that can also prevent us from entering samadhi.
02 First Jhana Feeling
To enter into Samadhi, we must first have some particular experience before entering Samadhi. That is to say, when a person’s body and mind are very comfortable, and the practice of the Dharma is correct, then he will experience lightness and tranquility before he enters Samadhi.
That is, the whole body is very comfortable, and most people feel that the whole body is light like a feather. For those who are new to the Ruding Practice, there will be a phenomenon of tranquility before entering into Samadhi.
Some people will feel that their body is getting bigger and bigger, and that the whole body is expanding, that it becomes so big that it will fill out the world. Some people will feel that their body is getting smaller and smaller, that the body floats up.
These are all peaceful phenomena, and after this phenomenon, there will be a very happy feeling, which is the feeling of tranquility before entering the first Jhana. In the Ruding Practice, the first Jhana, the second Jhāna, and the third Jhāna all have different happy feelings. When the fourth Jhāna is reached, there will be no happy feelings anymore.
03 The feeling of the Ruding State
A person who has entered into the Ruding State will definitely feel very comfortable and happy throughout his body. This happy feeling will make his original sickness and other discomfort disappear.
In addition, when he enters into the Ruding State, his breathing will become deep and long, gentle, and uniform. Thus we can tell a person has entered into the Ruding State by some phenomena.
According to the classics, when a person enters the First Jhana, there will be five things of awakening, insight, joy, happiness, and concentration. They are called the Five Factors of the First Jhana.
Most beginners cannot clearly distinguish these Five Factors when they enter the First Jhana, so the beginners do not need to pay attention to the First Jhana so as not to be distracted.
Instead, the beginners may confirm that they have entered the First Jhana from the fact that their minds are concentrated, their breathing becomes finer, and their body becomes very comfortable.
In addition, people who are new to the Ruding Practice often have a feeling that after they come out of a very comfortable feeling state, their feet will suddenly feel sore, numb, and painful. However, they do not feel the pain before they come out of the First Jhana state. Why?
Because the First Jhāna state has only pleasant feelings but not painful ones. When a person is in the First Jhana state his mind is very calm and his body is very comfortable so he feels no pain. Once he leaves the First Jhana state, he will feel pain in his whole body. This proves that he entered the First Jhāna state before leaving. This is the experience of many Ruding practitioners.
However, some people not only do not understand why the numbness and pain are, but also deny that they have entered the Ruding State. The reason is being misled by the teachers who teach the scriptures. Those dharma masters don’t understand what it is like to enter the Ruding State, and explain that it is very difficult to enter the Ruding State.
When they know that you are practicing the Ruding Technique, they will ask you to be careful about being possessed by evil spirits. In fact, the Four Meditations and Eight Concentrations are not exclusive Buddhist practices. Outsiders can also practice them.
Why is it that when some Buddhists practice the Ruding Technique, they are afraid that there may be problems with the practice? The reason is that they do not have a correct understanding of what the First Jhāna state to the Fourth Jhāna state are.
To be continued.
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Folks, that is all for now. If you think this article may be beneficial to your friends and loved-ones, feel free to forward this article to them. Life cultivation is mostly for older people with declining body health. If you are young and energetic, this may not be your cup of tea. However, if you have family members or friends who are middle-aged or older, they may want to practice life cultivation to maintain a life without pain or medication.
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Stay tuned for the next episode: Keys to Jingzuo and Ruding.
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