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).

The Practice of Ruding Technique Continued

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. Here is the continuation of where we left off.

07 Beware of the critical changes

In the practice of the Ruding Technique, we must be aware of the following critical changes in the process.

Every time when we practice the Ruding Technique, we have to think: Ah, I’m about to enter the Ruding state now.

A beginner generally cannot do it right away. He would have to sit for a while until the pleasant feeling is almost released, there are no distracting thoughts, the thoughts become subtle, and the breathing becomes subtle.

At this point, he should withdraw quickly. As soon as he exits from the Ruding state, he should think: Ah, I’m about to re-enter the Ruding state now.

At this point, he will be able to re-enter the Ruding state.

There are three things to observe in the process of practicing the Ruding Technique: the breathing, the mind, and the pleasant feeling.

When should we observe these three things?

In our practice of the Ruding Technique, once we feel that our breathing is very fine, there are no distracting thoughts in our mind, and a pleasant feeling appears throughout our body, then we should not be attached to it, but withdraw quickly.

Why should we do it that way?

Once we withdraw quickly, we will feel the changes right away. We will feel our breathing become thicker, our mind becomes more confused, and our feeling of pleasure is receding. We are using this technique to force us to recognize the changes.

When the blissful feeling completely recedes, we should hurry up and focus again, first thinking that I am going to re-enter the Ruding state, and then focus on practicing the technique again. In this way, we should have the ability to return to the original feeling because we have just exited from it a moment ago.

That is to say, we have just come down from the First Jhana, and we must have the ability to return to the First Jhana again. When we re-enter the Ruding state, we should quickly observe the changes in our breathing, our mind, and the pleasant feeling to see their reappearance. These are three very important indicators because this process is the path to the Ruding practice.

08 Repetition

In this way, we carefully and repeatedly observe the three critical factors in our practice: our breathing, our mind, and the pleasant feelings.

We repeat the training. We enter into the Ruding state, then we exit from it. Then we enter into the Ruding state again, and then we exit from it again. The more times we repeat the process, the better we are. We will discover that we can do the in and out faster and faster.

Most practitioners do not know how to repeat the training to enter the Ruding state. Instead, they crave the pleasant feeling in the Ruding state without wanting to come out. Thus, they have not cultivated the ability to enter the Ruding state at will.

Therefore, as practitioners of Life Cultivation and the Mustang Ruding Technique, we should learn to enter the Ruding state and exit from the Ruding state repeatedly, especially during the beginning training stages. We do it repeatedly until we are very proficient and know how to enter the Ruding state at will.

Then we learn how to strengthen our concentration while in the Ruding state.

When practicing to strengthen our concentration, how long do we need to be in concentration?

09 Beginners entering First Jhana

A beginner should not stay too long at the First Jhana, five minutes is enough. He should stay at the First Jhana for five minutes and come out, but don’t get off the seat. He should re-enter the First Jhana for another five minutes and come out again.

Why should he do it that way?

If a beginner stays at the First Jhana for too long, his mind may become more refined and leave the First Jhana and he may go into the next level of Jhana without consciously planning for it. Thus he may venture into the higher levels with his breathing going finer, his mind going clearer, and his pleasure deeper. Now he is confused, which is not a good thing.

That is to say, when practicing to strengthen the concentration of the First Jhāna, within half an hour of entering the First Jhāna, the beginner must enter and exit the concentration state six times.

In this way, the beginner would have practiced the First Jhana for half an hour, but also learned how to get out and get in at the same time.

Once the beginner becomes very familiar and confident about going in and out of the First Jhana for five minutes each time, he can then practice going in and out for ten to fifteen minutes intervals.

Once the beginner has mastered the fifteen-minute interval, he can try to sit for one hour at a time. He will strengthen his concentration in this way. When he feels that this concentration is solid, then he can try to enter another concentration at a higher level.

This is our Ruding Technique. The end result is a state with no thinking. I do not exist, and the surroundings do not exist.

Now you have learned the Ruding Technique. All you have to do is to practice until you attain the end result.

The Mustang Ruding Technique

First of all, refer to the Mustang Tuna Technique to learn the proper way of deep breathing for at least one hundred days so that you will breathe properly.

Then you come back to this article and learn how to enter and exit the First Jhana. Once you master this, you will go on to the next level until you have mastered the Fourth Jhana.

Then you learn and practice the Mustang Ruding Technique.

However, a word of advice. Most of us, as practitioners of Life Cultivation, do not practice the Ruding Technique because it has no bearing on our immediate objective of longevity without medication and illness.

End of article.

Call to Action

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.

This is an extract of the full treatise published in the Mustang BodyWorks Series, a paid-subscription. You may buy this full treatise for the price of US$10.00, using your PayPal account.

Stay tuned for the next episode: Keys to Jingzuo and Ruding.

Call to action: Subscribe below for notification to read more new blogs for free.

Call to action: Subscribe to Mustang BodyWorks Series with our support. You may then practice life cultivation all by yourself at your home at your own pace.

Call to action: Join Mustang Life Cultivation Club for life cultivation practice with our support. You will have a personal mentor to guide you along.