01 Prerequisites for Jingzuo practice

As practitioners of life cultivation, most of us practice the tuna technique (deep breathing) and the jingzuo technique (sitting meditation) in one form or other to improve our body and mind.

However, for beginners of life cultivation, they should understand that the jingzuo technique has some prerequisites for practice.

First of all, we should not practice the jingzuo technique unless we have a solid foundation of life skills, and our mind has become clear. Then and only then we start to practice the jingzuo technique in order to quietly filter and precipitate our mind, restore our spiritual sense, and unlock our wisdom.

If we blindly practice the jingzuo technique, we may suffer from harmful effects as follows.

First, if we do not have a solid foundation in life cultivation, our vital-energy is insufficient and our meridians are usually blocked. If we practice the jingzuo technique at this point, we will feel drowsy and the practice will be ineffective. It will be a waste of time and effort.

Second, our blood vessel wall is fragile and our blood is thick. If we practice the jingzuo technique at this point, our blood will pool on the top of our head, leading to the formation of blood clots or the breaking of blood vessels. This is dangerous. Many people have suffered from this kind of accident.

Third, the beginning practitioners do not have a qualified master to guide him. The beginner starts to practice and it is easy for him to be confused. His mind may become delusional. In some cases, his body feels abnormally sore, numb and itchy, or he may see hallucinations when he closes his eyes. He may see lights around him, then he may imagine that he has seen the outer world, or the universe of the immortal Buddha.

If he is unlucky to have an unethical coach, he may be slightly misled and bewitched by the myth enforced by the coach into believing it. These kinds of mentally ill people are all over the Internet now. Some of them are actively trying to confuse other people, especially young people, labeling themselves as masters on the Internet.

Fourth, the practice of the jingzuo technique is progressive and sequential in terms of age and the stage of practice. If a child or a young person were to practice the jingzuo technique right away, they are like a tree without roots and water without a source. They will easily fall into a dried-Zen state in which his mind is like an extinguished ash and his spirituality totally broken.

02 Preparation for jingzuo practice

One. Choose a good location

It is best to find another quiet room in your home for meditation. If conditions do not permit it, you may use your bedroom. The windows and doors should be opened to allow the air to circulate inside the room, but do not sit anywhere with wind blowing.

Two. Be relax

Before sitting, loosen your belt so that the muscles are not restrained and breathing is smooth.

Three. Choose the right position

Practice in a sitting position. If you practice in the sleeping posture, you may feel drowsy.

Four. Choose the right sitting posture

When sitting, you may sit on the floor or on the bed or on a special chair. When you sit on the floor, you may use a futon or a yoga mat, but the floor should be flat. When you sit on the bed, your bed should be firm. When you use a meditation chair, follow the directions. You may use a cushion or a quilt on the seat if you plan to sit for a long time.

The common sitting postures can be divided into chair type, natural type, single cross-legged type, and double cross-legged type. Generally, it is best to use the double cross-legged posture. If you find it hard to adapt to the double cross-legged posture, then you may choose any other posture depending on your body condition. You may gradually change to the double cross-legged posture once you have improved your body condition.

Here are a few things to keep in mind when sitting cross-legged:

01) The back half of the buttocks is required to be raised higher, and a cotton pad or a thinner pillow may be used for this purpose. In this way, the waist will be straightened naturally, avoiding the disadvantages of slowly bending the back due to the fatigue of the psoas muscles during the practice.

02) The waist should be straightened naturally. If the waist is not straight, two important meridians may be blocked leading to drowsiness.

03) When seated, the head and the neck should be straight, and the lower jaw should be slightly retracted with the tongue touching the upper palate.

04) Because of daily habits, when seated, most people tend to turn their heads to one side, left or right, although they often feel that their heads are upright when practicing.

To correct the posture, when seated, put a mirror in front of you to see if your head and neck are straight, and correct them accordingly. If you have someone with you, you may ask him to help you in correcting your posture. Once you find the state of straight head and neck, then you should have the correct feeling of straight head and neck. This will automatically correct any imbalanced vital-energy flow in your body.

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: Part Two.

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