seventh world of chan buddhism - Zen Buddhist Order of Hsu Yun

PART III: PRACTICE
CHAPTER 10
FIRST ZEN PRACTICE: THE 1:4:2 HEALING BREATH
The road has two rules only:
Begin and Continue.
- Christmas Humphreys
In Eastern religions control of the breath is a beginner's first task. Most of the
theories offered in support of this immediate need to regulate the breath are of the
pseudoscientific stripe: "prana", "qi" or "chi" forces, which are considered positive,
masculine and solar, are said to be contained in the air. Breathing techniques are therefore
designed to help the body to absorb, circulate and store these forces. Whether or not these
theories can withstand scientific scrutiny is unimportant. The point is that whole systems of
yoga require the precise visualization of these `forces' and that however quaint such
explanations are they must be regarded as literal truth and given full faith and credit.
Likewise, any instructions given by book or by a master should be accepted without
too much in the way of analysis. It is always a mistake to intellectualize that which can only
be acquired intuitively. It is a mistake because what passes for righteous skepticism is
usually nothing more than a destructive ego's attempt to sabotage a practice.
There are, however, physiological considerations which, when understood if only in a
rudimentary manner, can influence a person's appreciation of the rules. Let's briefly consider
these:
All meditative practices strive to attain three levels of higher consciousness:
concentration, meditation, and samadhi. All three states require that the ego be bypassed.
When we concentrate, we lose track of time and of self. There is only the problem or
the music or the drama - whatever it is we are concentrating on.
Meditation is defined as a state in which the ego is transcended; and this means that
in the meditative state there cannot be any thoughts of I, me, my or mine. When we meditate,
all of the conditions of concentration obtain, but in addition, certain areas of our brain are
stimulated, and at the conclusion of the meditation we experience euphoria. These areas are
CHAPTER 10 FIRST ZEN PRACTICE: THE 1:4:2 HEALING BREATH
S EVENTH W ORLD O F C HAN B UDDHISM
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