Energy and Wakefulness

It is widely known that the Buddha’s teachings are expressed as the Path (Magga) that leads to Awakening (Bodhi) and Enlightenment (Vimutti). What is also well known is that mindfulness (sati) has a crucial role in development of the Path in the practitioner. However, what is less known and at places even lost in the practice of Dhamma is the role of cultivating energy in the process of developing a practice of meditation. 

There is hardly any conversation about the substance of the practice - energy - which sustains both correct virtuous qualities and factors of the Path. Let us explore this ‘missing piece’.

Atapi (ardency) and sampajanna (clear comprehension) converge to produce sati (mindfulness). Most people understand mindfulness as ‘moment-to-moment, non-judgmental awareness, cultivated by paying attention in a specific way, that is, in the present moment, and as non-reactively, as non-judgmentally, and as open heartedly as possible’ (Kabat-Zinn, 2015, 1481). In this practice one sustains the mind on the object with a continuous focus of attention, thereby comprehending it in accordance with three characteristics of existence: anicca (impermanence), dukkha (unsatisfactoriness) and anatta (ownerlessness). The latter part regarding the three characteristics is commonly missed by the secular definition of mindfulness. 

There is, however, another aspect to the application of attention, namely, generation of energy. It is understood that energetic effort (viriya) needs to be aroused in order to investigate the characteristics of existence and needs to be maintained through wakefulness (jagariya). What’s not spoken about is that energy is also produced as a byproduct of applying the mind to an object within the body. 

Within tantric traditions, such as Chan Buddhism, Yogic traditions and Daoism it is understood that the mind has a ‘substance’, which arises when attention interfaces with a somatic object. For the sake of uniformity, I shall refer to this substance as Qi (气, Chinese), although it has many names, Prana (प्राण, Sanskrit) being yet another well known translation. The idea of this substance being produced via sustained application of attention is contained within the teachings of the Budhha as part of various causation chains such as ‘Factors of Awakening’ and ‘Factors of Jhana’, found in the Pali Canon.

Table 1. Wakefulness within the Seven Factors of Awakening and the Five Factors of Jhana

As you can see in Table 1, application of attention (sati) either to investigate the nature of phenomena in accordance with the three characteristics (vipassana) or to attain deep calm (samatha), which unifies the mind into meditation (jhana), precedes the rapturous, energetically uplifting state known as pīti or joy. This joy is not an emotion, it is what arises when the object is literally ‘full of mind’: saturated with the ‘fluid of the mind’, that is, Qi. This is a somatic manifestation of awareness clearly defined by the change in the body. Joy is an expression of the quality of an attentive mind devoid of various fabrications (sankhara) such as intentions, emotions, perceptions and thoughts when this mind literally ‘fills’ the body. The process of ‘filling’ has somatic consequences that are far reaching: we will discuss them further in this article.

From my observation, what is often missed in the contemporary practice of traditional Buddhsim is that working with the mind has a tangible, not vague, bodily component to it. Yet, practices like Qigong, Yoga and Tantra have recognised this and built their systems not from ‘top to bottom’, as in, work with consciousness produces changes in the bodily energetics, but ‘bottom to top’: work with somatic manifestations of awareness produces shifts in perception of reality. In the development of advanced practitioners, such as, for example, guru Milarepa in the olden days (Heruka 2010) and Geshe Lama Konchong in modern times (Courtin 2002), both approaches were exercised at their fullest. 

To find again the ‘missing piece’ of cultivation, I urge practitioners to investigate the role of the body and Qi in the development of wakefulness, which is not at all a mental quality only. 

Both traditional Qigong practice and modern research (Britton et al, 2013),  recognise that wakeful state, as in, ability to stay awake for prolonged periods either reducing sleep or forgoing it entirely, constitutes a hallmark of well-developed capacity to unify the mind in meditation. As an example, Geshe Lama Konchong is said to have been able to live without sleep or food altogether (Courtin 2002). Whilst feats of complete wakefulness may not be accessible for the majority of people, who are not dedicated to renunciation, significant improvements in energetic efficiency of mental and physical functioning are definitely achievable via Qigong. 

As such, in Qigong we seek to establish a tangible connection with somatic manifestation of the mind - Qi. We look at the ways to ‘build’ this substance: increase its volume in the body. We study how to consolidate and anchor it in the abdomen and then how to mobilise it all around to nourish organs and open the body. Alongside this, we study how to harmonise various expressions of Qi that correspond to five elements / five key organs, as understood in the Chinese medical model of the body and mind, so that our psycho-emotional state starts to approach neutrality. Once the volume, anchoring and circulation of Qi are well established and sustained, we seek to ‘thicken’ this substance, so that it can tangibly and sometimes forcefully ‘grip’ the connective tissues that fill the body, thereby starting to reshape the way the body is internally lined up. 

This is a classic way of Qigong practice, which, as the legend has it, goes back to Bodhidharma (5th-6th Century CE), a semi-mythical patriarch of Chan Buddhism who arrived to China from India and spent nine years in the cave near the Shaolin monastery (少林寺) facing the wall. What he left in that cave, according to legend, were two scriptures known as Yijinjing (易筋经) Sinew Changing Classic, and Xisuijing (洗髓经) Marrow Washing Classic, that became foundational texts for tantric practitioners inclined to working ‘bottom to top’.

Attribution of these texts to Bodhidharma is considered to be a later doing of Daoist authors to give the texts more credibility as some researchers claim. According to Shahar, actual dating of the Sinew Changing Classic is around the early seventeenth century, which is deduced from dating of a postscript that accompanies some editions of the manuscript (Shahar 2008, 4155). As for validity of these historical attributions or non-attributions, firstly, it is hard to prove anything related to a semi-mythical figure such as Bodhidharma, secondly, historical context makes little difference in terms of practice. The principles of sinew changing have been proven to work by many generations and lineages of internal arts practitioners. That alone is enough proof of their validity.

According to the Yijinjing, the body needs to be transformed in the following sequence: 

Qi - connective tissues (fascial networks) - sinew channels (riverbeds for meridians) - flesh - tendons - bones - bone marrow 

That is, Qi needs to be developed until it is thick enough to grip and reshape the body, such that the latter transforms in the above sequence corresponding to the depth of penetration of Qi. Let us look at what arises on various ‘depths’ of engagement.

The following progression is derived from Bodhidharma’s legendary address to his disciples, which is often described in hagiographical texts (Ferguson 2000, 36). It’s also derived from contemporary rendering of the Sinew Changing process by Damien Mitchell, which can be found here. As a long term practitioner of these arts myself, I also rely on my personal experience of practising Qigong and internal martial arts, when compiling this sequence of development.

Level 0 - skin. This is where we feel Qi in the nerves. Tingling, ants running on the skin surface, rushes of warmth or cold, subtle and vague sensations, itches and discomforts arise at this level. Any beginner to Qigong is familiar with this.

Level 1 - connective tissues. Known in Qigong literature as Huang (肓) or ‘membranes’, these are most readily corresponding to fascial networks that run between tissues, tissues and bones, fill the spaces and uphold organs. This layer is the most susceptible to electromagnetic engagement via Qi. Once Qi grips these tissues, first of all the body connects up, like a unified whole. Then, an array of experiences arises known as Zifagong (自发功) or spontaneous self-expression. Depending on prior openness, the body may heat up, shake, shudder, bend, twist, splatter on the floor, etc. This happens due to the presence of blockages and toxins in the body that need unwinding and purging. Bound up tension and stagnation start to release at this level.

Level 2 - sinew channels. These are specific pathways in the connective tissues, which directionally correspond to meridians used in such modalities as Chinese Medicine. They constitute a physical component to the energetic nature of meridians. Once Qi hits these channels or jingjin (经筋) it starts to purge energetic clutter, which has been collected in them, which includes environmental and emotional pathogens. This is when Zifagong acquires the quality of eight experiences and emotional releases. Eight experiences are shaking, excitement, feeling cold, feeling hot, feeling light, feeling as if sinking, feeling tight, and feeling soft (Mitchell 2018, 45). These are effects of the mind’s interpreting of energetic information contained in the channels. Emotional releases are of the same origin, yet the mind interprets information as memories and emotions. Here a practitioner needs to be attentive to bodily expressions of those emotions in order not to get lost in the story, which unfolds in the mind. Vocalising, weeping, laughing, shedding tears may arise at this stage. All these reactions are not to be entertained, not to be clung to: one lets them pass without indulgence. 

Level 3 - flesh. This is the level of gross physical tissues, such as muscles and tendons, that also change under the influence of thick Qi saturating the body. As membranes grow under the influence of Qi, they thicken and extend into the bodies of muscles, thereby ‘vacuum-packing’ the body. This is when the body starts ‘filling out’, getting more dense and heavy without actually growing more muscle mass or adipose tissues. At this stage crevices and deepenings between the bodies of muscles start to disappear because something else grows in between them. Body developed thus far attains greater connectivity, which is reflected in the increase of strength such a body can exert. Such a body no longer acts according to leverage and muscle chains engagement but rather like a one big muscle evenly spread all across the body. This level of depth is used to generate power in the internal arts such as taijiquan, xingyiquan and baguazhang via mobilisation of Qi, hence the reason why these arts became incorporated in the systems of spiritual cultivation rooted in Chan and Daoism.

Level 4 - tendons. This isn’t really a level of tissues but rather a result of transformation of muscles. Under the influence of Qi and specific kind of training used in the internal arts, muscles attain tendon-like quality. Whilst being dense and not wiry, muscle bodies acquire a very tangible striated sense to them. Neither being soft and floppy nor tight and wiry muscles have fullness and definition pronounced upon palpation yet not visible on the outside aka on bodybuilders. These are types of tissues capable of conducting Qi, toned, stretched, like a drum-skin. This is nearly the end of the sinew-changing process: muscles have attained the quality of tendons

Level 5 - bones. Under the influence of thick Qi, tissues start ‘wrapping’ around and pressing onto the bones, creating a tight squeeze around them, causing Qi to saturate deep into them. The level of pressure created by Qi at this stage is rather uncomfortable, which causes aching and burning sensations in the bones. This is the sign of the process transferring to Marrow Washing.  

Level 6 - marrow. Qi has passed the bones and entered the marrow. In particular, marrow of the spine and marrow of the brain. This is where Sinew Changing process ends and Marrow Washing process begins - a meditative work, which only becomes available once Qi has penetrated through all the depths of the body, having transformed it. Marrow washing is a seated work that requires multiple hours of absorption. Needless to say, factors of jhana have to be developed to sustain it. This work also has a very tangible somatic component to it, which is a bit beyond the scope of this article to discuss. It is worth mentioning that this is the only stage whereby one’s congenital essence - the jing (精) - can be restored. Prior to this we’re working with acquired essence, preserving, nourishing and cultivating it, yet unable to actually increase its volume. As such, Marrow Washing restores the body on a profound congenital level, such that its capacity to produce Qi, which is necessary for spiritual practice, increases significantly.

It is understood that the body changed thereby becomes capable of sustaining the results of practice done on the level of the mind. 

Prior to this work being done one can attain deep states of calm and have glimpses of awakening, yet one is unable to sustain them because there is not enough Qi in the body and no appropriate interface to literally ‘embody’ the awakened mind. 

This brings me to the gruelling nature of the practice with the body– the intensity is not unlike that needed to train as a high performance athlete. As opposed to the imaginary or conceptual nature of the practice structured around the mind, tantric practice always has a feedback mechanism that are clearly perceivable changes on a somatic level. Very few experience the stage of 'marrow washing' through the practice approached with the mind alone. These few would already have solid foundations in meditation (jhana). For others, hard work is necessary on the level of the body and Qi. This needs to be done to ensure that a practitioner has a foundation to return to rather than creating and living in conceptual fabrications of their minds.

I argue that when accomplished teachers speak about the results of the practice and various higher Dhammas, it may not be greatly beneficial for the students if bodily parallels are not considered. The bodily equivalent of the attainment is the actual ‘inner door secret' of the work. When the stage of bodily accomplishment peaks, what arises are various siddhis or supernormal powers, which are described in many places of the Pali canon. What is not described are the ‘lower level’ siddhis, such as the ability to generate Qi in one’s body and issue it either into another’s body or fill the space with it, which are both bases for transmission. Higher degrees of resilience, antifragility, efficiency of the body's functioning, tangible increase in strength, endurance and the level of one’s performance are also ‘powers’ that can be considered as beyond what is ordinary. Increasing the amount of Qi in the system leads to higher robustness of one’s health, quicker repair of damages, and most importantly for those who seek to develop meditation, it leads to the ability of sustaining the mind on the object for longer periods. 

Every practitioner of mindfulness knows how frustrating the practice of meditation can be: not long after getting established on the object, the mind ‘wanders’. It cannot be sustained inside. It is taken out of the body. There are many reasons for that.

Firstly, there are reasons having to do with one’s conduct. If one’s conscience is not clear due to the harmful actions that one has done in the past, being inside is uncomfortable. It is like being in a dirty room: abiding there is not pleasant. This is why teachings on morality and ethical conduct are considered as the first level of practice, as a starting point and foundation of any cultivation system. If one’s conscience is clear, one can rest inside: it is a pleasant place to be, a refuge for the heart. This is why excluding the teachings on morality from popularised contemporary programs of developing mindfulness is, in my view, bizarre. 

Secondly, the mind is ‘kicked out’ of the body because the body is unhealthy. Being overweight or too skinny, having high levels of sugar in one’s system, presence of other toxins that stem from unhealthy lifestyle and diet will impact one’s ability to dwell inside. Such things are irrelevant only for those who are already accomplished in disidentifying from the body as self. Yet such are not many. Whilst being able to be present with a sickness is a good training for developing understanding of the first Noble Truth, dukkha, the truth of suffering, it is not conducive for developing samadhi, which requires one being able to be at ease whilst in the body or being able to not be bothered by the body at all. Being weak, i.e. having low muscle tone and inability to sit upright, is also a factor that will prevent one from remaining inside: there needs to be a degree of strength in the muscles and physical endurance to sit for long periods.

Thirdly, a blocked and stagnant body is not conducive to being ‘filled’. When the space inside is bunched up, the mind’s fluid literally can’t flow in. Blockages in the tissues arise from factors such as poor range of motion in the joints, lack of flexibility, poor coordination, and physical weakness. Other obvious reasons are scar tissues and other outcomes from injuries. Blockages in the channels arise, as already mentioned, due to external (environmental) and internal (generated via emotions) pathogens. In particular, chronic emotions are responsible for creating blockages. If one is habitually angry or frustrated, sad or depressed, worried or envious, this will be reflected in the functioning of one’s physical body. Patterns of syndromes within Chinese Medicine are precisely that: bodily effects of chronic unskillful mental activity. Because tissues and channels are blocked, Qi cannot flow and the mind cannot ‘fill’ the body, its object.

For the above reasons, as legend has it, Bodhidharma has implemented the principles of sinew changing in the routines of the monks who were living in the Shaolin monastery. Once again, historical evidence of Bodhidharma’s involvement with somatically-based training of the monks is feeble, his association with martial arts in the Shaolin monastery is absent altogether (Ferguson 2000, 37). Yet, traditional practitioners speak against it, both in Shaolin and in other traditions of internal arts. They claim that the method of the Sinew Changing, which transforms into the Marrow Washing, is a revolutionary approach to cultivation that dates back to the Buddha himself. In that instance, teachers like Damien Mitchell refer to the Buddha’s saying that worldly suffering, its origination, its cessation and the Path can be found in this ‘fathom-long body’. This phrase is encountered in various places of the Pali canon, in particular in the Rohitassa Sutta (AN 4.45)

Once the body is opened and conductive, pathogens are purged, health is robust, one’s ability to go inside increases. There is literally space that opens inside for the mind to absorb into. 

From here applying mindfulness to the object produces the first jhanic factor - rapturous joy (pīti). Arising of joy is the first unmistakable indicator of meditation going in the right direction. Not only does it show that a practitioner’s body is in a good enough state to absorb into, but it also shows that the character of such a person is suitable. It means that such a person neither has bugging karmic results that cause guilt and remorse, nor chronic psycho-emotional conditions that fill the body with toxic Qi. Another thing that arising of joy indicates is that a practitioner has to some degree developed the right kind of attention: attention devoid of mental fabrications and latent intentionality. 

Because rapturous joy is not an emotion, but a natural state of one’s being that shines forth when the whole body is filled with Qi, it provides access to what is called ‘refuge’. Refuge is a true source of sustenance that does not come from positive mental states or otherwise fulfilling states of one’s psyche. It arises from awareness immersed in the body. Mental states and psychological states are merely sankhara. Pleasant emotions are fabrications as well. Yet the uplifted state that shines forth just because one’s attention rests inside is not a sankhara. This is what is oft repeated in the Satipatthana Sutta in regards of a monk accomplished in mindfulness: he remains independent, unsustained by (not clinging to) anything in the world (See Satipatthana Sutta). Further development of the factors of awakening and the factors of jhana happens therefrom. 

As for the quality of wakefulness (jagariya), at the early stages of practice, when one builds Qi, more sleep and more wholesome food are required to support this process. As the body transforms, more sleep is required as well to allow time for tissue repair, which is best done during sleep. Yet, as the practice progresses, the need for sleep will lessen. This is what Britton et al have defined as ‘basic wakefulness’ in their research (Britton 2013). The more one’s body turns into a ‘Qi factory’ the less need for sleep and food there will be (For example, see Courtin, 2002). One attains capacity to concentrate for longer periods and, having established jhana, or meditation, one can sustain it for famously long periods. This is ‘advanced wakefulness’ that is supported by Qi and refined attentiveness, which has attained capacity to merge with its object. Such a capacity to sustain meditation is required to generate enough energy so that one can practise vipassana at the fullest. Only empowered by jhana, can the mind penetrate the fabric of delusion that veils the truth. Of course, without even reaching the fullest extent of this practice there are other benefits that come from it, such as greater stability, discernment, peacefulness, light-heartedness, resilience and more.

***

In this article I have sought to emphasise the importance of energy work in cultivation of the Eightfold Path of practice as laid out by the Buddha. In my view, it is strange that modern Dharma discourse uses terminology from and draws parallels with scientific and psychological discourses. Whilst it is important to make those connections, I believe that one ought to understand that transformative effects of the Path are not due to a change in one’s mental state, chemistry of the brain or due to simply becoming calm. The effects of the cultivated Path are deeper and more profound. One’s whole functioning is transformed as a result of practising the Path: one’s body, energy, and by extension, the mind. 

I have argued that, whilst it is not contradictory to approach the practice from the ‘mind gate’, one ought to make sure that the body, and energy are involved as well. The fruition of the Path (phala) arises as a result of developing the factors of awakening and transforming the body under influence of Qi, which arises from true meditation (jhana). The Marrow Washing Classic elucidates precisely this point: refinement of concentration in jhana is directly reflected in refinement of essence (Jing) and in the increase of energy (Qi) (Mitchell 2016, 265). The body transforms at a deep congenital level as a result of spending prolonged periods in jhana. Yet, jhana is available to only a few. For gret majority of practitioners a gradual path of developing the body, building Qi, refining Jing, opening channels in accordance with the Sinew Changing process and training the mind in virtue, concentration and discernment is required.

Formal sequences of progression aside, it would be highly beneficial to use one’s whole life as a practice, whereby we incrementally transform the body, cultivate energy, purify our conduct, cultivate wholesome qualities, abandon unwholesome qualities, receive and endure the results of unwholesome qualities that have been generated due to ignorance in the past, and deepen discernment in regards to causality. Whether we approach the practice with the body or with the mind, it all leads us to the greater goal of awakening. 

May all beings be well!

References

Britton B, Willoghby et al (2013). Awakening is not a metaphor: the effects of Buddhist meditation practices on basic wakefulness. National Library of Medicine web resource.

Courtin, Robina, Ven (2002). An Extraordinary Modern-Day Milarepa: The Life and Death of Geshe Lama Konchog. FPMT archive.

Ferguson, Andrew (2000), Zen's Chinese Heritage: The Masters and their Teachings. Somerville: Wisdom Publications

Heruka, Tsangnyon (2010). The Life of Milarepa. Trans. by Andrew Quintman. Penguin Books. 

Kabat-Zinn, John. (2015). Mindfulness. Mindfulness, 6(6), 1481-1483.

Mitchell, Damien (2018). A Comprehensive Guide to Daoist Neigong. Singing Dragon. London.

Mitchell, Damien (2016). White Moon on the Mountain Peak. The Alchemical Firing Process of Neidan. Singing Dragon. London.

Shahar, Meir (2008). The Shaolin Monastery. History, Religion and the Chinese Martial Arts. University of Hawai’i Press. Honolulu.