Book 51 Highest Yoga Tantra and Mahamudra《無上密與大手印》「靈熱與明點內火」
‧Written by Sheng-yen Lu‧
The city of Seattle is situated in the State of Washington in the United States. Washington is in the northwest region of America, and shares a border with Canada. This state is five times the size of Taiwan, and has a population of four million [as of 1984]. Because it is located in the north, it is freezing cold in the winter. In the winter of 1983, a heavy snow reduced the temperature to minus thirty degrees Celsius at night, with a daytime temperature of around minus ten degrees.
At that time, the rivers and lakes were frozen. I carried a pail of water outside and it turned into a big ice cube in an instant. Everything was covered with snow and ice. Many household pipes or car radiators burst or cracked. Accidents of different kinds were visible all around, due to the difficulties of controlling the cars on ice.
Even pen ink was frozen, not to mention the dew on the windows of my True Buddha Attic that had also turned into ice. Nonetheless, I continued with my meditation, without a heater in the attic. In the severe cold winter, I had to rely on the heat generated through Mahamudra to counter the freezing cold. In my attic the cold air had consolidated into ice, yet my body was sweating lightly like a stove that was warm all over. This is the psychic heat or inner heat produced by Mahamudra practice.
Here is the method for producing psychic heat:
We stabilize ourselves with the seven-point posture of Vairocana and regulate our breathing.
Visualize a spot about four fingers beneath the navel. It is a place where the three channels, the left channel, the right channel and the middle channel converge, which is known to the Taoists as the dantian. In this spot there is the Sanskrit syllable half AH which has the width of a hair follicle and appears red. This half AH trembles and vibrates like the flame that trembles in a stove. In your visualization, feel that the little flame residing at the junction of the three channels is warm.
While one is still seated, breathe in using the complete inhalation approach, so that the wind enters the left and right channels (One may review this breathing method in my book, The Realization of the Master). When this breath of wind reaches the meeting point of the three channels, it fans the fire and increases the temperature of the red fiery flame. Consequently the short AH, that is as thin as a strand of hair, thickens and becomes even redder.
While performing complete breathing, one needs to visualize the exhalation of blue smoke. Thus each complete inhalation and exhalation is synchronized with the respective visualizations, and one continues this cycle of breathing.
Each inhalation and exhalation performed is called a breathing cycle. By performing ten such breathing cycles, the flame should reach the solar plexus chakra [located one to two inches above the navel]. With the next ten breathing cycles, the solar plexus chakra and its surrounding area should be filled with heated winds. The subsequent ten breathing cycles should cause the lower body to experience warmth all over. Another ten breathing cycles thereafter should raise the flame to the heart chakra. Another ten breathing cycles should move it fur- ther upwards to the throat chakra. Then, the next ten breathing cy- cles should raise the flame towards the third-eye chakra. Another ten breathing cycles should lead it to the crown chakra.
Once I heard that there was a highly adept monk who would place a teapot of cold water upon his head every time he sat in meditation. When the monk entered into meditative absorption, his body would remain very still. An hour later, the cold water in the teapot would turn hot and begin steaming. Such a feat is the yoga of psychic heat, which is the practice of drops and inner fire.
Those who are less adept in this practice may achieve a warm sensation around the region of the dantian. Even one’s lower body region feels like a stove and feels hot when touched with the hand.
(to be continued)
