Commentary on the text “On Preserving the Spirit and Training Energy,” Sun Simiao
“The five stages of comprehending the Way are as follows:
The first stage.
There is much agitation and little calm in the heart; consciousness is entangled in thoughts; there is no constancy in relation to things, and thoughts rush forward without restraint, like a wild horse. Such is the heart of ordinary people.”
This reminds us of our own state when we begin practice from the state of ordinary people. As living beings, we consist of body, speech, and mind; in other words, body, energy, and spirit (consciousness). In the beginning, these things are confused and not purified. When they are confused and not purified, the light of the primordial Source of our “I” is seen very faintly. “Consciousness is entangled in thoughts” means that our awareness is obscured by thinking; awareness is displaced by thoughts and various emotions, and therefore our consciousness is impermanent; there is no constancy in relation to things. When consciousness is impermanent, thoughts leap forward without restraint.
From the state of ordinary people, through the practice of self-discipline and contemplation, we must attain the next stage.
“The second stage.
The heart gradually inclines toward calm, but it is still scattered, and it is difficult to keep it in check. Yet there is already diligence and reasonable thoughts. Such is the beginning of seeking the Way.”
At the second stage, we gradually acquire this very calm that arises from contemplation, but we still have distraction; therefore, with slight deviations or influences, we again lose inner calm and balance, and lose inner self-sufficiency. But at least we have an understanding of the spirit of impeccability.
“The third stage.
In the heart, agitation and calm are equal, and calm in the heart already seems attainable. In the heart, calm and distraction are equal, and diligence in comprehending the Way becomes habitual.”
At the third stage, we have a small victory: we have made efforts to control ourselves and be aware, and at last we manage to be in contemplation for half of our time. Although distraction still exists and agitations occur often, nevertheless we already know where this state is; for half the time we already abide in constant contemplation. Then our vigilance gives us such impeccability in practice that we almost no longer make mistakes. When there is no vigilance, we may communicate incorrectly, become angry, or do something carelessly; we think, “It’s nothing serious.” We do not yet have an understanding of the total spirit of the approach—whether to practice, service, communication, or anything else. We have not yet discovered this spirit of totality. But when we have discovered it, inner impeccability appears in us, an inner core. Such a yogin no longer bends; he has no emotions, no agitations, no suffering. Even if he takes on someone else’s karma, his consciousness is fully under control.
When this stage is realized, the yogin moves on to the fourth stage.
“The fourth stage.
There is much calm and little agitation in the heart; mastery of one’s heart has become habitual. There is already the skill of mental concentration: when attention is lost, it can be quickly restored.”
Here we can constantly remain in contemplation, although there are still distractions. These distractions are constant, but the returns are also constant. We are in continuous deep awareness, yet consciousness habitually gets distracted for two or three seconds and then immediately returns. We have already become accustomed to mastering ourselves and our heart. Whether we find ourselves at the market, with friends, traveling by train, seeing a policeman, or encountering danger, we constantly master our heart. Now nothing can shake us anymore. We constantly abide in a deep state of mental concentration without effort. At this level, the need for gross desires falls away, as does the interest in actively socializing with friends or seeking support for oneself in something external. We know that there is only one support. When attention slips away, inner vigilance compels us to return to this attention; now the senses are under control. The question is to continue developing such vigilance.
“The fifth stage.
Peace reigns in the heart. You perform an action as though doing nothing at all. Even under external influence, no disturbance arises in the heart. There is complete mastery of the heart, and no place for the scattering of the spirit.”
When we constantly live in the state of the fourth stage, the fifth comes by itself—serenity appears. Serenity means that our deep-seated confusion regarding ourselves, the world, and life disappears; all questions and the like disappear; and even when we do something, this peace is never lost again. The yogin no longer has any plans or hopes; attachments fall away like dry leaves from a tree; his breathing becomes rare and shallow; his channels are purified by the power of contemplation alone. He feels lightness in the body; he is constantly joyful because he feels inner freedom. His consciousness is very even; now nothing will trouble him anymore. He no longer knows any agitation—there is neither tomorrow nor yesterday. He feels great zeal on the path and great strength of spirit in impeccability. He never has tamas anymore; he is able to sit in meditation for a very long time and not lose contemplation, whatever he may be doing. Whatever he begins to do, he does it with complete concentration and self-giving. He no longer has any doubts or wavering of the mind. The mind becomes very strong and one-pointed; it never grows tired; worldly desires no longer disturb him.
When these five stages have been passed, then we have truly become established in contemplation; we contemplate our primordial Reality. It cannot be said that we have realized the Absolute, but at least we have already come very close to Him. The fifth stage is the state that precedes awakening.
The Seven Stages of Realizing the Path
“From this time onward, seven stages must be passed through.
The first stage.
All constraint and malaise disappear; the body is light and the heart serene; you leave thinking behind and penetrate inward. The spirit and energy are calm; the six senses know no agitation. You penetrate the One, hold to the middle, and each day brings new joys. This is called realizing the path.”
At this stage, the state of the yogin differs greatly from that of an ordinary person and even from that of an ordinary practitioner. Practitioners, even if they are not ordinary people, nevertheless have an energy level similar to that of ordinary people. Sometimes they have anger, sometimes irritation, sometimes tamas; sometimes they practice very well, but their consciousness may still fluctuate, and the great inspiration of the Dharma is not yet within them. They practice simply because it is their duty or because they have an understanding of the Four Mindfulnesses. They have devotion to the truth, but all of this is still mental.
At this stage, however, the divine light begins to burn within them of its own accord. Their practice becomes the greatest inspiration; every meditation session now brings the experience of samadhi; every day becomes a profound insight. Such a yogin lives in amazed delight at the world; he contemplates God within himself and God outside, seeing no difference between the inner and the outer. When this stage of contemplation is reached, the Dharma begins to reveal all its secrets one after another.
For example, in the evening a monk sat down for mahashanti meditation and in two hours realized “infinite space.” At seven o’clock he sat down as one person, and at nine he was already another, deeper one. And the next day, sitting down in meditation, he realizes the next stage—“infinite consciousness.” And thus his realization does not cease: whether day or night, he penetrates ever deeper and deeper with his mind, and the secrets of contemplation reveal themselves to him one after another. Whatever he may be doing, he is absorbed in uninterrupted abiding in nonduality.
The following stages are stages in which consciousness unites with energy, as a result of which various abilities are revealed. Before these stages are reached, there are various obstacles, much wavering, uncertainty, misunderstanding, and so on. But when these stages have been passed, all obstacles disappear.
Overcoming the Period of Sorrows
I have read the experiences of Christian monks. They often write about how they endured sorrows. Each monk writes about how he enters a period of great sorrows. What does a period of sorrows mean? They say that grace leaves them, they shed tears over their “fallen state,” because they no longer have either grace or inspiration, but only sorrows. This happens because they lead an ascetic life; the senses do not enjoy themselves, and then the energy stops rising to the sahasrara as it does in ordinary people through worldly desires, clarity declines, and a state of tamas, obscuration, and so on arises. Therefore they say: grace disappears, and there is only the struggle with the devil. The lower chakras and worldly desires remain, so a struggle with desires in the lower chakras arises without the state of grace. One who goes through this struggle is then purified and, after long labors, obtains such grace that he ceases to suffer.
When you have mastered contemplation, you are continuously open to such grace, because contemplation in itself removes all obstacles and problems. This does not mean that they all disappear for you immediately; they are there, but now you deal with them without difficulty.
