Sitting Still Doing Nothing
Sitting still (jing dzuo) is the Chinese term for meditation, and doing nothing (wu wei) is the ancient Taoist principle of noninterference in the rhythms and patterns of nature. In chi-gung, still forms practiced in sitting postures are referred to as still practice (jing-gung), while moving forms done standing are called moving practice (dung-gung), or as some Western translators put it, moving meditation. In both moving and still forms, the breath always functions as a bridge between the body and the mind, anchoring here-and-now awareness in the human body and keeping the mind grounded in the reality of the present moment. Properly practiced, breathing brings the microcosm of the human energy system (Humanity) into a dynamic state of resonant harmony with the macrocosms of the cosmos above (Heaven) and the planet below (Earth), a sublime state known in Taoist alchemy as the Triplex Unity of the Three Powers of Heaven (tien), Earth (di), and Humanity (ren).
The main difference between the still and moving forms of chi-gung is that in still forms, the body stays still while the mind moves by following the breath; in moving forms, the mind stays still while the body moves by following the breath. The goal of both forms of practice is to develop the ability to maintain inner stillness in the midst of outer movement and to integrate this calm state of contemplative awareness with the ordinary activities of daily life. “True sitting,” wrote the Sung dynasty master Wang Che, “means that the mind is as still as a mountain at all times, regardless of what you are doing, in activity as well as repose.” The Buddhist Dzogchen master Namkhai Norbu makes the same point: “A true practitioner can appear to drink and laugh like others in a pub, but we can be sure that, without assuming the meditation posture, he is continuing in his state of presence.”
There are many different styles of meditation practice, but they all serve the same basic purposes: to awaken the mind to the primordial state of awareness “that is not born and does not die,” and to integrate the three dimensions of human life—body (physical), breath (energetic), and mind (spiritual)—with the pulses and patterns of nature (Earth) and the cosmos (Heaven), thereby bringing the eternal wisdom of Heaven to the temporal realm of human life on Earth (“as above, so below”).
A basic, simple, and effective form of daily meditation practice in the system of chi-gung is to start with a period of meditation on an object, such as a candle flame, a sacred image, or the movement of breath and energy as suggested here, and then to shift your attention to meditation without an object and relax into a contemplative state of alert repose, experiencing the basic nature of awareness. Focusing first on the rhythmic flow of breath—with the body still and the mind moving with the breath—grounds your consciousness in the energy manifesting in the present moment. Shifting the focus of attention to the subtle movement of energy from the crown to the gut that lies behind the more obvious movement of breath draws your consciousness into a deeper dimension of awareness and energy. In the final stage of this practice, you simply “sit still doing nothing,” without a focal point of attention. Instead, your attention rests in the state of attention, and awareness grows aware of being aware, allowing the human mind to transcend all limits of conditioned consciousness and experience the luminous space, crystal clarity, and infinite potential power of the primordial awareness and immortal spirit that glow in the human heart, linking each and every one of us to the One Source of Energy and Light.