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RETRE T
Lung The Meditator
:s' Disease
By Ven Lhundup Nyingie
The most important aspect of retreat is to keep your
mind happy
G e s he Lhundup S opa
Lhundup Nyingje Paula
March 2001).
nervous sys tem wh en we begin our m edi ta tion prac t ice .
Unless the lung i s v e ry severe , i t i s nothing to be a fra id
of or to wo rry about , i t is jus t a t rade haza rd tha t we can
lea rn to work wi th and endure . Lung i s our teacher
because i t i s the feedback w e rece ive when w e a re not
meditating properly or not l iving a balanced lifestyle.
Lung is the Tibetan word for "wind." Generally,
medi ta tor ' s lung i s conges ted chi in and a rou nd the
heart chakia . We a l l l ea rn about lung when w e a t tend
our f i rs t Tibe tan Va j rayana Bu ddhis t group m edi ta tion
re t rea t. Ei the r we ge t i t , or w e hea r about i t f rom our
fr iends who ge t i t . Lung l i te ra l ly m eans wind but w e
can translate i t , in this context, as "mental stress." The
mind r ides on the subt le winds of the body, and when
the winds do n ' t run smo othly , we fee l s t re ss .
W hen many peop le beg in a r e tr ea t on a T ibe tan
man tra yoga sadhana prac t ice tha t invo lves v isual iz-
ing com plicated forms , reci t ing l i turgy, and reci t ing
mantras , they discover af ter a week or a month that
the i r minds ac tua l ly becom e m ore ag i t a ted than they
w ere be fo re . They may ex per i ence pa in in the ches t
o r back pa in , headaches ; they may c ry eas i ly and
anger easi ly , too . They m ay fee l anxious o r have
pan ic a t t acks o r in s omnia . S ome peop le becom e
depressed. Some people have delus ional paranoia, or
hear th ings , or feel s trange sensat ions in their bodies .
Others have indige s t ion, cons t ipat ion, or d iarrhea.
Lung is of ten exper ienced as a negative at t i tude
tow ard the p r ac t ice ( you r mind and body w an t to
s top ) so you exper ience do ubts about the pract ice,
doub t s abou t you r l ama . Lung can becom e bad i f i t i s
not remedied, and if the person continues the pat tern
that causes i t , that person can become severely
me ntal ly dis turbed. But that is rare . Mostly i t ' s a
good cas e o f nega t ive mind o r a nagg ing obs es s ion
tha t w on ' t go aw ay . S omet imes lung m an i f est s a s an
aversion to med i ta t ing . You just don ' t wa nt to go
back and s i t on that cushion
Anyone u nder menta l p ressure and s t ra in exper i -
ences lung . Mee t ing dead l ines a t work , family s t ress ,
and s tudy ing fo r f ina l exams br ings on lung . Everyone
has the i r ow n sty le o f lung . I t ' s a good idea to learn
your personal pa t tern so you can know when to re lax
in your re t rea t . When y ou s tar t to fee l negat ive o r can ' t
s leep one n igh t o r have ind igest ion , o r when you
uncontro l lab ly g rowl a t someone, then you know i t i s
t ime to rest , to back of f on the in tensi ty o f your p rac-
t ice . Of ten there are s igns tha t ind ica te lung is on the
verge o f b reak ing ou t in to major symp toms. For me, I
a lmost a lways have an anxie ty d ream based on the
theme of the n igh t before a f ina l exam at un iversi ty
when I haven ' t s tud ied a t a l l and I 'm f ran t ic . That te l ls
me, "T ime to s low dow n, Nying je- la " W hen I used to
star t design ing fash ions in my m edi ta t ion sessions
whi le rec i t ing a mantra , I knew i t was t ime fo r a good
long break and a w alk .
W h e n so m e o f o u r wo n d e r f u l T ib e ta n m a s t e rs
f i r s t encountered people f rom m odern industr ia l ized
socie t ies , they we re impressed with our level o f edu-
cat ion and in te l lec tua l acu i ty ; thus, they assume d we
would m ake grea t p rac t i t ioners . They taught us
advanced prac t ices and soon w atched us a l l ge t lung
I th ink th is is rather l ike a f igure skat ing m as ter who
discovers a g roup of ba l le t dancers and th inks they
wil l make grea t f igure skaters . The bal le t dancers ge t
out on the ice and try to dance, and they al l end up
with spra ined an ldes and broken bones. We have these
grea t ly ac t iva ted minds, bu t they developed withou t
any awa reness o f the winds tha t car ry those mind-
by tes . Watch ing our b rea th and learn ing about our
wind-m ind before we add a l l the v isual iza t ions and
ma ntras is like skat ing round and rou nd the r ink for
hours and hours before we eve n t ry to tu rn around on
the skates .
Geshe Rabten thought a l l Weste rne rs have tsog
lung
(chronic hea rt lung) . Afte r he spent a yea r leading
a ca lm abiding re t rea t for Weste rne rs , Gen Lamrim pa
sa id to us tha t he thought W este rne rs could never lea rn
to medi ta te : Our minds a re too fas t because we grew u p
wi th machines and compu te rs . In othe r words , we a l l
have chronic low-grade anxie ty or t sog lung. I t i s so
ubiqui tous tha t we think i t i s norm al . There i s an
epidemic of depress ion and an xie ty in modern indus t r i -
alized society that is growing rapidly, even among
chi ldren. Our l i fe s tyle gives us lung. T his same so urce
of m ost of our hea l th problems i s a l so wha t causes us to
have a difficult t ime in med itation retreats.
Wh en we ta lk about lung, we must d i s t inguish
be tween acute lung and chronic lung. Acute lung comes
from con cent ra ting too ha rd on the manda la or rec i t ing
mant ras too fas t or working too ha rd in se rvice a t our
jobs, or frustration in relationships. Chronic lung can be
treated with herbs, diet , acupuncture, Tibetan medicine,
and ta lking the rapies . I would t ry these opt ions be fore
going to pharm aceut ica ls because in the long run these
chemica ls may only comp ound the imba lance .
How ever, when sym ptoms a re e spec ia l ly in tense ,
people may n eed immed ia te re l ie f . One m ight dec ide to
take pharmaceu t ica ls fo r a shor t t ime, wi th the he lp o f
other support ive the rapies, and then s lowly wean one-
se l f off the pharmaceut ica ls . I would recomm end
checking wi th a lama b e fore taking any pharmaceut ica l
chemica ls . I t is m y imp ress ion tha t they a re dispensed
fa r too eas i ly , and they may ha rm the body and m ind in
the long te rm. I f a pe rson i s wi l l ing to change the i r ea t -
ing habi t s , t ake he rbs , or go to an acupunc turi s t and/or a
skillful psychotherapist , pharmaceutical medicines are
most l ikely not necessary.
How and
w hy w e
get lung
Kirt i Tsenshab Rinpoche to ld us tha t fa i th and
intention are the m ain activities of tantric practice. This
i s so important . We ge t lung because we don ' t know this
essent ial ingredient . We ge t too se r ious and t ry ve ry
hard to see a l l the de ta il s of the manda la and to say
thousands of mant ras a day, th inking tha t more
is
better.
This gives us lung.
In Tibe tan m edic ine , lung (wind) im ba lance i s
related to attachment; bile imbalance is related to
anger/aversion; and phlegm imbalance is related to
ignorance . At f i rs t , it may not be so c lea r how un ski l lfu l
meditation that leads to lung is related to attachment. If
you think of a t tachment a s the m ind tha t wants , tha t
grasps , tha t c lings , and then check up w hi le you medi-
ta te , you can see ho w a sub t le ve rs ion of grasping and
c l inging can abide wi th you as you focus on you r medi-
ta t ion objec t . I t comes in the form o f want ing m ore
c la r i ty than you have , or want ing to f in i sh up, or not
want ing to f in i sh . I f you a re in a neut ra l s ta te of mind,
and then th ink of something you w ant to do, you can
feel a slight t ightening in your chest, a l i t t le excitement
or anticipation. Most of us think this is happiness, but i t
i s ac tua l ly a s ta te of grasping. T his can a l so cause lung.
Those who do and don t get lung
People who medi ta te for s t re ss reduc t ion purposes
only and a ren ' t in te res ted in a t ta ining enl ightenment
probably don ' t ge t lung. We ge t lung because we a re
t rying to do
something, t ry ing to a t ta in som ething,
instead of relaxing and lett ing it happen naturally. Lung
comes from forc ing our mind beyon d i t s capac ity to
stay relaxed while meditating. The key to good medita-
tion is a relaxed m ind. W e don ' t o f t en know w he n w e
are forc ing our mind unt i l we ge t lung We a re habi tu
a ted to having a s l ight ly grasping or exc i ted mind when
we do things , because th is i s of ten where we f ind the
energy to do wh a t we want to do; but th i s does not work
for us when w e want to medi ta te . We ge t lung from
forc ing our minds to s tay on the med i ta tion objec t when
i t i s ti red . We ge t lung from saying the mant ra too fas t
and for too long. We ge t lung from forc ing a visua l iza -
t ion to be c lea r . We ge t lung from t rying to keep the
thoughts a t bay ins tead of unders tanding tha t i t 's okay
for thoughts to come and go. W hat we a re looking for i s
to s tabi l ize on the mind tha t l i es be low the thoughts . No
accepting and no rejecting. . . the ocean, not the waves. . . .
R e m e m be r?
Lung usua l ly com es on ve ry s lowly, a f te r days of
forcing concentration or reciting mantras too fast with-
out be ing aware of i t . By the t ime y ou rea l ize you have
lung, i t ' s ve ry ha rd to diss ipa te wi thout s topping the
medi ta t ion a l toge the r and res t ing the mind for a few
days by engaging in fun and play. Lung jus t seems to be
part of lea rning how to do V a j rayana prac tice . The more
you prac t ice , the sooner you ca tch the habi t s tha t lead to
lung, and the re fore , i t becomes le ss of a problem.
The m ore you m edi ta te , the more you a re able to
perce ive the tex ture of your m ind, so you can see o r
hea r the m is takes jus t a s an a r t is t or a m usic ian would.
L
ung (pro-
nounced
"bong ") , o r
"medi ta tor ' s
d i s e a s e , " happens to
almost every meditator,
even ve ry experienced
ones. It is similar to an
athlete who strains a
musc le and then has to
rest for a wh ile to let that
musc le hea l . We m edi ta -
tors s t ra in our ne rvous
sys tems. Some of us
already have a strained
10 MANDALA August September 2004
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RETRE T
dvice about Lung from Lama Zopa Rinpoche
I t just takes time on the cushion. Like a ny other form of
discipline, i t only becomes easy with a lot of effort. . .
r ight effort: gentle, loving, relaxed, no expectation, no
pushing effort. We need to remem ber that one of the
four powers of joyous effort in Shanticleva's teachings
on the six perfections is the power of rest. hi modern
industrialized society, resting is a sign of w eakness.
Rest is just as important as activity in manifesting any
sort of production.
Tibe tan master s descr ibe the process o f medi ta -
t ion as be ing s imi la r to t r a in ing a wi ld horse . I f you
te ther i t to a shor t rope and t ry to b eat i t in to submis-
s ion , you wi l l have a v ery d i f f icu l t t ime taming tha t
horse . Bu t i f you give i t a la rge co r ra l to run in and
approach the wi ld an imal w i th k indness and love , you
can r ide tha t horse in a shor t whi le . W e have to t r ea t
ourse lves very gen t ly . Ribur Rinpoche te l ls us over
and over again, " . . . r . .e. .1. .a. .x. . . ." This is the key to
m e d i ta t ion w i thou t l ung .
LUNG
Prevention Management
1 . Don ' t push yourse lf , your body o r your mind
more is not bet ter and might is not r ight . W hatever
you do , do i t fo r o thers
2. Pros trate before sess ions or do chi gong in the
breaks. Twice a day is good, i f you can .
3.
Begin your session w i th a qu ie t t ime, ca lming
your mind, tuning in to your energy. Breathe into your
lower chakras and le t the anxie ty come ou t . Mel t the
tension wi th the exper ience o f re fuge . Soo the your
inner child; listen kindly to its complaints.
4. End your sess ion with f ive minutes of spa-
cious m edita t ion , jus t re lax ing in to the three c ircles of
emp tiness of dedicat ion or re lax at the dissolu tion
t ime. Even thoug h you w ant to get up, jus t s i t and
breathe in to the men tal tens ion unt i l your mind is
relaxed. Aim to end the sess ion before you are t i red.
Also , you can v isual ize your hollow body f i l led with
f ive-colored l ights radiat ing out a l l the lung and
bless ing al l the sent ient beings and the env ironme nt .
5.
Spend a l i t t le t ime e very day , i f possib le ,
re lax ing your gaze by looking up at the sky or s tar ing
out a t a long dis tance v iew as you g ent ly recognize
empt iness . Th is rea l ly le ts the lung ou t .
6.
Eat enough protein and cut back on (no t cut
out ) a l l sweets . Eat a w ell-balanced diet , su i ted to
your body type and heal th needs , i .e . , s tudy nu tr i tion .
Exerc ise s ix days a week .
7.
Learn to re lax in a l l your act ions . Medita t ion
is play , not work. Relax : Lie dow n or s i t in a comfor t-
able chair or do chi gong for a few m inutes af ter your
sess ion ends . (This is adv ice f rom His Holiness the
Dala i Lama. )
8.
Don ' t force your v isual izat ion . Be sat is f ied
wi t h wh a t c o m e s .
9.
Contentm ent is the key to a good retreat ; cul t i -
v a t e co n ten tmen t an d a h appy m in d . Med i t a te o n th e
innermost jewels o f the Kadam gesh es every day . The
key to contentm ent is breath ing with bodhichi t ta a l l
the t ime. Detach yourself f rom grasping exper iences
by a deep unde rs tanding of karma, and le t go of a l l
not ions of blame and sham e. "Follow your bl is s ," as
Joseph Cam pbel l used to say .
10.
"Set your re-set but ton" once a w eek, i f not
once a day . Th at i s , r ecrea te un t i l you fee l grounded,
o pen , j o y f u l , c l ea r , an d m o t iv a t ed .
[Excerpted from a forthcoming book of selections of
advice from Lama Zopa Rinpoche to students on
everything from specifie practice questions to
personal problems. The book will be on sale later
this year.]
1
To a monk who has lung
"I unders tand about lung . When one is bored and
t i red of doing prayers , one sees the prayer book, and
lung com es . Things that are dif f icul t and th ings that
we do n ' t l ike br ing lung . I don ' t th ink that the th ings
you real ly enjoy g ive lung . Do you agree? Sometimes
w h en y o u do s o me th in g w i th s o mu ch en e r g y , s u dden -
ly the energy changes and then you change; you g ive
u p . F o r ex ample , a mo n k w o r k ed s o h a r d f o r a v e r y
long t ime with com puters , even through the n ight ;
then i t suddenly changed, and he couldn ' t do it any-
more . The energy just changed
"So in th is case, some thing that you get bored
with and don ' t l ike wi l l g ive you lung. Psycho logica l ly ,
the ant idote is to accept . Wh enever you enco unter
problem s , ra ther than being unhapp y about i t , accept
i t as a result of pas t karma , then i t no longer becom es
a problem, or i t i s mu ch less of a problem. Think
especial ly of the benef i ts . Kadam Geshe Karab
Gom chung said that even a small suf fer ing in the
present f in ishes heavy pas t negat ive karmas that cause
us to be reborn in the lower realms , where we w ould
exper ience su f fer ing fo r many eons. As a resu l t , there
will be a ha ppy l i fe in the fu ture .
"Therefore , one should m edita te , re jo icing in the
suffer ing . Of course, as you know from thought t rans-
formation, you can use your problem to pract ice bod-
h ich i t ta , use i t fo r the ' tak ing and giving ' p rac t ice
tak ing al l sent ient beings ' suf fer ing in the form of
pollu t ion through the nos tr i ls , tak ing i t in to the hear t ,
des troying al l the ego and the self -cher ish ing thought
com pletely , so there 's noth ing lef t . Do th is a few
times . At o ther t ime s , th ink, 'I 'm expe r iencing th is for
al l sent ient be ings . '
"By doing th is , you collect sk ies of mer i t , and the
body becomes l ike a wish-grant ing jewel. With th is
body , when y ou exper ience su f fer ing fo r o thers wi th
each taking and g iv ing , many eons of negat ive karma
are pur if ied. Each t ime you com e closer to enlighten-
ment . Th is i s the best p rac t ice , as you know
" Y o u can a l s o u s e th e lu n g in cen s e made by
Tibetans, apply Tiger Balm, o r take the Tibe tan med i-
c ine , Akara-soga 35, fo r l i f e -wind s icknesses . "
2 To a student who could not sleep
"People in the W est th ink tha t i f you do no t s leep
there is something w rong with you , but is i t i s only a
problem i f i t i s causing harm to your hea l th ; o ther -
wise , i t can be very usefu l . Maybe people w ho need to
do c lear l igh t medi ta t ion need to s leep . Actua l ly , my
job is pu t t ing people to s leep , I th ink you know th is
"I f you can ' t fa l l as leep, one method is to do
prayers and read the Lam -r im. Mayb e i f you t ry to
med ita te for a long t ime you w il l fa ll as leep.
"For problems associated with lung eat ing meat
can be very b enef ic ial , and eat ing gar l ic and onion
can help as well . Also , one can dr ink broth made f rom
bones , boi l ing the bones in hot w ater [see
Mandala
June-Ju ly 2004 Tibe tan M edic ine] .
"The bes t th ing to do is the pract ice of the 35
Confess ion Bud dhas , with pros tra t ions and reci ta t ion
This may he lp because i t pur if ies your negat ive karm
and creates the cause for you to achieve enlighten-
ment . You can d o i t in the morn ing o r even ing."
3
To a student who said she had had lung for the
past three years
"Visualize the guru on your crown. Nectar f lows
from the guru 's hear t down in to your body, speech,
and m ind, pur ify ing i l lness , spir i t harm, negat ive
karma, and obscu rat ions (especial ly lung energy). As
you v isual ize th is , reci te the guru 's mantra .
"This method can also be used for any heavy
s ickness . While the guru is s t i l l on the crown of your
h ead , m ak e s t r o n g r equ es t w i th to t a l r e l i an ce o n th e
guru fo r th is nega t ive karma to be pur i f ied comple te ly
Do th is before absorbing the g uru in to the hear t .
"When you have s t rong lung , while s tanding ,
v isual ize an i ron n ine-pronged vajra a t your hea r t ,
in s ide your body . T h is i ron va j ra i s r ed-ho t , b laz ing
oneness with f i re . Concentrate pointedly on that vajra
That is the main pract ice ."
4 To a nun was suffering from lung in the
heart and depression.
R in po ch e r eco mmen ded acu pu n c tu re an d th e
following Tibetan precious pi l ls : Moo n Crys tal , three
a week for seven weeks , and Rinchen Jumar , four
t imes a week for seven w eeks . This completely got r i
of her lung.
5 To a monk who had been experiencing serious
lung while attending the Basic Study program
He had beg un hav ing dif f icul ty s tudying , to the
point that he reques ted permiss ion to become a pa r t-
t ime s tudent . He reques ted Lam a Zopa 's adv ice as to
whether he shou ld remain at the s tudy center and do
par t- t ime s tudy, or work par t- t ime. He also asked
R in po ch e to r eco mm en d a p r ac t i ce f o r h im to do .
Rinpoche responded as fo l lows:
"Ear ly in the morning , and at n ight , breathe in
very s t rongly and then brea the ou t v ery s t rongly .
Think that the lung has gone out as negat ive karma.
Do th is many t im es . Also do the phys ical exercises
f rom the Six Yog as o f Naropa . Ch i gong is a lso
helpful.
"There is a special lung pract ice cal led Ma th
H ar du n th a t Lama T s o n g k h apa came ac r o s s w h en h e
was s tudying and w as manifes t ing the aspect of lung .
He rece ived the prac t ice f rom an o ld Sa lcya m onk . I t
may be dif f icul t to find, but you could ask a g eshe. A
s tuden t rece ived the t ransm ission fo r th is p rac t ice
f rom Kir t i Tsenshab Rinpoche and was cured jus t by
r ece iv in g th e t r an s mis s io n . " *
A u g u s t / S e p t e m b e r 2 00 4 M A N D A L A