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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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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