STANDING MEDITATION AND SITTING MEDITATION
Standing Meditation
Question
I remember Sifu saying many years ago that he stopped doing sitting meditation as he felt his mind was getting too powerful (I hope this is correct and my apologies if not). I then remember Sifu saying more recently that he felt that our standing meditation at the end of our Chi Kung training, that we do for a few minutes, is now more powerful than sitting meditation. Sifu can you explain what you mean when you say "standing meditation is more powerful than sitting meditation” and why do you think so?
Sifu Mark Hartnett
Answer
The immediate reason why I didn’t teach sitting meditation in a lotus or semi-lotus position was because from practicing sitting meditation I found my mind had become too powerful. I recorded the actual experience in my autobiography, “The Way of the Master”. You can also read about it in Answer 13 of Questions on Wudang Kungfu, Taijiquan and Zhang San Feng.
I knew I would never abuse it; it would just be damn silly to do so. But I did not want those I taught to have the possibility of this burden.
The other reason why I didn’t teach sitting meditation in a lotus or semi-lotus position was because I found that the results of our standing meditation were those practicing sitting meditation hoped to achieve.
Benefits of meditation range from the basic of relaxation to the supreme of merging with the Great Void, with countless other benefits in between. We could achieve all these benefits in standing meditation which is safer and faster.
Why do we practice meditation? It is because of the benefits it gives. We do not practice meditation to show others that we practice meditation, which unfortunately is an object or aim of some people. If practitioners, like in my Merging with the Cosmos courses, can do so in 3 hours, it is unnecessary, in fact just silly, to practice sitting meditation for 30 years.
There is no doubt at all why we diligently practice our arts. It is to have good health, vitality, longevity, mental clarity and spiritual joys. It is certainly not that we want to show others that we practice meditation, kungfu or chi kung.
As we still live in our phenomenal world, it is not necessary to merge with the Great Void. But to have a glimpse of the Great Void, then return to our phenomenal world, is wonderful. It gives cosmic wisdom. It also overcomes the greatest fear that any human has, i.e. the fear of physical death.
I did not actually say that standing meditation is more powerful than sitting meditation. But I do say that for us standing meditation can give us benefits that sitting meditation can give, and in a faster and safer way.
Why do I say so? When we do standing meditation, we can be relaxed. When we do standing meditation, we can develop mental clarity and internal force, which contribute to peak performance. When we do standing meditation, we can merge with the Great Void, but we return to our phenomenal world where we work and live.
To be relaxed, to have peak performance, and to merge with the Great Void are the three categories of benefits of meditation, or spiritual training. Most people cannot relax. Most people do not perform at their best. Very, very, very few people can merge with the Great Void.
Sitting Meditation
The questions and answers are reproduced from the thread Questions on Wuji Stance or Standing Meditation in the Shaolin Wahnam Discussion Forum.
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