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When zandtaomed meditates he goes through the 4 stages of each of the 4 tetrads. The core of this table comes from "Mindfulness with Breathing" by Buddhadasa Bhikkhu, and the latest amendments are for an embodied love-wisdom discussed in this advice.
Depending on daily life commitments the full practice can be timely so zandtao starts with a summary table of keypoints.
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| Kaya |
Settling |
Internal Chi Gung [1] |
Short and Long Breaths |
Calming Kaya - one body |
| Vedana |
Releasing feelings from daily life |
Releasing special feelings |
Releasing past feelings |
Feeling love |
| Citta |
Using love express brahma-viharas |
Now |
Concentration |
Releasing mental attachments. Humility |
| Dhamma |
Anicca and Anatta |
Quenching dukkha. Atammayata |
Embody love and integration |
Abiding. Love Wisdom and tathata. |
Full LONG Meditation
 | This long version worked for a while but then I found it too difficult to go through all the stages during one long meditation day. I am working on how to resolve this. Initially internal chi gung then feeling love on a separate day ie tetrad 1 1st day then tetrad 2nd day,3,4 the next day???
The bad thing about what was not working was that I couldn't bring in love, and did not spend enough time on integration - 4th tetrad. |
Tetrad |
Stage |
Key Words |
Key Points |
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First |
1 |
Settling |
External release of attachment |
Kaya |
2 |
Internal Chi Gung [1] |
Circulating chi around body |
3 |
Short and Long breaths. |
Develop a kaya-conditioner routine. Breath - mind and body are one. |
4 |
Calm body |
Oneness - whole body |
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Second |
5 |
Generally release attachments arising from feeling. [4] |
Stopping spinning |
Vedana |
6 |
Release feelings descending the tai-Chi ridgepole into Mother Earth [2]. Release feelings arising from vedana - present and past feelings. |
Love happens - arising; not wanting love. Leading to mudita |
7 |
Calming feelings.
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Develop a vedana-conditioner routine
Detailed recognition of feelings |
8 |
Let Gaia's love arise - let love control vedana.
Feel at peace with love and the patriarchy. Oneness of kaya and vedana. |
Use the consciousness that is released from vedana to allow love to arise from Gaia, have faith in love, and once in these feelings of love look for a feeling of temporary nibbana - nibbana-dhatu |
Third |
9 |
Experiencing citta. Seeds 4 brahma-viharas |
Developing supramundane. Seeds of b-v. Seeds of supramundane love. |
citta |
10 |
Now |
Starting to balance love and wisdom in the now |
11 |
Concentrating mind Oneness of kaya, vedana and citta |
Stability, purity, activeness |
12 |
Liberating the mind from the one conditioning of patriarchy
Releasing consciousness for faith. |
End upadana and kilesa (now). Not attaching to the khandhas. HUMILITY. |
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Fourth |
13 |
anicca and anatta |
Integrate mind emotion and body in heart-consciousness |
Dhamma |
14 |
Dissolving attachment and fading away. Quenching dukkha |
Dhammajati - Nature itself, laws of nature, duty, rewards |
15 |
Atammayata leads to autonomy. Liberation that brings Wisdom. Sunnata, idappaccayata.
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Liberation is also love, love that is free from patriarchy. Chakra embodiment of love and wisdom (see [2]). Integrate whole being and then integrate with interbeing. |
16 |
Use released attachment as faith joining upwards with light of consciousness and awakening the heart. Abide on the path of love-wisdom. Deep knowing - wisdom. Deep loving. Love-wisdom leads to deep seeing - Vision. Tathata.
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Throwing it all back. Chakra ridgepole touching sunnata arising out of the balance of love and wisdom. |
[1] Internal Chi Gung
This is a routine I picked up from Daniel Reid's "A Complete Guide to Chi Gung", it has become necessary because my heart will not allow physical exercise. zandtaomed's version of this macroscopic orbit is done 3 times.
1) Breathe chi in from Source through the crown chakra down the centre of the body to the tan tien, and focus on the tan tien.
1a) Do this microscopic orbit around the 3 lower chakras on the 2nd and/or 3rd macroscopic orbit. From the tan tien bring the chi forward level with the tan tien then move it up to the solar plexus chakra. Breathe in yellow chi through the chakra and move the chi through the chakra to the back, moving the chi follow the spine down and round to the root chakra and breathe in red chi through the root chakra, move the red chi round to the sacral chakra and breathe in amber chi. Move the chi round level with the tan tien and move it back into the tan tien. Now do the same orbit in reverse, back from the tan tien then move the chi up following the spine until you are level with the solar plaxus chakra. Breathe in yellow chi and move the yellow chi forward through the solar plexus chakra until the chi touches the front of your body. Move the yellow chi down ....
2) From the tan tien breathe in down to the root chakra where you bring in chi from Gaia, and carry the chi along the spine up to focus on the 3rd eye chakra.
2a) During the 2nd and/or 3rd cycle of the macroscopic orbit breathe in light blue chi into the 3rd eye chakra. Move the light blue chi forward until it touches the skull. Move the light blue chi down until you are level with the throat chakra. Breathe in royal blue chi and move the royal blue chi through the throat chakra until the chi touches the spine at the back of the neck. Move the chi around the skull until it reaches the crown chakra, breathe in lavendar chi and move the lavendar chi round the inside of the skull until it reaches level with the 3rd eye chakra. Breathe in light blue chi and move it back to the 3rd eye chakra. Rest and then do the microscopic orbit in reverse. Breathe in light blue chi back through the 3rd eye chakra. When you reach the skull move the light-blue chi down until you are level with the throat chakra. Breathe in royal blue chi and move it forward through the throat chakra ....
3) From the 3rd eye chakra breathe chi up to the crown chakra, and breathe chi in from Source, and carry the chi from Source down the fromt of the head and body to the tan tien and focus again.
4) From tan tien breathe in down to the root chakra where we collect chi again from Gaia and carry it up the centre of the body to the crown chakra and back out to Source.
Do this routine after settling to bring the mind into a readiness of meditation.
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[2] Vedana Release
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In step 5 we have generally released any vedana but now we release vedana attachments in a formal way by reversing down the tai-chi ridgepole. To begin with we feel Mother Earth similar to Nicola Amadora's Divine Mother meditation going down and releasing the vedna into Mother Earth. Once we have some feel of the mother we go down the chakra ridgepole into Mother Earth. Starting with space around the crown chakra we look for attachments, see the attachments and then release them. With our attention we guide this release down into the arms of Mother Earth (Gaia). In the space around the 3rd eye chakra we look for attachments, see the attachments and then release them. With our attention we guide this release down into the arms of Mother Earth (Gaia). We do this with all the 7 chakras so that we feel our bodies are released from any feelings of attachment. Once we have released the vedna attachments we give thanks to the Mother Earth knowing that after we have completely calmed the vedana in step 7 we are going to come back in step 8, and with Gaia's help we are going to feel love before we release mental attachments in the 3rd tetrad preparing for the cultivation of wisdom and the development of love-wisdom embodiment.
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[3] Chakra Embodiment
1) Create spaciousness within your body ready for love-wisdom integration. Focus on each part of the body (except where you have brought Gaia's love from tetrad 2) and imagine space - release any attachments.
2) Create the chakra ridgepole. Use any chakra model but zandtao uses 7 chakras - root-red, sacral - orange, solar plexus - yellow, heart green, throat - dark blue, forehead - light blue, crown of head - lavendar. These 7 chakras create a ridgepole from the root to the crown. Using colours or otherwise bring in love and wisdom to each of the chakras in turn.
3) Once you feel a strong ridgepole of love-wisdom, expand it filling all the space you have just created in 1. So you feel integrated love-wisdom with a strong ridgepole of love-wisdom.
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[4] Vedana and Buddhadasa
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Whilst the 2nd tetrad is still concerned with vedana zandtaomed's practice is now very different from the 2nd tetrad in MwB. To begin with zandtaomed worked with piti and suka as a means of releasing the attached vedana of upbringing, but one done releasing vedana became different especially in line with feeling love as the end of the 2nd tetrad - discussed here.
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Advice from Zandtaomed
