Bone Marrow Washing of Bodhidharma, the Zen Patriarch

 

Bone Marrow Washing

of

Bodhidharma,

the Zen Patriarch

Written by Baba

Revitalized Zen

Contents

Part 1:

Introduction

Buddhahood, Buddhanature and the Three Bodies, including Fourth Dantien

Yi and Yi Jin Jing – Transforming the Physical and Astral Tissues, Mindfulness vs. Awareness, Yi and Wu Yi – With Intent, Without Intent

Part 2:

Tools of Complete Transformation

Awareness Alone

Practice with the Buddhas and Ancestors

Xi Sui Jing – Bone Marrow Washing

Final words

About the author

Links

Part 1: Introduction

In this text, as a continuation of Revitalized Zen – Four Stages of Zen Practice, I would like to discuss Bone Marrow Washing as a core practice of Revitalized Zen and explain the basic view and theory of it.

Bone Marrow Washing or Xi Sui Jing (pron. shee-sway-jing, 洗髓经,洗髓經) is a complete method of body-mind cultivation which leads to full enlightenment, also known as buddhahood (skt. anuttara samyak sambodhi) or immortality (c. xian, 仙) as it is known in taoism. It was practiced by both ancient buddhists and taoists until it was lost. No existing lineage today knows how Bodhidharma and his predecessors or successors practiced or taught it, as lineages depend on transmitted knowledge from one generation to the next. Even though it is known that Bodhidharma taught these practices, no Zen lineage today practices it, which is a great pity. There is a text called Tissue Transformation Classic or Yi Jin Jing (pron. ee-jin-jing, 易筋经,易筋經) which outlines a simpler cultivation method said to have been taught by Bodhidharma. Yi Jin Jing is widely practiced today and is the foundation of all types of cultivation methods, both ancient and modern.

My late zen master, Terayama Tanchu Roshi (1938-2007), taught me a version of Bone Marrow Washing 20 years ago in Japan. Terayama Roshi was a professor of calligraphy and a master not only in Japanese Rinzai Zen buddhism but also the head master of the Hitsuzendo-school of Zen calligraphy with a lineage extending back to the calligrapher-immortal Wang Xi Zhi (王羲之) of the Jin dynasty who was the founder of the Jubokudo-school (c.入木道) of calligraphy. In addition, Roshi was a lineage holder in the Kashima Shinden Jikishin Kage ryu-school of traditional sword arts, among many other things. Because of his life long training in multiple arts, buddhism, taoism and meditation, he was a unique master and teacher. His movement, embodiment and physical expression was completely unique, and fortunately was captured on video. Neither before nor since my time with him have I seen anyone embody and move like him. Roshi's movement and awakened energy is of course recorded also in his calligraphies as a testimony for later generations.

While Terayama Roshi practiced and taught a version of Bone Marrow Washing and Tissue Transformation, over the last 20 years as a practitioner, teacher and treasure revealer of tantric buddhism, tantric hinduism and esoteric taoism, and as the founder of Amrita Mandala, I have come to understand Bone Marrow Washing and the three bodies cultivated therein in a bit of a different, perhaps more comprehensive way. There are a number of reasons for this but the main reason is the benefits reaped from two practices: Buddha Practice and Ancestor Practice, both of which I have discussed in my Revitalized Zen youtube series and many Amrita Mandala sources (see links below).

In the following I try my best to explain what Bone Marrow Washing is about, based on my own training, over 20 years of experimentation, revealed teachings and the results that I have reaped from all this.

Buddhahood, Buddhanature and the Three Bodies

In my first text, Revitalized Zen – The Four Stages of Zen, I briefly explained the ins and outs of the cultivation and the fruition of all three bodies.

The difference between buddhas or immortals and sentient beings is that the mind or energy bodies of a sentient being are marked by self-delusion and destructive habits, whether in the form of selfishness, psychological trauma or both. A fully enlightened being – a buddha or an immortal - thinks, feels and moves but without these habits and patterns. While the mind of a sentient being is trapped in the repetitive wheel of the mind repeating itself and getting more and more entangled with opinions and harmful habits, the mind of a buddha or an immortal is free-flowing, pure and balanced, day and night, in both peaceful and hectic circumstances. The vital energy that flows in the subtle bodies of both a buddha and a deluded human being is the same, except that in the subtle bodies of a buddha there are no energetic calcifications that obstruct it. The mind of a deluded being is trapped in the three-dimensional space of the mind and the subtle notion of time passing but the mind of a buddha rests effortlessly in zero-dimensional awareness which is the ground of both sentient beings and buddhas. First and foremost it is this effortless awareness, marked by selflessness, clarity and sobriety that separates enlightened beings from unenlightened beings, or bodhisattva practitioners from non-practitioners.

So, sentient beings are marked by destructive, self-centered and unwholesome habits and actions while buddhas or immortals are marked by the Three Basic Characteristics of Buddhanature which is the root of their wholesome and compassionate actions. These three characteristics are:

• wakeful, selfless clarity

• soft, compassionate aliveness

• grounded, fearless peacefulness

These three basic qualities hide in the bodies and minds of all sentient beings and that's why all beings can recognize buddhanature and are attracted to it when someone displays it or acts according to it.

The three basic characteristics are the energetic, mental and emotional expressions of the Three Pure Centers, commonly known as the three dantiens (c. 丹田) that mark the actions, words and thoughts of a buddha. The three dantiens are connected with the Fourth Dantien, located in the space outside the body. Cultivation of the fourth dantien, just like Bone Marrow Washing, is in my view, a practice that was lost over time.

The full subtle body of a human being is very versatile which we can see in the extensive energetic, emotional and psychological functioning that is possible for us. The three basic characteristics of buddhanature can be discovered and established from the three commonly known dantiens but it takes much longer time to perfect the three qualities of the three dantiens, and to transform the subtle and ph

ysical bodies according to them. Using all four dantiens makes the process much faster but also much more enjoyable because when we connect the subtle and physical bodies that are marked by self-based functioning, we reach outside the samsaric machine, thus getting a breeze of fresh mountain air into the whole system every time we do that.

The fourth dantien is the main power generator that empowers the three inside the body. The three pure centers always remain pure of self-based habits and do not store karmas. These habits and karmas are stored in the vast network of two kinds of energy channels, nadis and meridians. These dantiens exist in both subtle bodies; the subtler one made of nadis, commonly known as the causal body and the grosser one made of meridians, commonly known as the astral body. Purity of these two subtle bodies indicates a buddha, a fully enlightened being.

Wakeful selfless clarity, the first one of the Three Basic Characteristics, is a definitive characteristic of the Buddha's teaching, transmitted after him by the Zen patriarchs. Realizing this aspect of the buddhanature firstly sobers up or clears up the head, and that's how we know that wakeful selfless clarity is the spontaneous expression of the dantien of the head.

Another way to say ”selfless” is to say without a sense of me or I, in either gross, subtle or very subtle form. Defined in this manner, according to the mahayana buddhist doctrine, selflessness can be used as a synonym for emptiness (skt. shunyata, c. 空). Just to be sure, to not have a sense of me-ness does not mean to be without thoughts. That would be a very primitive misunderstanding. Wisdom (skt. prajna, c.般若) is given special importance in Buddha's teaching because selflessness or emptiness is the subtlest of realizations and therefore a necessary foundation for any other type of cultivation. One cannot understand or master any cultivation method, including the Tissue Transformation Classic or Yi Jin Jing, or Bone Marrow Washing or Xi Sui Jing, without the realization of wisdom through emptiness.

The Bone Marrow Washing works with all three bodies but puts emphasis on two of them: the meridian system and the physical body. For this reason, if one aims at buddhahood in this life, it is necessary for one to combine both sitting meditation or zazen (c.坐禪), and especially emptiness insight meditation (skt. vipashyana, c. 觀). It is crucial to understand that what in buddhism is called seflessness (skt. anatman, p. anatta) or emptiness and what in hinduism is called knowledge (skt. jnana), these are not cultural practices but universal principles that enable the full release of self-delusion, replaced by sober clarity and wakeful selfless knowing. In my view, this cannot be attained without sitting practice. Despite of the fact that Bone Marrow Washing uses an element that includes the causal body, the main purpose of the practice is not in establishing of wakeful selfless clarity. In my view, the head dantien which is the seat of the causal body, is a necessary preliminary for Bone Marrow Washing.

We need to study and understand the principles and practices of Buddha's teachings. We need to understand what he was trying to communicate to his followers, from both the mahayana sutras, as well as through Buddha and Ancestor Practices. We also need to remember that the scriptures and historical data might have been changed and some bits and pieces might have been lost during the past 2500 years. Again, as we know, the original Bone Marrow Washing is one of those practices that were lost. I would say, based on my own experience of the practice and many years of other practices, that it is an indispensable and therefore extremely valuable set of cultivation tools that has the power to turn one from a sentient being into a buddha, into an immortal, whose three bodies - causal, astral and physical - are no longer bodies of the relative (world) but of the absolute, thus transcending time and space. This, like I have explained in the videos about the Buddha and Ancestor Practices, makes our karmic connection with the enlightened lineage ancestors and the pantheon of buddhas and bodhisattvas very special, which should be utilized for our benefit.

Like I mentioned in my text Revitalized Zen, the Four Stages of Zen, we might define buddhahood either as the purity of all three or just the two subtle bodies, leaving the physical out of the equation. However, knowing from my own experience what is possible through Bone Marrow Washing, I feel that for those to whom this practice is available, they should definitely learn it and along with emptiness meditation, make it their guiding star.

When buddhanature is realized in the causal body, it eradicates our existential confusion. When buddhanature is realized in the astral body, it opens up a flower garden for everyone's enjoyment and spiritual inspiration. When buddhanature is realized in the physical body, it illuminates all worlds like all the stars in the sky combined. My apologies for this poetic description but my point is that the potential in us is very extensive and comprehensive. There is a reason why in the buddhist theory there are the Six Realms of Samsara, including the human realm, but buddhas or immortals , if you will, are the only ones outside or beyond them.

This of course makes it all the more sad that for over 1000 years or so, Bone Marrow Washing has been lost in the Shaolin (c. 少林寺) training system and Zen traditions derived from it. Many arts and cultivation systems in buddhism, taoism and hinduism have bits and pieces of it but to my knowledge, none of them have the whole picture. There have been enlightened masters in the lineage even without Bone Marrow Washing but without specific tools, fulfilling specific tasks is delayed.

Yi and Yi Jin Jing – Transforming the Physical and Astral Tissues

When speaking of tissues and their transformation in Yi Jin Jing, both physical and astral tissues, that is, meridians are meant and exercised. It is easy to understand what it means when weak and stiff physical tissue is transformed into strong and supple tissue. Having good physical health means that the physical body, including the muscles, bones, tendons, organs and their functions are balanced and function well without disturbances or malfunctions. The Western culture of sports and physical exercise looks solely at this physical aspect of cultivation.

Yi Jin Jing includes both physical and nonphysical, however, and to be more specific with the nonphysical in this context, it refers to the meridian system also known as the astral body. In my long text titled Revitalized Zen, I discussed the four stages of zen where I spoke of the meridian system, specifically in relation to the dropping off of the body (j. daigo, daigo tettei, 大悟徹底).

The meridian system which is the blueprint of the physical body consists of many hundred meridian channels. Just like soft and hard tissues are the building materials of the physical body, meridians are the building material of the meridian field or astral body. In a way, western psychology discusses this subtle body of meridians and its functions when it speaks of the I or self and its psychological health or wholeness, or traumatization. What Carl Jung called ”ich” or I in his native German was translated as ”ego” in English.

When tissue transformation is discussed among the practitioners of internal arts such as qigong, this psychological perspective is usually not included in the view of practice, which leads to slower progress and limited results. The view or theory is a crucial foundation of any type of cultivation because it is a map that we can follow from A to Z and through all the letters in between.

In Yi Jin Jing, one flexes and stretches the muscles and tissues of one's body in different stationary postures (c. zhan zhuang, 站桩, 站樁) as well as movements. It is important to understand that the Tissue Transformation or Bone Marrow Washing are not a fixed set of movements. That would miss the point entirely. If one understands what these two practices are about the forms can be anything.

Together with flexing and stretching there is the central element of yi (pron. ee, c. 意) which I like to translate as physicalized concentration. When exercises of the physical tissues are combined with yi or physicalized concentration and typically also deepened breathing, a basic formula for tissue transformation is created. Yi Jin Jing gives results such as increased flexibility, increased strength, good physical stamina, better condition of the heart and lungs and through them a healthier demeanor. Because of the application of yi, some report even great mental, emotional and psychological benefits such as getting rid of various acute or chronic illnesses and symptoms.

The benefits can be great because the meridian system is where the root causes of many physical problems lie, and they are affected and changed by the dynamic pressure caused by yi. Just like by using a pressure washer, we can remove graffiti from the walls. Similarly, by applying yi, we can flush the meridians with vital energy (c. qi/chi, 氣, 气).

Clearing out the meridians leads to another type of inherent energy becoming available and apparent in us. This is the natural magnetic quality of our meridian system which is also in lesser degree in the subtler of the two subtle bodies. If we consider the energy of pure love or pure kindness, it is easy to understand what I mean by speaking of magnetism. When we are in love, a particular aspect of our own nature is revealed to us. The spontaneous love inherent in our buddhanature is intense and dynamic but balanced. The second of the Three Characteristics of Buddhanature that I summarized above as soft, compassionate aliveness, in other words, is spontaneous joyfulness, happiness and deep sense of fulfillment. This aspect of our buddhanature is very much like a flower garden.

In Indian and Tibetan systems this magnetism is called bindu (skt.) or thigle (t.) and it is related to the seat of the astral body in the dantien of the heart. I do not have historical proof but am certain that this is something that was known by the taoist immortals because without complete clearing of the meridians and consequentially revealing this spontaneous magnetic quality, it is not possible to attain immortality or buddhahood. It is definitely easy to detect this and the other basic qualities of buddhanature from ancient and modern mahasiddhas and immortals, such as Du Xinlin, who was a taoist master from Beijing whose body disappeared into bright light in front of hundred witnesses in 1987.

Theoretically it is possible that some might be able to reveal oneself as a fully enlightened being through Tissue Transformation alone, but for the vast majority of practitioners, it is far too early to discuss in the context of Yi Jin Jing because it barely has an effect on the other of the subtle bodies called the causal body. I have met and seen many Yi Jin Jing practitioners but not a single one who would have advanced significantly, not to mention completed and graduated all practices. I have neither seen any signs of advancement in the causal body purification in them. For this reason, in my view, Yi Jin Jing is a preliminary for Bone Marrow Washing and to speculate on why the ”full method”, the original Bone Marrow Washing, was lost, I suspect that the last lineage master who knew it didn't have a fit and committed student to teach it to. The absence of suitable students is the main reason countless lineages and their precious practices have been lost over centuries. This withering and dying of whole schools, traditions and lineages is the main reason why teachings need to be discovered again and revitalized.

It is interesting to mention that the concept and applications of yi (c.意) are entirely unknown or completely forgotten in Indian and Tibetan yogas and systems. Yi is a form of concentration but only when it becomes physicalized, when one can express concentration physically, does it become yi. But there is something extremely important about effortless awareness of buddhanature and yi or physicalized intention. This bring us to the matter of Mindfulness vs. Awareness, the two paradigms of buddhist cultivation which actually apply to all kinds of systems.

A problem with self-delusion stored in the causal body is that it binds the mind into a loop that repeats itself whether we like it or not. This constant impsulive looping prevents us from recognising and living with a sober head and body which naturally would be established in zero-dimensional basic awareness. Many methods of meditation and internal cultivation use concentration or one-pointed focus or scanning of the body based on one-pointed focus in their practices. The problem with this concentration or mindfulness approach is that without emptiness realization and establishing of effortless awareness, we are bound to getting distracted again and again. This means that in one moment we are focused and in the next, distracted and this keeps repeating on and on. In one moment we are engaging the meridian system, opening and flexing it together with the physical tissues but in the next the focus is lost and cultivation is momentarily cut off. In one moment we have yi (c.意) and in the next we loose it. This is, as everyone can understand, not very effective but even a bigger problem is that without the gradual and full opening of the dantien of the head, we do not know ourselves and are lost in life.

The option to this tossing and turning is establishing effortless awareness, and this in turn makes something very unique available to us in Tissue Transformation and/or Bone Marrow Washing.

When we have established natural awareness of buddhanature in our mind, we no longer get distracted, even when we are not focusing on anything. Through seeing emptiness of all phenomena, we cannot get distracted because all thoughts, emotions, impulses and reactions are seen to be without a self which stops the compulsive loop from repeating itself.

In technical terms this means that we can alternate yi with wu yi (c.無意), with intent and without intent, without ever getting distracted, and this is incredibly precious when it comes to the transformation of astral and physical tissues. This makes the Awareness Alone approach that I speak in the next part of the text, possible and credible.

If we see Yi Jin Jing as a preliminary, the most important thing that is learned from it is, in simple terms, the unification of the body and mind which is necessary to effectively practice Bone Marrow Washing. We have to be able to engage and unite the physical and astral bodies, to prepare them by making the system healthier but also because when we introduce the main element transformation of the Bone Marrow Washing, we simply have an overwhelming number of balls to juggle at the same time. This is really the only reason why it is necessary to know what the main function of each exercise is. Yi Jing Jing works with two bodies, Xi Sui Jing works with all three.

Part 2: Tools of Complete Transformation

We already know about the Three Body Cultivation and its result, but what about the tools and how to actually make that happen?

To become a buddha, we need the support of a buddha. To become fully enlightened, we need the support of someone who is fully enlightened. It is highly unlikely that we'd reach perfection of any of the three bodies, not to even mention them all together, without the support of someone who has achieved it her- or himself. Fortunately, there are many buddhas, patriarchs and immortals whose greatest wish and delight is to help us in this.

We can study the sutras and commentaries of the Buddha and the patriarchs but be limited in our understanding of their message and instructions due to our limitations, opinions and fixatedness. We can receive instructions and advice from a lineage holder but be limited by her or his insight, experience, opinions and fixatedness. Both of these can and do limit our practice and the results therein, no matter how much we try to avoid it. But one way to ensure our constant progress, is to ask for the truth, ask for an excellent teacher and practice methods that perfectly illuminate the unstudied corners of one's mind. One can understand the utmost importance of this point and how one's lifelong practice, no matter how well intended and perfectly executed, can amount to no real validity, i.e. can be a total waste of time in the context of recognising buddhanature and becoming a living buddha or an immortal oneself.

The principle is that in order to realize buddhahood, we have to have buddhanature, which we already do. Then, to reveal and to establish this buddhanature in the three bodies, we need a method and instructor to guide us.

I have already explained the practice of Tissue Transformation and in the following text I will briefly explain the three applications used in Bone Marrow Washing.

Awareness Alone

Terayama Roshi taught Bone Marrow Washing based on, what I call here, the Awareness Alone application. This means that he used his recognition of the buddhamind as the foundation of his standing (c. zhan zhuang, 站桩, 站樁) and movement practices. To be able to use this application succesfully requires that one is able to not only recognize one's buddhanature but to effortlessly sustain it, without getting entangled with distractions or the subtle veils of the substrate consciousness (skt. alayavijnana, c. 藏識), i.e. get in trouble due to unfinished emptiness meditation. From another point of view, anyone can learn Bone Marrow Washing and get great benefits from it because again, it does work, heal, open up and balance the whole system. When I speak of these preliminaries of natural awareness and Tissue Transformation, I speak from the perspective of attaining full enlightenment (skt. anuttara samyak sambodhi) in this life. But having said that, all can enjoy the practice and benefits of Bone Marrow Washing.

In my experience however, even if one is able to effortlessly sustain this recognition, it takes lots of time to throughly blend and transform the three bodies together. Even if one knows how to properly practice Tissue Transformation based on effortless awareness, the signs and results come quite slowly due to the fact that awareness, as such, is not dynamic. One can ramp up the use of yi (c. 意) or intent and join the two together, and then bind them with the unified physical body, but despite that, awareness, as such, is not dynamic and this slows the transformation down.

This brings us to the other two applications.

Practice with the Buddhas and Ancestors

Practice with the Buddhas means that one engages one's mind i.e. the subtle bodies with the buddhas or a buddha, whether they are past lineage masters such as Shakyamuni Buddha (c.釈迦如来), Prajnatara, Bodhidharma, Huineng (the Sixth Patriarch), or Dogen; or archetypal, such as Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva/Kannon Bosatsu (c.観音菩薩), Manjushri Bodhisattva/Manju Bosatsu, Samantabhadra Bodhisattva/Fugen Bosatsu (c.普賢菩薩 ), Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva/Jizo Bosatsu (c.地藏) or Buddha Amitabha (c.阿弥陀如来). Having seen the poor level of understanding around the world of how to engage with the buddhas or masters properly, I cannot stress enough the importance of an expert's advice.

Both the deities of the mahayana buddhist pantheon, many of which are directly taken from hinduism, and the lineage masters have a role in one's daily Zen buddhist practice. Having said that, I think that Zen buddhism as we know it today, especially outside the Asian establishment, tends to shy away from all ideas and practices having to do with anything imperceptible. To me, at least, it looks like modern Zen buddhism is secular with as little mention as possible of deities or anything mystical. This is silly because at the same time we are affected by our mind and its samsaric archetypes day and night. To negate or to disregard enlightened archetypes but to be caught and troubled by their samsaric counterparts, is nothing but mislead and lousy understanding.

I have spent the last 20 years practicing and 17 years full-time teaching esoteric or tantric practices, based on what my teachers such as Terayama Roshi taught me and what has been revealed to me in mystical fashion. I was specifically prepared and trained by my other heart teacher, Sivakami Om Anandi, to be able to reveal dharma treasures, i.e. to bring back practices and applications that have been lost over time.

A fundamental practice in any tantric system is the so called guru yoga which I have discussed in youtube videos, which in the context of Revitalized Zen is called Ancestor Practice. Ancestor Practice with ancient and recent Zen patriarchs is guru yoga but as guru yoga is a tantric term I have chosen to use the term Ancestor Practice.

Over the past 20 years, I have practiced Ancestor Practice with many past buddhist, hindu and taoist immortals. I haven't counted but I must have spent at least ten thousand hours doing that practice, i.e. being in the actual living company of masters such as Buddha Shakyamuni, Padmasambhava, Agastya and others. Similarly, I have spent at least another ten thousand hours chanting the mantras or names of buddha archetypes such as Kanzeon, Amitabha, Vajrasattva and many others from vajrayana buddhism.

In my youtube videos I have explained and presented this in more detail, but 20 years ago in Japan I was very fortunate to meet the late Harada Tangen Roshi, then 81 years old, who was widely regarded as a living buddha. He made a lasting impression then and in retrospect through all these years and countless hours of tantric practice and nonmeditation (skt. abhavana), I have been able to verify that he indeed was a fully enlightened buddha. His bodies were pure. Despite of my association with him being brief, for a young inexperienced practitioner, he was incredible to experience. He was in the body of a human being and a man but he was not a human being or a man. He was like from a different planet and yet, so present and completely without limitations.

Before he passed away in 2018, Tangen Roshi said a very unusual thing for a Zen master:

”When I die,

I won’t go anywhere.

I will be just here.

And call me anytime,

I will respond.”

-Harada Tangen Roshi

For many years on zen retreats, in temples and groups I have witnessed the names of the lineage masters (j. teidai denpo busso no myogo, 逓代伝法佛祖の名号) being chanted every morning, and them, the ancient masters, actually showing up in their energetic nonphysical form in the place where the practice was conducted. And yet, I have not seen a single zen group where the teacher and the students connected with the wonderful presence and blessings of these great patriarchs who transcended time and place and became buddhas, fully enlightened beings. When I heard what Tangen Roshi said before his passing, I thought, that's it, I have to try to change this and speak up. This lead to many great and life changing sessions with the Zen patriarchs, including Tangen Roshi, Huineng the Sixth Chinese Patriarch (c. 大鑒惠能), Bodhidharma (the last Indian and the First Chinese Patriarch), Prajnatara (Bodhidharma's master), Punyamitra (Prajnatara's master), Shakyamuni Buddha and so on. What these intimate sessions changed the most, was my view of the Zen tradition and what it was about which I think is quite different from what it is now.

If we think of the benefits of either Buddha Practice or Ancestor Practice which in principle are the same, then we can simply say that when we are in the presence of a fully enlightened being who has arrived on the other shore, as prayed in the mantra of the Heart Sutra*, and is fulfilling his or her Bodhisattva Vows by pulling sentient beings like us out of samsara through any means available to them, whether they are physically or nonphysically present, this is the most important form of all practices in Zen or elsewhere. This is because meeting an enlightened master one-on-one in sanzen or dokusan is the most important part in the zen curriculum. From my own experience I can say that one private meeting with an enlightened master is worth more than hundreds, if not thousands, with someone lesser attained. I say that having had experience of both. Buddha and Ancestor Practices give us incomparable benefits. I cannot stress this enough. This practice has for at least a thousand years been a part of traditional zen training but it is, in my view, entirely misunderstood and left unused, with the consequence of revolving samsara.

*mantra of the Heart Sutra: Gate gate paragate parasamgate bodhi svaha, eng. Gone gone, gone beyond, completely gone beyond, enlightenment seized!

When working with physical teachers, if we are lucky, the teacher is able to point out our buddhanature and through many repetitions our habitual negativities and self-delusions are completely shed, and we become living buddhas ourselves. However, when core information and understanding is absent, no matter how many times we chant sutras, how many sesshins or koans we do or how many dokusans we have with our teacher, we get very limited benefits and buddhahood is somewhere far away. No matter how much we mimick the sitting posture and put our hands in mudra, we remain ignorant of our true nature because there is not much change in the mind, i.e. the energetics.

If a teacher fails to point out and help the student through the gradual steps to buddhahood, through the stages of kensho, satori and daigo, then in fact, the teacher is useless. The most important task and responsibility that a mahayana buddhist teacher has is to help him or her realize the teachings that the Buddha gave in his Three Turnings of the Wheel of Dharma. Everything else is secondary in the context of teacher-student relationship.

This finishes the section about the three applications: Awareness Alone, Buddha Practice and Ancestor Practice.

Xi Sui Jing – Bone Marrow Washing

Ahead, I have explained all the elements separately that Bone Marrow Washing puts together.

The unique feature of Bone Marrow Washing is the unification of body, intent (c. 意), and the latter two of the three applications. If one joins (1.) the stationary standing or yoga posture; or any type of movement with the alternation of (2.) intent and without intent (c. yi-wu yi, 意-無意), without getting distracted and without the need for concentrated mindfulness, i.e. with the help of effortless awareness, and (3.) the application of the Buddha's, Bodhisattva's or Ancestor's name, then that is the Bone Marrow Washing Practice of Zen Patriarch Bodhidharma.

Based on the dropped mind*, i.e. the effortless awareness common to all buddhas and patriarchs, this is how to make the body, i.e. the physical body and its energetic blueprint, the astral body, drop, in an excellent way.

*dropping off body and mind, shinjin datsuraku (c. 身心脱落) of Zen master Dogen

This is how all three of our relative bodies are released into the Absolute and become the perfect expression of it. This is also how the third dantien inside the body, the one in the gut or hara (c.腹), becomes perfected and how its basic quality of perfect peacefulness becomes embodied in all cells and tissues of the physical body.

Final words

I have spent the last 22 years in dedicated practice investigating and experimenting with the elements, slowly gaining insights into how it all works. I was still very young when Terayama Roshi left this world so many of my questions were left unanswered. Fortunately, as I explained, I learned tantric practices which slowly led to gaining experiences and insights that I then, over time, applied in the context of internal study of the Taoist and Zen buddhist principles. But most importantly, I have personally met Bodhidharma and some of his awesome predecessors and successors. Without their guiding hand, I could not have solved the riddle of Bone Marrow Washing and written these pages explaining the practice.

In both Revitalized Zen and Amrita Mandala which is the tantric branch of my dharma work, I teach both Tissue Transformation Classic or Yi Jin Jing but simultaneously call it Amrita Asana Yoga, as well as Bone Marrow Washing or Xi Sui Jing which is simultaneously called Xian Gong or Immortality Exercises (c.仙功). The full versions of these practices I only teach on retreats.

I would like to thank the reader for the opportunity to present my understanding and the teachings of my lineage of Revitalized Zen.

I am eternally grateful and in debt to Terayama Roshi, Tangen Roshi and many other teachers of healing and martial arts, as well as meditation and dharma, who I've studied with over the years. As grateful, I am to Bodhidharma and the patriarchs who so kindly provided me the missing bits.

May your path be fruitful and fulfilling to the bone and marrow.

May all beings be free and happy,

Baba,

4^th of April 2025,

founder of Revitalized Zen and Amrita Mandala

About the author

Amrita Baba is the founder of Revitalized Zen, as well as the international Amrita Mandala Sangha. He has been a full time teacher of sutra, tantra and dzogchen for 17 years and has taught over 250 retreats around the world.

Baba is a dharma heir of the late Terayama Tanchu Roshi of Tokyo, the head master of the Hitsuzenkai, and dharma heir of Omori Sogen Roshi. He was fortunate to meet the late Harada Tangen Roshi, the Old Buddha, who changed his life forever. He is also a dharma heir of the late Sivakami Om Anandi, a tantric guru, who taught and instructed Baba to reveal forgotten teachings through meditation and to revitalize both the tantric and sutric training systems. Both Revitalized Zen and Amrita Mandala, founded in 2008, are part of this task. Baba has been active in anti-cult and victims of religious abuse support groups for nearly 30 years. His teachings give a lot of emphasis to the healing of psychological trauma through meditation and energetic adjustment.

Baba spent 8 years and 10 months in strict retreat from January 2003 until November 2011. He has a long history in martial arts, healing arts and fine arts, including Zen calligraphy. He is Finnish but lives in a dharma center in the mountains of Slovenia with his spouse, dog and cat. He has two kids.

Baba has written three books about awakening, post-awakening and the realization of emptiness that are all available for free from the Amrita Mandala website.

Links

Revitalized Zen youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@RevitalizedZen

Revitalized Zen blog, Four Stages of Zen: https://revitalizedzen.blogspot.com/2025/03/revitalized-zen-by-baba.html

Revitalized Zen, Bone Marrow Washing: https://revitalizedzen.blogspot.com/2025/04/bone-marrow-washing-of-bodhidharma-zen.html

Revitalized Zen facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/revitalizedzen

Amrita Mandala website: https://www.amritamandala.com/

Amrita Mandala youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@AmritaMandala

Lion-Faced Guru Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@thelionfacedgurupodcast

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