Can't Sit Still, Can't Calm Down? Saint Mo on "Refining the Heart" and "Being Natural" in Meditation

Many people start meditation full of hope. But as soon as they sit down, thoughts come flying in from everywhere, and the mind just won't settle. After a few tries, it doesn't seem to work, and little by little they give up. A teaching from almost fifty years ago is very down-to-earth about this: if the mind has been restless for decades, it can't become calm the moment you sit down. The real work is "refining the heart," and the best state in meditation is "being natural."

10/25/20268 min read

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Can't Sit Still, Can't Calm Down? Saint Mo on "Refining the Heart" and "Being Natural" in Meditation

A Plain-Language Reading of a Teaching by Saint Mo (默真人)

A teaching from almost fifty years ago is very down-to-earth about this: if the mind has been restless for decades, it can't become calm the moment you sit down. The real work is "refining the heart," and the best state in meditation is "being natural."

About This Teaching

This teaching comes from the Chu Ke Teachings (《处科训文》), printed by the Society's Headquarter in Hong Kong (宗母总驻港办事处) and passed down in the Daoyuan (道院). It was given by Saint Mo on the 19th day of the 7th lunar month of the Dingsi year, which was 2 September 1977.

Saint Mo's given name was Du Bingyin (杜秉寅), and his courtesy name was Mojing (默靖) (1854–1923). He was one of the founders of the Daoyuan. During the Qing dynasty he served as a local official, including as magistrate of Zou County and of Gaotang Prefecture. In 1920 he joined a spirit-writing altar (扶乩坛) in Jinan, where he was the oldest of its leaders, and he went on to serve in the Daoyuan as Head of the Meditation Chamber (坐院掌籍).

Du Bingyin passed away in 1923. Members of the Daoyuan believe that he attained spiritual fulfilment, and they honour him with the title "Mo Zhenren" (默真人, Saint Mo in English), meaning "Mo the Perfected One." Since then, he has often given teachings to guide the Daoyuan's spiritual practice and charitable work, and he is deeply respected within the Daoyuan.

The teaching is written in simple language and is entirely about sitting meditation. What follows is our plain-language reading, so that readers of every background can take something from it.

The Opening Line: The Heart of Meditation

清心必要炼心，寡欲更要炼心。

"To clear the heart, you must refine the heart. To lessen desire, you must refine the heart even more."

This line is the core of the whole teaching. Sitting meditation is not just sitting still. It is refining your own heart, again and again.

1. Everyone Starts from a Different Place

Everyone who begins sitting meditation receives the same guide to practice. But each person's health, wisdom, circumstances and spiritual roots are different, so each understands the same guide differently:

Some don't quite understand "withdrawing the gaze and turning the hearing inward" (收视返听), that is, drawing back the attention we usually send outward through our eyes and ears, and turning it toward the inner heart;
Some more or less understand "a clear heart and few desires" (清心寡欲), but aren't confident they'll ever achieve it;
As for "no desire" at all, most people think it's far too hard;
Deeper ideas, such as helping oneself and others, transforming one's character, and returning to one's original nature, are even harder to fully grasp.

Simply knowing that meditation is good for your health, and having the patience to keep sitting, is already rare and precious.

Some people sit without really understanding what they're doing. Before long, because their energy is unsettled and their mind won't calm down, or because of their circumstances or other obstacles, they give up. Others, through some later connection, find their interest again and start sitting once more.

Saint Mo says these all relate to each person's roots and circumstances. But setting that aside, he focuses on sincerity, perseverance and effort.

2. Why Can't I Calm Down as Soon as I Sit?

When you first start, you won't understand the guide straight away. At the beginning, your energy isn't yet smooth, and your heart isn't yet clear.

Saint Mo puts it very plainly:

This heart has been restless for years. Expecting it to become clear the moment you sit down is impossible;
Desires and wandering thoughts have also built up over years. Expecting them to fade the moment you sit down is just as impossible.

So keep sitting, slowly. Each step you sit is a step forward; each stretch of time you sit brings a new layer of understanding.

If you can't calm down, you're not doing it wrong. You just need more time.

3. Refining the Heart: Life's Hardest Task

So how do we put in effort that really works? The answer is in the opening line: refine the heart.

Saint Mo says refining the heart is life's hardest task. Why? Because it isn't something that works quickly just by sitting up straight. The real test is in daily life. Ask yourself:

When luxury, pleasure, money and gain are right in front of me, and I could have them just by reaching out, can my greed, anger and delusion stay still?
Whether walking, standing, sitting or lying down, can I stay clear and aware, never straying from the true spirit of goodness and compassion?
If disaster struck, could I stay as calm as Yang Jisheng, the loyal Ming dynasty official who remained composed even under cruel torture?
When something happens suddenly, can I stay unshaken? When I'm wronged for no reason, can I stay free of anger? Can I refine myself to that point?

Only by refining ourselves in moments like these can we hope to reach "few desires," and eventually "no desire."

4. Few Desires and No Desire

Saint Mo draws a clear line between these two states:

Few desires: the heart is simply no longer pulled around by desire;
No desire: one lives completely in harmony with Heaven's principle, and selfish desire has entirely disappeared.

This is not easy to achieve. But Saint Mo offers a very warm reassurance:

As long as you keep sitting with firmness, sincerity and perseverance, there is hope.

5. The Best Meditation Is "Natural"

Beginners often don't understand what "natural" means. When you first start, your energy is unsettled and your heart restless, so of course you can't yet taste what "natural" feels like.

It may take many years before your heart and energy become calm. When they are both settled and still, you begin to feel comfortable and at ease. Where does that ease come from? It comes from being natural.

So what does "natural meditation" look like?

Not clinging to form: not attached to any particular posture or experience;
Not rushing: not in a hurry to see results;
Not chasing results: not sitting in order to gain something;
Not forcing yourself: following your own heart, with calm as the main thing.

Sitting this way, the heart becomes open and at ease, with nothing to hope for. Saint Mo says such meditation lets you "move with heaven and earth, and hold all things within," quietly becoming one with the natural order without even noticing.

6. Bodhidharma on "Essence, Energy and Spirit"

Saint Mo quotes a teaching from Bodhidharma (达摩祖师): essence (精, jing), energy (气, qi) and spirit (神, shen) are the three great elements of a person, yet we often use them up without noticing.

When the eyes look, they use "essence";
When the nose smells, it uses "energy";
When the ears listen, they use "spirit".

So by guarding our eyes, and not letting ourselves be shaken by all the temptations of the glittering world, we avoid wasting our "essence."

7. To Nourish the Spirit, First Nourish Energy; to Nourish Energy, First Know "Emptiness"

The teaching then lays out a clear path:

Nourish the spirit ← Nourish energy ← Know emptiness ← Empty the heart

To nourish our spiritual nature, we must first nourish our energy. To nourish our energy, we must first understand "emptiness." Where is this emptiness? In the heart.

Once the heart is emptied, the mysterious gateways (玄窍) of the body are no longer blocked. Energy fills them naturally, growing greater and greater, until it fills the whole body and becomes one with the pure, open energy of the universe.

Saint Mo says that, in the end, this practice is simply about being able to empty the heart.

8. What We Listen To Is Also Practice

At the end, the teaching talks especially about "listening." Listening outward easily drains the spirit; listening inward nourishes it.

Which sounds from the outside drain the spirit most?

Pleasant words: nice words are often flattery and praise. They sound good to us because our heart enjoys them. But as soon as we enjoy them, the heart is stirred, our energy scatters, and the spirit is quietly harmed without our noticing.
Harsh words: unpleasant words make resentment rise in our heart. Once resentment stirs, our energy stirs with it, the spirit is hurt, and our essence and energy are hurt too.

So the best state is to listen without the heart being moved, with no difference at all between pleasant and harsh words:

What is right, I hear calmly. What is wrong, I hear calmly. Good or bad, I hear it all calmly.

Confucius said: "At fifty I knew Heaven's mandate; at sixty my ears were attuned." This is exactly that natural state, fully reached.

Saint Mo closes by encouraging everyone: for us who practise, the chance to sit in meditation and study the scriptures is a rare and precious opportunity. Don't let it slip away.

Five Simple Tips for Beginners

1. It's normal not to feel calm: your mind has been busy for many years. Give yourself time and keep sitting.

2. Perseverance is what counts: each step you sit is a step forward; each stretch brings new understanding.

3. Don't rush, don't chase, don't force: let go of expecting results, and meditation will grow more and more comfortable.

4. Refine your heart in daily life: temptations, surprises and insults are all good chances to practise.

5. Hear praise and criticism calmly: don't let praise go to your head, or criticism make you angry.

Going Deeper: Notes for Fellow Practitioners

The following notes touch on deeper practice and are offered for fellow members of the Daoyuan.

"收视返听" (Withdrawing the gaze and turning the hearing inward): The original teaching notes that many beginners don't understand the principle of withdrawing the gaze and turning the hearing inward, or how to progress in it. It is best to study it alongside the guide to sitting practice, understanding a little more with each sitting.
"欲保其精而不溢……不若化其精于无形" (To keep one's essence from overflowing… is not as good as transforming it into the formless): Quoting Bodhidharma, the original teaching moves step by step: keeping essence from overflowing is not as good as not leaking it; not leaking is not as good as not stirring it; not stirring is not as good as transforming it into the formless; and transforming it is not as good as "having nothing, and from that giving rise to the heart." From this "something within nothing," what is within something is transformed back to nothing; essence and energy give rise to each other, water and fire support each other, and essence can be transformed into spirit.
"养灵必先养气，养气必先知空，空于心房而已" (To nourish the spirit, first nourish energy; to nourish energy, first know emptiness, which is simply emptiness of the heart): Once the heart is emptied, all the mysterious gateways (玄窍) of the body are unobstructed. Energy fills them naturally until it is vast, fills the whole body, and becomes one with the pure, open energy of the cosmos.
"听于外者则伤乎神，听于内者有益于神" (Listening outward harms the spirit; listening inward benefits it): The original teaching explains in detail how pleasant and harsh words stir the heart, scatter energy and harm the spirit. It encourages fellow practitioners to "listen in emptiness, and respond as things enter," taking the natural way as the natural method.

Source: Chu Ke Teachings (《处科训文》), printed by the Hong Kong Office of the Mother Daoyuan, Daoyuan. Teaching by Saint Mo, 19th day of the 7th lunar month, Dingsi year (2 September 1977). This article is a plain-language reading and is for reference only.

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