Mosquito vs Qi

[The Way Is Virtue]

And for good reasons. You'll hardly ever come across any Puma and maybe you could count on your ten fingers a few bear sightings, given that we have killed a lot of our wildlife.

 

It depends where you are located. In North America there are usually some attacks on people every year by black bears and sometimes by grizzlies as well. Black bears in general are somewhat more benign than grizzlies, but black bears are more abundant and their habitat is a larger area than that of grizzlies, so more contact with people. Although black bears are somewhat more benign than grizzlies in general, being near black bears when they have cubs is always very dangerous, and there are some black bears which just seem to be aggressive bears for whatever reason that may suddenly attack a human without provocation of any kind. There are still cougar attacks on humans in North America from time to time as well.

Edited June 3, 2011 by The Way Is Virtue

[Adishakti]

Hi The Way is Virtue. Bears are the same everywhere, require little provocation. I guess it's best for the uninitiated to keep out of their territory or learn basic survival techniques, Eg; know which trees they prefer, or keep silent while walking, or look for honey combs, recognizing pug marks, or learn the best way to run if one encounters them. I can't say much but people should do a basic Naturalist course. Cougars are harmless, in that their will avoid humans if they can first, but off course one should avoid pushing their luck.

 

Also another good bit about mosquitoes lately has been every time I need to wake up early without an alarm, I sure have some of them doing the job, or sometimes when I'm in middle of some discussion a mosquito might come in the way and remind me it's a good time to end a certain conversation. It sure does sound preposterous, but it's fun.

 

It depends where you are located. In North America there are usually some attacks on people every year by black bears and sometimes by grizzlies as well. Black bears in general are somewhat more benign than grizzlies, but black bears are more abundant and their habitat is a larger area than that of grizzlies, so more contact with people. Although black bears are somewhat more benign than grizzlies in general, being near black bears when they have cubs is always very dangerous, and there are some black bears which just seem to be aggressive bears for whatever reason that may suddenly attack a human without provocation of any kind. There are still cougar attacks on humans in North America from time to time as well.

[Walker]

Always an interesting topic, and indeed one that could be important to cultivators. A few thoughts...

 

-In standing meditation (simple zhan zhuang) in 2007 I was surrounded by mosquitos and bitten everywhere, including the face. What was unusual, however, was that suddenly every mosquito bite seemed to become incredibly hot, and felt as though they were being mildly electrocuted. After a few minutes the bumps were all gone. For the next two years every time I got a mosquito bite, meditating or not, I would get this burning/electric feeling for several minutes, and then the bump would disappear. Now I get more of a generalized pain, and it feels like I can feel the poison in my blood vessels around the bump, but again the bump is gone inside of minutes. Previously for all of my life mosquito bites would last for days, but ever since that day in 2007 the reaction is always the same. On the bright side, the bites are gone very quickly. One the down side, if I am bitten at night it is generally impossible to sleep through the burning pain! Luckily it's gone after five minutes... I am curious it others who practice have found similar changes.

 

-I have also noticed that meditation has a repellent effect, as with Seth Ananda. Standing and sitting both work. Last summer I was not bitten once in my almost-nightly meditation sessions. However, as soon as I closed practice and got into bed, they were ready to eat! Also, I have received very few bites standing zhan zhuang in mosquito-dense areas this spring. Often I have even passed 45-minute sessions without getting a single bite even though they are buzzing around.

 

-A friend of mine who trained Yi Quan for some years in Paris once came to Beijing to see practice with his French teacher's master. This master demonstrated that he could close his pores and tighten his skin at will, making him inedible to mosquitos. In the demonstration a mosquito was already sucking his blood; he closed his skin and the mosquito could not withdraw its nose despite its struggle. Finally the teacher relaxed and the mosquito flew away. I met a cultivator from Dragon-Tiger Mountain in China (he is not a Daoist but practiced Daoist arts) who has what is probably a similar ability. He showed me that he can close his pores at will, which causes goose bumps to form and all of his hairs to stand up on end. He said this also has an insect bite deterring effect. I do not know if these abilities could fall into the category of wei/protective qi.

 

-The famous Buddhist master Jingkong Fashi (静空法师) states in one of his videos that he is seldom bothered by mosquitos because he prays to them, "hello little mosquito boddhisattvas, nice to see you, I know you are hungry but please do not bite me," etc. He says that the mosquitos are so thrilled to be addressed as bodhisattvas instead of devils that they're more than happy to leave people alone. Well, worth a try, eh! I've been employing this technique instead of slapping the little guys this year and seem to be getting results... seriously. But then again, I practice a lot. Maybe it is simply that my wei qi is stronger? Or they're on a diet?

 

-When I ran the phenomenon of not being bitten during meditation last summer by a Buddhist nun she attributed this to the help of protective deities (护法). A practitioner of Daoism, conversely, suggested that relaxation may cause a reduction in the body's release of chemicals that attract mosquitos.

 

-A young taiji teacher from Anhui whom I met on Wudang told me last year that being able to repel insects as Exorcist describes is a prerequisite to embarking on meditative retreat in the mountains. I don't know if all on retreat really reach this level first, but it would certainly help one adjust.

Edited June 7, 2011 by Walker

[manitou]

Be friends with the spider. They have saved more lives than doctors.

 

In a shamanic sense, it seems to work to make friends with everything. Had an interesting discussion with a groundhog the other day.

 

I can't remember the last time I was bit by a mosquito, and I'm here in the woods of Ohio. I have some huge black carpenter bees I talk to, they live over our doors. Maybe the mosquitos are into different body types and smells. The calmness and the lower blood pressure thing mentioned above kind of makes sense to me too.

[z00se]

Smoke a ciggerette and blow the smoke over you to make it even more effective. They don't bite after you've had a smoke, or much less anyhow.

 

Don't risk getting maleria, pick up a pack now!