Sitting in meditation is like unraveling a silken cocoon.

When we sit in meditation, we are as if unraveling the silk from a cocoon. We are like silkworms encased in a cocoon, caught in the six desires and bound by the seven emotions, which are joy, anger, sorrow, fear, emotional love, hatred, and desire. Although these seven emotions cannot be eradicated immediately, they should be reduced bit-by-bit.

1. Joy. We should not be excessively happy to the point of laughing as if we had gone mad.

2. Anger. Furthermore, we should not display anger. As it
is said,

The fire of ignorance, blazing like the stars,
will consume a forest of merit and virtue.
Firewood collected over a thousand days
can be burned up by a single spark.

If your mind is calm when you sit in Chan, then you will feel very peaceful. However, if you indulge in anger, you will be afflicted with a hundred types of illnesses. The bones and joints in your whole body will be very painful. The fire of anger will have burned down the Bodhi tree.

3. Sorrow. We should not allow ourselves to become overly sad.

4. Fear. With fear in the mind, we cannot achieve righteousness.

5. Emotional love. Suppose we see someone or something beautiful and react with craving and desire. Suppose we notice that others have nice things and we crave such things ourselves. Such craving comes from thoughts that are caught up in emotional love and greed.

6. Hatred. Hatred is the opposite of emotional love. Extreme love often turns into hatred.

7. Desire. This includes even thoughts of desire, and especially those that are unruly, not in accord with the Way. These seven emotions have to be eradicated bit-by-bit. Hence, in our practice, it is necessary to be continually cleansing the mind. When the seven emotions have been reduced to the point of disappearing, then there will be nothing left. At that point, we will be constantly in samadhi. Whether we are walking, standing, sitting, or reclining, we will be investigating Chan and practicing hard. It is then that we will recognize our original face and know whether our nostrils are pointing up or down.