Buddhist-Meditation-Systematic-and-Practical

on experience.
4. Is there any objection to completely closing the
eyes while meditating? (See Ch. II, A, 4.)
The Tian Tai School stress very much that the neophyte
must close them, but in my opinion this is not certain. If
a person's mind is more disturbed than sleepy, then he
should close or half-close them, to be rid of disturbance.
Again, if a meditator chooses an inside point for his
concentration, such as the navel or at the tip of the nose,
then he should close his eyes. If the tendency to
sleepiness is more than that of disturbance, then open
them fully. When sleepiness is so persistent that it is
hard to dispel, then stare, stretching the eyes open.
When the body is tired the eyes should be half-open.
This matter is not fixed, therefore, and the meditator
should do whatever is necessary for the good of his
samatha-practice.
If one is practicing the samapatti on Mahamudra and
one wishes to abide in the Enlightened Entity, then
closed eyes are never recommended. Why? Because the
inner light, the channels of which are two special
channels coming to the eyes; and the outer light of the
sun, together with the light of the samapatti of
voidness—all these three lights must be identified in
voidness. If there is no wind, go outside and sit upon a
mountain, opening eyes widely and leaning back a little
to gain the maximum light from the blue sky. This is a
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