Dealing with all those annoying 'interruptions' :)

[Rich]

There is a difference between responding and reacting. All these noises while sitting don't require a response. Well maybe a fire alarm or some emergency does. So what is reacting, it's your mind. So drop the mind. Just be here, relaxed, not moving.

SAT today

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[Meian]

If I waited until my life was completely still and quiet, I'd never sit or do anything. My life has not been quiet or still for 30 years, but i accepted this long ago.

My practice works for me because I have learned thru TreeLeaf that it can be done anywhere, even if not always zazen, but i can do it *with* my chaotic life, not in spite of it. Always a work in progress.

My perspective.

Gassho
Kim
St

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[Jakuden]

If I waited until my life was completely still and quiet, I'd never sit or do anything. My life has not been quiet or still for 30 years, but i accepted this long ago.

My practice works for me because I have learned thru TreeLeaf that it can be done anywhere, even if not always zazen, but i can do it *with* my chaotic life, not in spite of it. Always a work in progress.

My perspective.

Gassho
Kim
St

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[emoji106][emoji120]!
Gassho
Jakuden
SatToday/LAH


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[Meian]

"It is right at the eye of the storm that one can know stillness, and in the middle of chaos that we can taste peace."

Jundo, your words here are so powerful, and true.

I sometimes don't have a choice *but* to sit, chant, etc, in a truly disturbing place, but that becomes my stillness, my peace, my Center. It then becomes "easier" for me to navigate thru the storms or face them directly when I need to, if I've been sitting quietly with chaos and storms swirling around me.

Gassho
Kim
St

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[Byokan]

Hi Billy,

thanks for posting this, it's something we all experience. My thoughts, for what they're worth:

Labeling sounds and sensations and mental formations as they arise is a useful meditation technique, but it is not shikantaza. (Well, it is, in the sense that everything is shikantaza, but in this context, no, it is not.) I personally found that the years I spent using that technique did help me to be a bit less reactive, and to focus and settle down with relative ease. Doing it off the cushion can be even more transformative. However, I think you're right that saying “its” creates duality, separation. And “just” -- that’s a value judgement. One could leave those and just say “sound” or “memory” or “sadness” or “itching”. And let it be.

But in shikantaza we don't label, we just allow, sit in awareness, rest into what is. Things arise and pass away, and attaching or resisting is unnecessary. If something arises that needs attention, like the house burning down or a child needing care, we deal with it appropriately.

I think it is not really the noise that is disturbing. The noise is just a noise, just vibration in the air. One noise is no different from another in this sense. Car alarm is the same as chanting the Heart Sutra is the same as the wind in the trees is the same as your heartbeat. It is our reaction to the noise -- wanting things to be otherwise -- which makes the “interruption.”

Even when there is no noise we may be “interrupted” by thoughts, emotions, or physical sensations. It’s always something. Because we are alive! And we have these complex brains and incredibly perceptive sense organs. Isn’t it wonderful? Consider that "Buddha nature pervades the whole universe," -- it is in everything that distracts or delights you. "Reality, existing right here" -- this is your home, exactly as it is.

10,000 things happened to produce the causes and conditions for whatever sound is arising right now. How could it be any other way?

It's kind of like saying, “Dang! I wanted to ride my bicycle, but I am distracted by the wheels turning and the ground moving and the sky looming over my head!” In becoming aware of your reaction to these “interruptions,” you are well on your way. You are doing it! Enjoy the ride!

Just keep sitting. Things get better. Then they’ll get worse again... And then better... etc. Do this all your life.

Gassho
Byōkan
sat + lah

[Geika]

I read not so long ago that listening is a good vehicle for meditation. It is not shikantaza, but like breath counting, listening can help to settle the mind for zazen. The reason why is because sounds just come, we hear, they go, we don't hear, or a new sound comes with no control from ourselves. We have no choice but to let the sounds go by. When I find myself grasping thoughts, I remember how it feels when sounds come and how I can let them go effortlessly. But every sit is different.

Gassho, sat today

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[Jundo]

What all the wise folks said! Lovely advice.

I really love these threads where i don't have to do nothing, and all the other folks do the work.

Yes, labeling is a good Practice off the cushion ... but not during Shikantaza. In Zazen, simply open the hand of thought 10,000 times and 10,000 times again, don't latch on to the disturbance, simply return to the breath or posture or just sitting ... and sit.

Gassho, J

SatTodayLAH

PS - Billy, may I ask you to post a human face photo as your "avatar"? It is one of the precious ways we have to look each other in the eye around here a bit. Please read our confidentiality tips with some information on how, and the best ways to do so. Thank you.

http://www.treeleaf.org/forums/showthread.php?8531-CONFIDENTIALITY-TIPS-for-Sangha-Members

[Myogan]

I will probably mess this up, but I find the sounds are no different than the feeling of the cushion on my butt, the incense in the air, the speck of dirt on the wall.
Identifying Them is the first act of grasping thoughts and leads to more thoughts.
This happens naturally, as our minds naturally want stimulus. Some times the"letting go" is like sand slipping though your fingers and we let it happen. Some times it is like holding something more substantial and you have to open your fingers slightly, the trick is to let the fingers of your thoughts move the least and not turn it into mental hand dancing (https://youtu.be/KtmsZLY8v_o)

Gassho
sat