Not a great sit.

[Ankai]

Sat this morning, and it wasn't a particularly great sit. I found that my mind was all over the place, I had extreme difficulties focusing, I was thinking about the time entirely too much, and by the time it was over, I was thinking, "when is the damn bell going to ring?"
And yet, I still sat, and it was still Zazen.
I think sometimes we spend so much time focusing on the time we were on the cushion and everything just flies by or the time we sat and had some wonderful moment of illumination that we forget that a lot of the time we spend on the cushion is really just time we spend on the cushion.
And that's okay.
There's no doubt in my mind that even Buddha himself had moments as he sat in which his obnoxious cousin or his hunger or any number of other things didn't intrude.
I actually think it's pretty healthy to talk about this stuff so I would love to hear other people's recollections of the times when sitting isn't just fabulous.
We've all been there.

SatToday

[Shinshi]

Sat this morning, and it wasn't a particularly great scent. I found that my mind was all over the place, I had extreme difficulties focusing, I was thinking about the time entirely too much, and by the time it was over, I was thinking, "when is the damn bill going to ring?"
And yet, I still sat, and it was still Zazen.
I think sometimes we spend so much time focusing on the time we were on the cushion and everything just flies by or the time we sat and had some wonderful moment of illumination that we forget that a lot of the time we spend on the cushion is really just time we spend on the cushion.
And that's okay.
There's no doubt in my mind that even Buddha himself had moments as he sat in which his obnoxious cousin or his hunger or any number of other things didn't intrude.
I actually think it's pretty healthy to talk about this stuff so I would love to hear other people's recollections of the times when sitting isn't just fabulous.
We've all been there.

All sittings are just perfect as they are, we just like some more than others. I have had plenty of sits that I have evaluated as hard or unpleasant, or even "wrong". I am struggling with back issues and it means that often I can't sit the full time period I set for myself. I have to get up and move around a bit and then return to the cushion. It is really easy to get caught up in evaluating that as "bad", not doing it "right", not living up the the correct "standard". I try to be gentle with myself. And step back from my attachment to doing things the right way. In fact, working with those emotions and thoughts can often be very insightful.

Sometimes it is just about keeping on even though things are hard. Congrats on your not great sit!!!

Gassho, Shinshi

SaT-LaH

[MattN]

I really appreciated this perspective and needed it today! I've had a change in daily routine which means I'm getting up to sit much earlier in the morning now and it feels much harder. This is a great reminder to keep on going.

Matt
Sat Today

[Tom M]

Often if my mind becomes clear and bright during a sit, I will think "yes! now!", but after a while I fade back into dullness and distraction without noticing it happen.

I try to sit every day, even if a sit is interrupted after a few minutes by family life, or I'm really sleepy and just struggling to keep my eyes open.

It seems all the stories of monks are full of them being struck with sticks because of sleeping during zazen, so if pro-zazen can be sleepy zazen, who am I to demand different

Tom
Sat today

[Shokai]

There's no good Zazen and there's no bad Zazen; there's just YOUR Zazen!!

gassho, Shokai
stlah

[Shonin Risa Bear]

In a "bad" sit, not a moment goes by that is not the whole amazing universe as it is, exactly the same as in a "good" sit.
The Hsin Hsin Ming applies here (as everywhere).

Good sit! Thank you.

gassho
ds sat today

[Seiko]

I've had times when there are too many interruptions, then I gave up and returned to sit later.

I had a time in sesshin when I blacked out during zazen. I regained consciousness after being moved to another room.

Sitting seems to amplify any little problems or issues that I have. That's always the case for me, if I try to ignore something, it will rise up during sitting, to remind me it's still unsolved. Then peace comes when I stop trying so hard.

Gasshō
seiko
stlah

[Kaisho]

Yeah this practice is whole and complete despite our aches and pains and our monkey minds latching on to various things. Conversely it is still (just as) complete when we judge sitting to be good.

Thank you for the reminder

Gassho, Kaisho
Stlah

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[Jundo]

I think that this good Soto Zen priest says it all ...

... from the 4:30 mark to 8:00 mark. Please watch that portion triple 3x thrice.

https://youtu.be/SHkQj9eDhio

** (By the way, I am going to reach out to, see if we can get the priest, Rev. Uno, here as a guest speaker or the like if his English is up for it and he is willing ... or maybe I will hop on a train up there ...)

Gassho, J

stlah

[Jundo]

There are no obstructions or interruptions to Zazen, no thoughts that disturb ... unless your own mind clings to such happenings, and judges, defines and feels "this is obstruction" "this is interruption" "this is disturbance" between your own ears.

If one drops away all ratings and judgements between the ears of "this is an obstruction ... interruption ... disturbance" ... then all is just circumstances, things as they are, shining in equanimity.

Then ... thoughts or no thoughts, focusing or not focusing, illumination or no illumination, doorbells ringing, baby crying (including getting up to tend to the baby if needed), noise or silence, beautiful garden or ugly wall, hunger and obnoxious cousins, sleepy or not sleepy, fainting or not fainting during Zazen (including immediately getting that checked at the doctor!), aches and pains and monkey mind ... are all just circumstances, things precious "just as they are," shining sacred and unique in equanimity ... when one drops judgements of "this is obstruction, interruption, disturbance" from mind. Then, baby crying is a Buddha crying, doorbells are temple bells, obnoxious relatives are the passing breeze, and even aches and pains and monkeys are the whole universe aching and paining and monkeying around.

Yes, we do as we can to let go of thoughts, to not grab on to long trains of thought and let them pass ... Yes, we "sit" in some balanced way, as the body allows ... but Zazen is Good, thoughts or no thoughts or whatever the posture.

Furthermore, attain the most perfect bliss, the deepest concentration of mind, the most wondrous insight and it is also Good Zazen if one does not cling to the bliss, the concentration, the insight. Some times there may be bliss, concentration and insight ... and sometimes not ... and it is still all Perfect, Good Zazen! When bliss or no bliss happens it is also, equally, circumstances, sacred, just things precious as they are, no different from crying babies and mind monkeying. Bliss or no bliss, all sacred, unique, precious in the moment.

On the other hand, attain the most perfect bliss, the deepest concentration of mind and insight day after day ... and it is Bad Zazen if one clings to such or feels that "Good Zazen" is found only in such states of bliss, concentration and insight. In fact, all one has attained is a limited insight.

Shikantaza Zazen is counter-intuitive in this way.

Gassho, J

stlah

[Bion]

I think that this good Soto Zen priest says it all ...

... from the 4:30 mark to 8:00 mark. Please watch that portion triple 3x thrice.

https://youtu.be/SHkQj9eDhio

** (By the way, I am going to reach out to, see if we can get the priest, Rev. Uno, here as a guest speaker or the like if his English is up for it and he is willing ... or maybe I will hop on a train up there ...)

Gassho, J

stlah

He is wonderful, isn’t he? You can feel the warmth with which he explains everything and you sense the smile behind the mask!

[emoji1374] Sat Today

[Kaisho]

Thanks Jundo.

Gassho
Kaisho
Stlah

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[michaelw]

Things that happen while just sitting:

cough
sneeze
eczema itch
repeated phone calls
cat trapped in same room
incense set off the smoke detector
cushion on my seiza bench slipping
door bell because I locked Mrs W out

Gassho
MichaelW

sat

[Jundo]

Things that happen while just sitting:

cough, breeze blows
sneeze, volcano erupts
eczema itch, sun shines
repeated phone calls, silence
cat trapped in same room, no cat no room
incense set off the smoke detector, super-nova explodes a billion light years away
cushion on my seiza bench slipping, no place to fall
door bell because I locked Mrs W out, no place to enter the gateless gate ...

Each and all is just circumstances, things as they are, shining, one and all unique, a jewel in Indra's Net.

Gassho, J

stlah

[Jippou]

One of the things I really appreciate about shikintaza is this emphasis of all zazen being good zazen and everything being complete and perfect just as it is. It is encouraging to me, because frankly, my mind is a racing mess most of the time, flitting from thought to though at breakneck speed. Under any other circumstances I’d feel like a complete failure, but here I can feel like it just is what it is and that’s ok. It keeps me coming back to sitting over and over again.

Gassho,
Jason
SAT


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