I am crazy sleepy zazen man!

[Marek]

Re: I am crazy sleepy zazen man!

Exactly. Low light is not a good friend for practice either.

Gassho

[Nindo]

Re: I am crazy sleepy zazen man!

Madrone, maybe try counting the breath with determination and diligence. You may have to build up some energy (joriki) and mental stability before you are ready for shikantaza.
Nothing wrong or "less advanced" with counting the breath zen. If you give your all to it, it's still the same zazen.

[Shohei]

Re: I am crazy sleepy zazen man!

Hi Madrone!
I do my zazen at lunch or evening or so, and regardless of rest I found the first few minutes drowsy as my mind/bodies way of trying to get out of it, like the wild fire itch that MUST be scratched only to have it jump and move. I do not brace my feet against it I just notice it and move on...lo and behold! its gone!!
That all said the suggestions above are all very useful, give them a try too. I personally found, lights on, a big help, sometimes a window cracked helps, yeah even in the winter I do that one, and if at all tolerable a bit of coffee/tea if your already yawning.

Gassho

Shohei

[Jundo]

Re: I am crazy sleepy zazen man!

Hi,

This is such a perennial question that I will post a couple of older threads with more good advice.

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4037

viewtopic.php?p=41954#p41954

Brain waves during Zazen are often in state otherwise found during sleep, or which are similar to brain waves in that peaceful place we encounter right before falling asleep while in bed ...

http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=3457896

... which is also another reason that we can easily slip over the line into ZZZZZZZZzzzzzz.

In my case, I usually combine sitting when not too exhausted from a strenuous day, sitting after a bit of tea/coffee (in moderation ... Zen monks discovered tea and have never been far from a cup), adjusting my posture and slightly straightening the spine, taking some deep breaths, massaging the face and limbs.

If you do fall asleep, just sleep ... although if it happens too often, or most of the time, it is not good Zazen. Once in awhile is okay.

Here is also something I often post on sleeping. It is important to remember that a monastic setting is like marine "boot camp" quite often, with teachers pushing pushing pushing ... all to realize "nothing to attain". So, some attitudes on Zazen and sleep in the past have been quite extreme.

... there are reports from China in the "old days" (and even now) of monks [especially during Sesshin] meditating with just about 3 hours of sleep (or pulling an "all nighter" or two or more). In Dogen's day (sometimes still now), they used a special wooden support called a "Zenpan" to hold the chin up (true), and were actually just sleeping in the Lotus Posture (I have done that too, although it is discouraged these days most times).

"Zenpan" description here:

http://books.google.com/books?id=smNM4E ... en&f=false

Here is one:



...

I have posted this from time to time on Zazen and sleep (and becoming sleepy during Zazen) ...

The great teacher "Homeless Kodo" Sawaki Roshi said about sleep and Zazen ...

Eat in order to do zazen, sleep in order to do zazen. This means that eating and sleeping are also part of zazen.

In other words, we must be properly fed and rested (not too much, not too little ... ours is the Middle Way) in order to sustain our Practice properly. Get rest.

Of course ... that is if we can. Sometimes, more easily said than done these days. If you do find yourself unavoidably tired (because of your 3 jobs), but also feel your Zazen unavoidable (which it should be most days), follow the words of Uchiyama Roshi ...

Another time you might be tired. Then you have to remind yourself that you are practicing zazen right now, and it is not the time for sleeping. This is correcting your attitude, correcting your posture, really opening the eyes and returning to zazen. This is called “Awakening from dullness and fatigue.”

That is for day to day practice. Find the time which suits you best, morning or evening maybe afternoon, and sit consistently then. Sit with a bit of sleepy Zazen when it happens. If too sleepy, and literally falling of the Zafu, go get some sleep.

If in a Sesshin or other intense retreat, it may be a somewhat different story, and we may wish to push ourselves a bit harder (pushing hard with nothing to attain ... but non-attainng!), Remember the words and actions of Master Dogen's teacher, Master Nyojo (Ryujing)

When staying at Tendo Monastery in China, while the old master Nyojo was abbot there, we sat zazen until about eleven o’clock at night and got up at about half-past two to sit zazen. The abbot sat with the assembly in the sodo, never taking even one night off.

While sitting, many monks fell asleep. The abbot walked around hitting them with his fist or his slipper, scolding them and encouraging them to wake up. If they continued to sleep, he went to the shodo1, rang the bell, and called his attendants to light the candles. On the spur of the moment he would say such things as; “What is the use of sleeping? Why do you gather in a sodo [monk's hall]? Why did you become a monk and enter this monastery?”

One time, his immediate attendant said, “The monks in the sodo are tired and sleepy. They may fall ill or lose their aspiration because of the long hours of sitting. Please shorten the time of zazen.”

Angrily the abbot replied, “We must never do that. People without bodhi-mind who temporarily stay in the sodo would sleep even if we sat for only half an hour or less. Practitioners with bodhi-mind who aspire to practice are happier the longer they are able to sit and therefore, practice much harder. ”
http://global.sotozen-net.or.jp/common_ ... 02-25.html

In bed by 11, up for Zazen at 2:30! Rujing seems like a heck of a drill sargent at the Dharma boot camp!

But on most days ... the advise is to get sleep sufficient to allow Zazen. It is best to sit in the mornings upon awakening, or at night just before bed. But you can pick another time when not so tired too. Then, take a bit of the sleepy zazen when it happens. If it's too sleepy go get some sleep and sit on waking. If falling asleep during Zazen (although discouraged), just do that ... I promise not to beat you with my slipper (and hopefully it will not happen most days ... even Jundo falls asleep on the "sit-a-long" now and then, if you look closely! ops: ) .

If you sit Zazen and it is ZZZZzzzzz, just perfectly ZZZZzzzz!

By the way, just adjusting the posture, opening the eyes a bit more and taking some breaths can help. I stretch my neck just a bit when tired during Zazen, and it seems to help ... as if a tiny string running from the top of my head to the ceiling were given a light tug. Or, one can return to following the breath for awhile. Monks in China and Japan have always had a close relationship to tea and caffeine (in moderation!). At more Sesshin I have attended in Japan or the West, tea and coffee (in moderation!) are always somewhere around.

Master Keizan wrote (in his Zazen Yojinki about the year 1400) ...

Although we shouldn’t be too anxious about bodily comforts, inadequate clothing, food and sleep are known as the "three insufficiencies" and will cause our practice to suffer. ...

... If dullness or sleepiness overcome your sitting, move to the body and open the eyes wider, or place attention above the hairline or between your eyebrows. If you are still not fresh, rub the eyes or the body. If that still doesn’t wake you, stand up and walk, always clockwise. Once you’ve gone about a hundred steps you probably won’t be sleepy any longer. The way to walk is to take a half step with each breath. Walk without walking, silent and unmoving.

If you still don’t feel fresh after doing kinhin, wash your eyes and forehead with cold water. Or chant the Three Pure Precepts of the Bodhisattvas. Do something; don’t just fall asleep. You should be aware of the Great Matter of birth and death and the swiftness of impermanence. What are you doing sleeping when your eye of the Way is still clouded? If dullness and sinking arise repeatedly you should chant, "Habituality is deeply rooted and so I am wrapped in dullness. When will dullness disperse? May the compassion of the Buddhas and Ancestors lift this darkness and misery."

A bit of Kinhin, for a few minutes, can be good when very tired.

There was a master who sat with a heavy object on his head, which would fall with a crash whenever he started to doze ... and another who kept jabbing himself with a needle ... but I don't recommend that! :shock:

Also, brain wave studies have shown that Zazen may have some of the benefits of sleep, and may be a "sleep substitute" to some degree. Brain waves during Zazen are often in state otherwise found during sleep, or which are similar to brain waves in that peaceful place we encounter right before falling asleep while in bed ...

http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=3457896

... which is also another reason that we can easily slip over the line into ZZZZZZZZzzzzzz.

Gassho, and Good Night, Jundo

[KellyRok]

Re: I am crazy sleepy zazen man!

Hi all,

I sit early morning every day from 6 -6:30. It helps that I get up, shower and get ready for my day first. But I've also found what really helps is if I do some stretching right before I sit. It is very important for me to stretch my leg muscles because they get very tight and tend to put strain on my spine. So I stretch my hamstrings and quads to get them awake and limber before I put strain on them from sitting. I also do a few sun salutations (yoga stretches) to lenghten my whole spine and neck area. It releases any tension that may have built up in sleep and helps me to stay awake during zazen.

I've also used kinhin during my morning sits, sometimes it helps me to better focus my breathing and prevents the eyes from closing (and also keeps me from tripping and falling on my face.

The best way for me may not be the best way for you, but I hope you find your way through experimenting.

take care,
Kelly/Jinmei

[Madrone]

Re: I am crazy sleepy zazen man!

Wow! Thanks for all of your helpful responses! Keeping with the scientific method approach, I will try each of these suggestions on a separate sit and let you know how things go. If something does not work, I will just experience sleepy zazen when it comes. Maybe I just needed a bit of reassurance that this is normal.

If all else fails I'll pull out the needle (just kidding).

Thank you once again!

[Madrone]

Re: I am crazy sleepy zazen man!

Hey all,

Just wanted to follow through on this and let you know that raising my eyes helped, and so did going to bed one hour earlier.

Unfortunately I can't sleep right now, so maybe I'll sit through this insomnia as well.

Have a lovely day.

Madrone.