Instructions to sit from Koun Franz

[Heishu]

Thank you for this.

Gassho
Heishu

[Kaishin]

Thank you, Taigu & Jundo.

[RichardH]

Roots penetrate and plunge downward into the rough textures of the earth. A cloud dissolves into open sky.

Gassho
Daizan

[pinoybuddhist]

Cool. It will be nice to hear a talk from a teacher than you or Taigu for a change (not that I have any complaints about your talks).



Rafael

We are in the process of asking Koun to offer a little talk for us, maybe even lead a Zazenkai. We are working out the logistics now, and I hope it can happen soon.

Gassho, Jundo

[Jakugan]

Thank you for this talk. I have bookmarked it already.

Gassho,

Simon

[Oheso]

could someone offer an explanation of "sitting in practice" and "sitting in verification"?

thanks, gassho,

Robert

[Shokai]

You can look it up

http://bit.ly/ZMOfJl

gassho,

[Seimyo]

Thank for posting this Taigu. I too have bookmarked it for future reference as well.

Gassho.
Seimyo

[Onken]

Hi all,

Here's a question. In reading this article and in traditional thought, we should sit straight, pelvis tucked, but relaxed. In traditonal Zen schools, one's posture is corrected, however, I sometimes find myself slouching during zazen and feel comfortable. I have some great sits out of correct posture. Can this "slouching" posture be ok?

[Daitetsu]

Hi Onken,

I have some great sits out of correct posture. Can this "slouching" posture be ok?

The thing is what do you consider a "great sit" (vs. "bad sit")? IMHO we should drop all judgments of good or bad - we just sit. No sit is better or worse than another.

I assume you mean a sit with lots of blue sky (vs. stormy sits). My personal take is this: if you have lots of blue sky slouching, then slouch! (supposed this does not cause any pain or damages your body).
I am pretty sure this is not the traditional way though and many teachers will disagree.

As soon as I slouch during sitting, this leads to back pain, so I always take care to sit upright (not military style though).

Gassho,

Timo

[Rich]

Hi all,

Here's a question. In reading this article and in traditional thought, we should sit straight, pelvis tucked, but relaxed. In traditonal Zen schools, one's posture is corrected, however, I sometimes find myself slouching during zazen and feel comfortable. I have some great sits out of correct posture. Can this "slouching" posture be ok?

This is a great question because I'm probably a little bit of a slouch. I always seem to be making adjustments so I feel comfortable and balanced. So if you feel comfortable the slouching may just be an idea and not real anymore. I think you just have to figure it out for yourself.

[jus]

ive always heard about things such as the rigidness and strictness of zen, and that you MUST sit up as straight as possible during meditation. what ive gathered from taigus video and from other teachers, is to sit more naturally? not necessarly slouching, but the spine does bend some? please correct me if I misunderstood. gassho, Justin.

[Amelia]

I'm not Jundo or Taigu, but I say yes, jus. It is best to sit naturally, but upright.

[Taigu]

Slouching, no. Rigidity, no. A natural vertical spine without tension and a well orientated zafu. Good or bad zazen is an irrelevant stuff.

Check my vids again, an AT teacher would put you on a great track for sitting the body-mind. So would your own exploration and patience. But it is so easy to fool oneself as to if the sitting is balanced or not.

Gassho

Taigu

[jus]

sorry, that is what I ment, I think. a natural position. natural, not slouching, not too rigid. Im still learning and going through all of the videos here. gassho, Justin.