Timing your Zazen

[kalka2]

I look at a watch or clock. Distracting? Possibly, although I don't think it's any more distracting than an incense stick. Eventually, "managing" the distraction becomes just another part of the practice.

[johnny]

Janice....that's one of the nicer ones I've seen.

Since I'm thrifty (read: cheap), I was hoping to find something I really liked for NOT $100 or more...lol.

Carrying my laptop up and down the stairs with me is maybe not such a pain after all.....

[Longdog]

Count down timer on my cheap ,£10, digital watch.

My wife uses the treeleaf timer downloaded to her mobile phone if doing iton her own.

I used to find alarms jarring when I did the sort of meditation where you are apt to drift off with eyes closed. With zazen I don't even flinch, I guess I'm here now and it's just something that occurs here now.

[Shohei]

i use my ipod with either of the treeleaf mp3s... or incense. sometimes nothing at all... The cheapest timer i used is my body. It has a pretty good timer too... when the knee starts to twinge its been around 20mins... and the tougher the twinge the longer its been

Gassho
Dirk

[Martin]

I use one of the cheapish pyramid shaped timers that you can buy on line. Not as smart as Janice's enso clock! One word of warning though: on these pyramid timers (I don't know about others) there's no warning that the battery is about to give up. It just dies. Which can be after you've started sitting; it does the first gong, then gives up the ghost and the second gong to end the session never happens. So you wouldn't want to be sitting with one of these and a low battery on a morning when there's a really really important meeting you must on no account miss. I speak from (bitter)experience!

Gassho

Martin

[Kevin]

When I'm by my computer, I use a meditation widget (I have a mac) that I found at MeditationResources.com.

When I'm not by my computer, I use the alarm on my cell phone, set to vibrate.

[Kelly M.]

Check this out:

http://www.pranna.com/shop/index.php

It’s a little wooden timer that uses incense as the timing mechanism. When the incense burns down, it releases a little swivel arm that strikes an adjacent bell!

Genius!

Cheers,
Kelly

[Longdog]

Wow not for Buddha on a budget :lol: Clever idea though.

Gassho, Kev