Zazen Notes

Under the topic, “What is so special about the lotus?” (“The Dao Bums”), someone posted the following:

When ‘tucked in’ there is a deep release I experience in the legs, kua (pelvis), that emanates up into the abdomen and prompts a deepening of sung (relaxation) and full body release.

I second that, and I have ...  read more

Recently I read a forum post by a piano teacher (and life coach), who said that it’s hard to leave old habits behind because of muscle memory. I agree with him that there is muscle memory involved, but at least as far as old habits in sitting, there’s also the panic of the suffocation response. Sooner or later, I begin to feel like ...  read more

On the subject of “aching-legs Buddhism”, I finally attended a five-day sesshin last fall, at Jikoji. I discovered that at least for the sesshin I attended, they were sitting mostly a 40-minute sitting followed by 30-minute sitting, throughout the day.

At one of the teas during the sesshin, I learned that the Los Angeles Zen Center ...  read more