Zazen Notes

I was struck by Gudo’s description of an awareness of the back of the neck and head, and a stretch that is engaged when the chin comes down and in. The stretch, Gudo said, is at the back of the head, and is critical to dropping mind and body. Am I remembering that right?

Now from my research into cranial-sacral osteopathic theory, the stretch ...  read more

There are parallels to “visual thinking”, attending to information coming to awareness before any discrimination of intent, in disciplines other than psychic healing. Dogen the Japanese Soto teacher emphasized “non-thinking” as the pivot of zazen, for instance (in Fukanzazengi).

I myself am coming to the conclusion that the ...  read more

On sitting the lotus, here are some instructions I find very useful, every day almost:

An empty hand grasps the hoe handle
Walking along, I ride the ox
The ox crosses the wooden bridge
The bridge is flowing, the water is still.

(“Zen’s Chinese Heritage”, Andy Ferguson, pg 2, copyright 2002 Andrew Ferguson)

So ...  read more