On sitting the lotus, here are some instructions I find very useful, every day almost:<\/p>\n
An empty hand grasps the hoe handle
\nWalking along, I ride the ox
\nThe ox crosses the wooden bridge
\nThe bridge is flowing, the water is still.<\/p>\n
(“Zen’s Chinese Heritage”, Andy Ferguson, pg 2, copyright 2002 Andrew Ferguson)<\/p>\n
So he abides fully conscious of what is behind and what is in front.
\nAs (he is conscious of what is) in front, so behind: as behind, so in front;
\nas below, so above: as above, so below:
\nas by day, so by night: as by night, so by day.
\nThus with wits alert, with wits unhampered, he cultivates his mind to brilliancy.<\/p>\n
(Sanyutta-Nikaya, text V 263, Pali Text Society volume 5 pg 235, copyright Pali Text Society)<\/p>\n
In my understanding the hoe handle is the sacrum. The empty hand works as Gautama described it, “as in front, so behind: as behind, so in front”; if I am conscious of activity in the lower abdominals, I look for consciousness of activity at the sacrum. The Gautamid described the feeling of the first meditative state as like gathering soap powder that been sprinkled around the inside of a cauldron into a ball, until the ball doesn’t ooze; if I look to the state of mind I have waking up or falling asleep, and I am conscious in front as behind, behind as in front, then I can allow consciousness to fall where it may and observe activity initiated by the stretch of ligaments. I have to be waking up or falling asleep to observe activity initiated by the stretch of ligaments without startling myself and interrupting the reciprocity and balance of the action, and I have to accept what I feel into my sense of location, but this is no big deal; the effort is being where I am as I am where I am, to wake up or fall asleep.<\/p>\n
I usually stretch my legs, first one and then the other, before I sit. I grab my toes or as close as I can get, and wait until I have the feeling to touch my head to my knee or whatever feels satisfactory. This usually requires specifically waiting for feeling for motion at the sacrum; the sacrum in my experience is constantly rotating forward and backward, and on other pivots as well. Yet, as behind, so before.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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 he … <\/p>\n