{"id":2474,"date":"2025-09-28T09:34:34","date_gmt":"2025-09-28T16:34:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zenmudra.com\/zazen-notes\/?p=2474"},"modified":"2025-09-28T13:19:21","modified_gmt":"2025-09-28T20:19:21","slug":"just-to-sit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zenmudra.com\/zazen-notes\/?p=2474","title":{"rendered":"Just to Sit"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>I have a neighbor who is interested in sitting with me. He has never practiced any kind of meditation before, apart from a failed attempt to sit cross-legged with me over a year ago.<\/p>\n

This time around, I will offer him a chair.<\/p>\n

I find myself wondering what advice, if any, I should give him. The advice most zendos give beginners is to \u201cfollow the breath\u201d, though as Shunryu Suzuki said, following the breath is only a preparatory practice:<\/p>\n

\u2026 usually in counting breathing or following breathing, you feel as if you are doing something, you know\u2013 you are following breathing, and you are counting breathing. This is, you know, why counting breathing or following breathing practice is, you know, for us it is some preparation\u2013 preparatory practice for shikantaza because for most people it is rather difficult to sit, you know, just to sit.<\/p>\n

(The Background of Shikantaza<\/a>, Shunryu Suzuki; San Francisco, February 22, 1970)<\/p>\n

Suzuki described shikantaza in more detail:<\/p>\n

So most teacher may say shikantaza is not so easy, you know. It is not possible to continue more than one hour, because it is intense practice to take hold of all our mind and body by the practice which include everything. So in shikantaza, our mind should pervade every parts of our physical being. That is not so easy.<\/p>\n

(I have nothing in my mind<\/a>, Shunryu Suzuki, July 15, 1969)<\/p>\n

Gautama spoke similarly about the mind pervading the body:<\/p>\n

\u2026 seated, (one) suffuses (one\u2019s) body with purity by the pureness of (one\u2019s) mind so that there is not one particle of the body that is not pervaded with purity by the pureness of (one\u2019s) mind.<\/p>\n

(AN 5.28, tr. PTS vol. III pp 18-19, parentheticals paraphrase original)<\/p>\n

\u201cThe pureness of mind\u201d Gautama referred to is the pureness of the mind without any will or intent with regard to the activity of the body.<\/p>\n

In Gautama\u2019s teaching, the extension of \u201cpurity by the pureness of mind\u201d belonged to the last of four concentrations. The initial concentration is induced, said Gautama, by \u201cmaking self-surrender the object of thought\u201d:<\/p>\n

\u2026 the (noble) disciple, making self-surrender the object of (their) thought, lays hold of concentration, lays hold of one-pointedness.\u00a0 (The disciple), aloof from sensuality, aloof from evil conditions, enters on the first trance, which is accompanied by thought initial and sustained, which is born of solitude, easeful and zestful, and abides therein.<\/p>\n

(SN 48.10, tr. PTS vol V p 174; parentheticals paraphrase original; \u201cinitial\u201d for \u201cdirected\u201d, as at SN 36.11, tr. PTS vol IV p 146)<\/p>\n

In my experience, \u201cone-pointedness\u201d occurs when the movement of breath necessitates the placement of attention at a singular location in the body, and a person \u201clays hold of one-pointedness\u201d when they remain awake as the singular location shifts.<\/p>\n

Gautama described the \u201cfirst trance\u201d as having feelings of zest and ease, and he prescribed the extension of those feelings:<\/p>\n

\u2026 (a person) steeps, drenches, fills, and suffuses this body with zest and ease, born of solitude, so that there is not one particle of the body that is not pervaded by this lone-born zest and ease.<\/p>\n

(AN 5.28, tr. Pali Text Society vol. III pp 18-19)<\/p>\n

Words like \u201csteeps\u201d and \u201cdrenches\u201d convey that the weight of the body accompanies the feelings of zest and ease.<\/p>\n

The weight of the body sensed at a particular point in the body can shift the body\u2019s center of gravity, and a shift in the body\u2019s center of gravity can result in what Moshe Feldenkrais termed \u201creflex movement\u201d. Feldenkrais described how \u201creflex movement\u201d can be engaged in standing up from a chair:<\/p>\n

\u2026When the center of gravity has really moved forward over the feet a reflex movement will originate in the old nervous system and straighten the legs; this automatic movement will not be felt as an effort at all.<\/p>\n

(\u201cAwareness Through Movement\u201d, Moshe Feldenkrais, p 78)<\/p>\n

\u201cDrenching\u201d the body \u201cso that there is not one particle of the body that is not pervaded\u201d with zest and ease allows the weight of the body and \u201cone-pointedness\u201d to effect \u201creflex movement\u201d in the activity of the body.<\/p>\n

In falling asleep, the mind can sometimes react to hypnagogic sleep paralysis with an attempt to reassert control over the muscles of the body, causing a \u201chypnic jerk\u201d. The extension of a weighted zest and ease can pre-empt the tendency to reassert voluntary control in the induction of concentration, and make possible a conscious experience of \u201creflex movement\u201d in inhalation and exhalation.<\/p>\n

Gautama offered a metaphor for the first concentration that emphasized the cultivation of one-pointedness. Here\u2019s the full description:<\/p>\n

\u2026 just as a handy bathman or attendant might strew bath-powder in some copper basin and, gradually sprinkling water, knead it together so that the bath-ball gathered up the moisture, became enveloped in moisture and saturated both in and out, but did not ooze moisture; even so, (a person) steeps, drenches, fills, and suffuses this body with zest and ease, born of solitude, so that there is not one particle of the body that is not pervaded by this lone-born zest and ease.<\/p>\n

(AN 5.28, tr. Pali Text Society vol. III pp 18-19)<\/p>\n

The juxtaposition of a singular bath-ball with the extension of zest and ease such that \u201cthere is not one particle of the body that is not pervaded\u201d might seem dissonant, yet in my experience the two can be realized together, and at least initially neither can be sustained alone.<\/p>\n

Gautama also taught the extension of zest and ease in the second concentration:<\/p>\n

\u2026 imagine a pool with a spring, but no water-inlet on the east side or the west side or on the north or on the south, and suppose the (rain-) deva supply not proper rains from time to time\u2013cool waters would still well up from that pool, and that pool would be steeped, drenched, filled and suffused with the cold water so that not a drop but would be pervaded by the cold water; in just the same way\u2026 (one) steeps (their) body with zest and ease, born of solitude, so that there is not one particle of the body that is not pervaded by this lone-born zest and ease.<\/p>\n

(ibid)<\/p>\n

In the third concentration, the feeling of zest drops away, and only the feeling of ease is extended:<\/p>\n

… (one) steeps and drenches and fills and suffuses this body with a zestless ease so that there is not one particle of the body that is not pervaded by this zestless ease. \u2026 just as in a pond of blue, white, and red water-lilies, the plants are born in water, grow in water, come not out of the water, but, sunk in the depths, find nourishment, and from tip to root are steeped, drenched, filled and suffused with cold water so that not a part of them is not pervaded by cold water; even so, (one) steeps (one\u2019s) body in zestless ease.<\/p>\n

(ibid)<\/p>\n

Even though Gautama\u2019s metaphor for the third concentration lacks a clear singularity, \u201cone-pointedness\u201d can be said to be present, as for Gautama concentration was synonymous with \u201cone-pointedness of mind\u201d (MN 117).<\/p>\n

Gautama said that arahants (enlightened individuals) praised the ease of the third concentration, because that ease was associated with equanimity and mindfulness (MN 119). That suggests that the arahants favored the third concentration in seated meditation.<\/p>\n

The feeling of ease, said Gautama, ceases entirely in the fourth concentration as \u201c(one) suffuses (one\u2019s) body with purity by the pureness of (one\u2019s) mind\u201d.<\/p>\n

I would say the activity of the body in the fourth concentration is entirely \u201creflex movement\u201d occasioned by the placement of attention. To remain awake as the location of attention shifts and activity of the body takes place is \u201cjust to sit\u201d.<\/p>\n

Gautama detailed the four concentrations in a description of the mindfulness of states of mind (DN 22). He concluded his description by saying:<\/p>\n

\u2026 with the consciousness \u2018There are (the states of mind), mindfulness thereof is thereby established, far enough for the purposes of knowledge and of self-possession. And (a person) abides independent, grasping after nothing in the world whatever.<\/p>\n

(DN 22, tr. Pali Text Society vol II pp 345-346, parentheticals paraphrase original)<\/p>\n

About the first three concentrations, Shunryu Suzuki said:<\/p>\n

To prepare for the first stage or second stage or third stage, (Theravadin Buddhists) practice some special practice. Those practice is not the practice of the first stage or second stage or third stage, but to prepare for those stages.<\/p>\n

(The Background of Shikantaza<\/a>, Shunryu Suzuki; San Francisco, February 22, 1970; parenthetical paraphrases original)<\/p>\n

Just as with \u201ccounting breathing or following breathing\u201d, doing something with regard to a state of concentration is only \u201cpreparatory practice\u201d, and not the state of concentration.<\/p>\n

In the same vein, Gautama taught:<\/p>\n

\u2026 a good (person) reflects thus: \u201cLack of desire even for the attainment of the first (concentration) has been spoken of by (the Gautamid); for whatever (one) imagines it to be, it is otherwise\u201d [Similarly for the second, third, and fourth concentrations]\u2026<\/p>\n

(MN 113, tr. Pali Text Society vol III pp 92-94; parentheticals paraphrase original)<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t think I\u2019ll advise my friend to \u201cfollow the breath\u201d. I don\u2019t think I\u2019ll tell him the practice is \u201cjust to sit\u201d, either.<\/p>\n

Zen centers tend to give lots of instruction about posture. Suzuki said:<\/p>\n

It will take at least six months before you get your own right posture. Everyone has their own right posture…<\/p>\n

(True Zen<\/a>, Shunryu Suzuki, published, January, 1962, Wind Bell #2)<\/p>\n

But you ask me, what is right posture? [laughs]. You know, that is also mistake. Whatever you do is right. Nothing is wrong with what you do. But some improvement is necessary. Some\u2014something should be done with what you have attained. Even though you attain enlightenment like Buddha, something should be done to human[?]. That is his enlightenment. So, the point is, whether your posture is right or\u2014is not whether your posture is right or wrong\u2014the point is constant effort or way-seeking.<\/p>\n

(The Way-Seeking Mind<\/a>, Shunryu Suzuki,\u00a0March 26, 1966)<\/p>\n

The Tai Chi master Cheng Man Ch\u2019ing wrote:<\/p>\n

In general, what the ancients called, \u201cstraightening the chest and sitting precariously,\u201d has to do with the work of self-cultivation.\u00a0 \u2026 Therefore, I advise practitioners of T\u2019ai-chi ch\u2019uan to straighten their spines. Holding the spine erect is like stringing pearls on top of each other, without letting them lean or incline. However, if one is too tense and stiff, or unnaturally affected, then this too is an error.<\/p>\n

(\u201cMaster Cheng\u2019s Thirteen Chapters on T\u2019ai-Chi Ch\u2019uan\u201d, tr. Douglas Wile, p 21)<\/p>\n

I would say that the thread on which the pearls are strung is the fascia behind the sacrum and spine, the thoracolumbar fascial sheet, composed of the thoracolumbar and nuchal fascia.<\/p>\n

\u201cStringing pearls\u201d is allowing the abdominals to work with the extensor muscles of the spine to align vertebrae and thereby permit the displacement of the fascial sheet. Gravity in the abdominals can work against the extensors in a rhythm regulated by the stretch of ligaments, while pressure created in the abdomen as the abdominals work can displace the fascia behind specific vertebrae in support of an overall stretch.<\/p>\n

Because the extensor muscles behind the sacrum are enclosed by bone on three sides, the thoracolumbar fascia behind the sacrum can be displaced by the mass of the extensor muscles as they contract. Gravity in the muscles of the lower abdomen and pelvis can work against the extensors, again regulated by the stretch of ligaments, to displace the fascia behind the sacrum in support of an overall stretch.<\/p>\n

\"Displacement<\/p>\n

I find that Gautama\u2019s description of ease in the second concentration accords well with the engagement of \u201creflex movement\u201d in the lower abdomen, around the pelvic basin, and behind the sacrum. Likewise, Gautama\u2019s description of ease in the third concentration accords well with \u201creflex movement\u201d in the abdominals and in the extensors of the spine.<\/p>\n

I tend to rely on Yuanwu\u2019s \u201cturning to the left, turning to the right, following up behind\u201d (Applying the Pali Instructions<\/a>) and on Hsueh Feng\u2019s \u201cturtle-nosed snake\u201d (Post: Common Ground<\/a>) to provide an initial sense of stretch behind the sacrum and the spine.<\/p>\n

I remember telling Kobun Chino Otogawa that sometimes I had a feeling of stretch along my spine into my head, and that I enjoyed that. To my surprise, he said that he enjoyed that too.<\/p>\n

The suffusion of the body with \u201cpurity by the pureness of mind\u201d in the fourth concentration can allow the thoracolumbar fascial sheet to sustain an openness of nerve exits along the sacrum and spine. Such an openness is accompanied by an ability to feel throughout the body to the surface of the skin.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s reflected in Gautama\u2019s metaphor for the fourth concentration:<\/p>\n

\u2026 it is as if (a person) might be sitting down who had clothed (themselves) including (their) head with a white cloth; there would be no part of (their) whole body that was not covered by the white cloth.<\/p>\n

(MN 119, tr. Pali Text Society vol. III p 134)<\/p>\n

There is a relationship between the ease of nerve exits from the sacrum and spine and feeling on the surface of the skin. Here is a chart from the early 1900\u2019s of the specifics of that relationship on the front of the body:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The free placement of attention in the movement of breath depends on an ability to feel throughout the body to the surface of the skin. As I wrote previously:<\/p>\n

When a presence of mind is retained as the placement of attention shifts, then the natural tendency toward the free placement of attention draws out thoughts initial and sustained, and brings on the stages of concentration.<\/p>\n

(Shunryu Suzuki on Shikantaza and the Theravadin Stages<\/a>)<\/p>\n

As regards posture, I will probably tell my neighbor to sit on the edge of his chair, and to have one foot flat on the floor and the other foot drawn back so that the ball of the foot makes contact with the floor. I will tell him to place the fingers of one hand on the palm of the other, resting the wrist of the lower hand on the upper thigh of the flat-footed leg. That\u2019s basically how I sit, when I sit in a chair.<\/p>\n

As regards the breath, I expect I will tell him to let the place where his attention goes do the sitting, and maybe even the breathing.<\/p>\n

<\/h1>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I have a neighbor who is interested in sitting with me. He has never practiced any kind of meditation before, apart from a failed attempt to sit cross-legged with me over a year ago. This time around, I will offer him a chair. I find myself wondering what advice, if any, I should give him. … <\/p>\n

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