I've had to deal with this problem for over 33 years now...
Sitting meditation should not be about the legs, but about a good upright
posture with a relaxed diaphragm and good relaxed breathing...
One of my teachers, the Tibetan Trungpa Rimpoche, actually developed a new
type of cushion for his Shambhala meditation students (which included
myself)... this is a kind of rectangular foam box that sits about 4-5" off
the ground... I found this to be much more practical and comfortable,
especially for longer sessions.
Even the Soto Zen people seem to have loosened up a bit since the old days,
they now permit sitting "Burmese style" or "tailor style"... instead of
insisting on full or half lotus.
The full lotus is actually a "lock" from Indian Yoga practice (which I also
taught for years) and it does cut off the circulation in the legs of
everyone I've known, perhaps forcing the blood to the upward extremities?
Seems somewhat ill-advised to me, though I do know some Indian and Tibetan
teachers that still recommend it.
I sit Burmese style on standard zafu these days, don't worry about shifting
position when necessary.... when I was young I had trouble sitting still
because of the perceived pain in my legs, nowadays, in my old age, I have
trouble moving my legs even if I want to, because of slight injuries over
the years (bad ankle that did not reset properly, wrenched knees etc.) that
cause one of my legs to go to sleep sometimes... oh well, life is change.
Bottom line: Buddhism is supposed to alleviate suffering, not cause
additional suffering, especially at the gross physical level. Zen should
make you better, not worse. Find a comfortable sitting posture, on a chair
or bench if necessary, make sure you are sitting upright with dignified
bearing, chin slightly tucked, shoulders relaxed, abdomen relaxed, just
breathing deeply... with relaxed and focused awareness of what you are
doing, whether sitting zazen or blowing suizen...
Just my ideas...
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Bruce Jones [mailto:bjones@weber.ucsd.edu]
> Sent: Wednesday, November 28, 2001 1:40 PM
> To: shakuhachi@weber.ucsd.edu
> Subject: Re: posture
>
>
> >From: Dan Gutwein <dfgutw@wm.edu>
> >Date: Wed, 28 Nov 2001 16:24:30 -0500
> >Subject: posture
> >
> >This is really a question about practicing Zen meditation,
>
> What is remarkable about Zen is to make your mind flexible
> and your legs numb. Most people specialize in the latter.
> - Kazuaki Tanahashi, *Brush Mind*
>
> Being one of the latter, I found a couple of books (you did mention
> that you liked reading :-) by Will Johnson on posture and alignment
> that proved useful:
>
> *The Posture of Meditation:
> A Practical Manual for Meditators of All Traditions*
>
> and
>
> *Aligned, Relaxed, Resilient:
> The Physical Foundations of Mindfulness*
>
> The first is good for suggestions on how to sit. The second is
> helpful for dealing with the havoc that 50(+) years of living
> does to your ability to sit. It's also pretty good for just
> relaxation - also essential to shakuhachi playing.
>
> Available at fine bookstores everywhere (and online at
> http://www.shambhala.com/)
>
> bj
>
> -
>
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