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Zen
http://opcoa.st/0FRFV Why Soto Zen Meditation? We experience life through the sense gates of our eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind. Any habitual grasping after, pushing away or ignoring of this information from our sense gates, becomes the attachments which cause our suffering in life. Soto Zen meditation is a process of freeing ourselves from these attachments and the suffering that results from them. To set up a Soto Zen meditation practice: Arrange a sitting space with minimal distractions for the period of time that you plan to sit. Wear loose fitting clothing and turn off any media devices that might intrude, like cell phones. Choose a sitting posture that can be comfortably maintained with minimal muscular effort and that will allow you to remain alert. The most common postures are the half and full lotus crossed leg positions, the Burmese position with one leg in front of the other, kneeling postures or sitting on a chair. The pelvis should be slightly tilted forward with a cushion or a bench to comfortably support the spine and prevent slouching. Check your spine to see if it is leaning off center or is twisting left or right. Do the same check for your head and neck. Rock gently back and forth to find the midpoint where your natural upright posture requires the least amount of physical strain to maintain itself. Rest both hands, palms upwards, on your lap. Your dominant hand should be covered with the other hand. The thumbs should be lightly touching. If your hands cannot rest comfortably together on top of your lap, put something under your hands to support them so that they can. If physical pain develops within your sitting position and becomes the focal point of your meditation for more than five minutes, quietly adjust or move into an alternative position and continue meditating. Begin the meditation by observing the physical sensations of your natural breathing cycle in this present moment. Once this has been established, expand your awareness to include the observation of all your sense gates. To facilitate this meditation with our eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind … Our eyes are left open, gazing downwards at a 45 degree angle to rest upon whatever view happens to be there. It is important to not direct the eyes to move around, search for anything in particular or create a blank perspective by un-focusing them. Our ears hear whatever is there, whether sounds or silence. The important point is to not search for, reject, or ignore what we hear. Just allow whatever is there to be received without any attempted editing. Our nose takes in all of the smells that happen to be present, without searching for, rejecting or being oblivious to them. Our tongue tastes what the taste buds offer while gently resting still against the front teeth and with the mouth closed. Our feelings or sensations are allowed to arise, live and pass on, without us trying to influence any part of their comings and goings. Our thoughts are simply observed as they unfold with no deliberate attempts to direct them in any way. The first instruction of Soto Zen meditation is to allow the information of what we see, hear, smell, taste, feel or think, to be free from being manipulated by our habituated responses. The second instruction of Soto Zen meditation is to immediately restart the meditation process each and every time we notice our grasping after, pushing away or ignoring this information. The degree to which these two instructions are mastered, is the same degree to which our attachments and corresponding suffering, simply ceases to be. Here, freedom, clarity, equanimity and an ever widening heart, can freely unfold. Homage to the Buddha. Homage to the Dharma. Homage to Sangha. |