In our time, we have to make space in our homes for a zoom meeting or, if available, go to a practice hall and sit with many other people. We will have to follow the rituals of the tradition and assimilate their views. This can be distasteful for many people. But technology now gives us the wonderful opportunity to participate in the teachings of so many traditions and styles before deciding on a method that suits us.

 

By Angel Roberto Puente

 

“Hear, O bhikkhus, a bhikkhu, gone to the forest, to the foot of a tree, or to an empty place, sits down, bends in his legs crosswise on his lap, keeps his body erect, and arouses mindfulness in the object of meditation, namely, the breath which is in front of him.”

The possible interpretations and applications of this quote from the Satipatthana Sutta, have varied over millennia.

The hundreds of practice methods that can be found today are proof. The knowledge available in this time we live in can certainly add a different dimension to applying these instructions. The goal is always to maximize the effectiveness of our practice.

Let’s examine the items:

1) Solitude/Seclusion

In Buddha’s time, finding a place in the forest where we could be alone was probably easy. Of more importance is the indication that the student practiced by him/herself/theirself.

In our time, we have to make space in our homes for a zoom meeting or, if available, go to a practice hall and sit with many other people. We will have to follow the rituals of the tradition and assimilate their views. This can be distasteful for many people.

But technology now gives us the wonderful opportunity to participate in the teachings of so many traditions and styles before deciding on a method that suits us.

So, decide, and then dig deep. A little bit of this and that will not be helpful. It’s important to have solid instructions on the method we choose before starting solitary practice. But don’t buy into the, “Only I can confirm your experience,” crap you hear from some teachers. Your experiences are yours. Just don’t make a big deal out of them.

2) Bending the legs

There isn’t a single reference to having to sit in pain in all the Buddhist canon. But the refrain, “sitting comfortably” is repeated. Bending the legs crosswise is the typical way of sitting in most Asian cultures. Only babies and young children can sit like this naturally in our culture. By the time we are in school most of us have lost the flexibility required. Stretching exercises will be needed to regain the ability.

We can train to sit cross-legged with stretching exercises but the extreme full lotus (legs crosswise on his lap) will still take its toll on the knees. Many of older practitioners have to sit in chairs because of the damage they have done to their knees.

There is a persistent view of the perfection of sitting in full lotus.

People who sit in chairs become second class practitioners. This superiority has no objective basis in anatomy. What it purports to achieve can be done in any posture. Even for sitting in a chair, practicing relaxation techniques like Progressive Relaxation will help immensely.

The essentials of sitting are to take the pressure off the back muscles. This is achieved by placing the knees lower than the waist. It is also to provide a stable position for the pelvis that is balanced on the sitting bones on the bottom of the pelvis. The torso becomes weightless and can swing in any direction. The legs and feet have to be at a distance and angle in which they support a straight back without tensing the back muscles.

In a chair, the test is that you can push against the torso falling forward. This mimics what is achieved when the knees are pressed against the floor in any of the the cross-legged positions.

3. Keeping the body erect

To be able to sit solidly, the weight of the torso has to sink downward in a straight line. How we attend to our bodies has a great influence on this.

You can experiment yourself. Try to sit as still as possible. Move your attention to different places of the body. Try first with eyes closed and then with eyes semi open in a soft downward gaze. Eye movements that are common to thinking will be noticeable if a fixed point is held. You’ll find that some combinations are steadier than others.

Deeper concentration is possible with a steady posture. The jolt of losing posture will disrupt it for sure.

With good posture you also create a skeletal structure from which internal organs, muscles and skin can hang freely. Deep relaxation can be achieved and breathing flows without impediment. This will naturally quiet the mind.

Once a good “seat” is achieved, the balanced torso has to be kept straight. This effort becomes integrated to the object of attention. The body sense, proprioception or kinesthesia, is an integral part of maintaining awareness. If it’s lost, the posture will be lost. Slumping, leaning or wobbly neck will result. This YouTube channel has great information on posture, breathing, and fixing muscle unbalances.

Another great method for achieving a good posture is the Alexander Technique.

The mantra it uses is the best description I have read of the sitting posture. “Let the neck be free so the head can move forwards and upwards and the back can lengthen and widen.” Relaxing the nape of the neck is the key to correct head position.

It makes no difference what you use as an object of meditation. As was mentioned before, proprioception is mandatory in any method unless we want to end up asleep and bent into a knot. Sitting should not be made to be something special, apart from daily activity. If you practice good posture, body consciousness, being relaxed and alert on the cushion (or chair), when you get up you will carry it with you.

4. Mindfulness in the object for meditation

Regardless of the object, sitting still for any length of time is like entering a laboratory for research. The subject is our body/mind. If we can diminish the distractions from our object and stay relaxed and alert, there’s a world of discovery.

 

Photo: Pixabay

Editor: Dana Gornall

 

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