Please Sit With Me
Wednesday, February 3, 2010 at 8:31AM Last evening, I had the opportunity to spend time with a Buddhist study group. At one point the discussion turned to, “Are you sitting?” The answers were interesting, but not surprising. When it was boiled down, it was almost uniformly, “No.” The answers were pretty standard, going from, “I can’t make the time,” to “my house is too noisy,” to "I have a really busy life," to “I’m not sure why I don’t.”
As I listened, I reflected on my own moments in the past, when I avoided the zafu (trans. meditation cushion). For me if I’m avoiding sitting, there’s usually only one true reason. Fear. That fear can show up in about 9,000 different ways.
Plain and simple there are times that I don’t want to be confronted with my own mind and potentially have to deal with messy experiences, messy thoughts and messy emotions. Zen… the practice of unifying the mind, is not emotional ballet. It can be like jumping in a mud bath and feeling there might not be a shower available or nearby to clean up with later. Put another way, sitting can at times provoke anxiety, because we may feel uncertain of ourselves or perhaps even feel a little defective as a human being. We may have the sense that it we look at ourselves that we may somehow “fall apart,” and not know precisely how to pick up the pieces.
How’s that for straight up?
The good news is that, we are none of us alone. We are together, whether we notice it or not. On one angle it may look like I here and your there, but on another angle we are seamless, gapless and mind to mind. You may say, that’s not true, but then again, you are reading these words and we are definitely sharing Mind. We are not alone.
More directly, I have a teacher and sangha that serve as a guide and spiritual guardian, for my being. Genjo Marinello Osho, is ever reminding me, sometimes gently, sometimes firmly… “Your feeling happy, please sit some more… your not feeling your best or inadequate… please sit some more… You car won’t start… call a mechanic, but please sit some more… You think you are seeing the Ox of Zen… please sit some more… always sit, sit, sit, sit, sit, sit, sit… Just like the Buddha (trans. One with Awakened Mind) that you are. Never give up. Never stop. Always sit some more.” I feel this deeply with him. That's important.
His compassionate, diligent, attentive and mindful nature reminds me, no matter what, be present and alert. As any good teacher, he urges me to show up for This life, not some other life. To study myself well and not avoid the opportunity afforded to me by having a human life. Our ego may try to scare us into not sitting and coming to the truth of ourselves, but it’s just a projection… an illusion… it’s kind of like dreaming, while being awake.
If we are not taking a few minutes of our day to sit and unifying our Mind, what are we doing with our precious time? I know that 15, 20 or 30 minutes might seem like a big chunk of time, but in truth we have 1440 minutes in a day. We can do this. We can practice. We can give ourselves the gift of coming to know our True nature.
We are not defective. We are okay. We really are having our best life ever. Please sit with me and come to see this for yourself.
Practice and Live Well,
Jaye Seiho Morris, Curator
digitalZENDO
Reader Comments (6)
People, who think they can only sit in a far off temple, won't start to sit. I like that you offer them an inviting hand to do so "here and now".
I'll be sitting this evening.
Lothar
Clark Strand wrote "Meditate in the life that you have." It's very often the fact that if I'm not sitting, it's because I don't want this mini-slice of life I have. I've always noticed that when I'm on retreat, I never argue with myself about getting up when the bell rings. Yet at home, when the alarm goes, the thought "just another 1/2 hour" seems so real.
This week it's been a gift to get up and just sit when the bell rings. I'm glad I can join you!
Rheumatologe,
I agree. no temple needed. Just sitting, focusing mind and coming to know ourselves as ourselves. This is a-okay.
With Gassho,
~Seiho
Genju,
I understand what you are saying and feeling. I am grateful that we are able to reflect each other so well.
Yours In Dharma,
~Seiho
Walking through my world
looking and feeling for the connections I know are there
I see sometimes how hard it is
to get myself to just be, just as you say sit, become more aware, and sometimes I think things are just perfect, then I sit and up bubbles things I have been afraid to look at, and I am always amazed at how wonderful it feels after these thoughts have come up, come up and gone on their way.
thanks as alwasy for sharing :)
Luna,
It's genuinely within us to shine and place a light on those shadows and dissolve those ghosts that would keep us from knowing and being within our Awakened Mind. Practice well.
Yours in Dharma,
~Seiho