Sunday, June 19, 2011
Summer Meditation Challenge! (Days 17-19)
SITTING QUIETLY, DOING NOTHING
What does it look like when people get together, sit quietly, and do nothing? It looks like this:
But all-in-all, a good sit.
Last night was a token sit. After a long, hard day of errand-running, gardening, birthday partying, I sat for ten minutes after a shower, just before bedtime. This could have been me on my cushion!
I didn't even sit on Friday... (Shame, shame. Bad Dog!!!)
What does it look like when people get together, sit quietly, and do nothing? It looks like this:
I do this with my sangha friends every Sunday morning. What's the value in doing this with others, given that meditation is primarily an individual activity? Reinforcement, encouragement, and community. Being present while others practice reinforces my own practice, encouraging me to be persistent and consistent. Being present while others practice also creates a sense of community of like--minded people engaging in a meaningful activity.
It's not unlike participating in a church service, I suppose. Not that we do church-like stuff. What I mean is those qualities of reinforcement, encouragement, and community. Our particular sangha (gathering of spiritual friends engaged in Buddhist study and practice) is devoid of any church-like ritual; we ring a chime three times to start the sitting and we ring the chime three times (45 minutes later) to end the sitting. No chants, no songs, no prayers, etc. Just sitting.
Is it easy to sit quietly and do nothing for 45 minutes? That's actually a trick question because--to an outside observer--it only looks like the person sitting is doing nothing. Inside--both body and mind--all sorts of stuff is going. And sometimes being still with that is easy, and sometimes not.
As for today, following the breath for 45 minutes was a mixed bag. Sometimes easy, sometimes not. Several times I nodded. (And was secretly happy to observe someone else nod a time or two! Sad, eh?) And several times thoughts spun out from the center like those images of solar flares/filaments erupting from the sun, like this:
But all-in-all, a good sit.
Last night was a token sit. After a long, hard day of errand-running, gardening, birthday partying, I sat for ten minutes after a shower, just before bedtime. This could have been me on my cushion!
I didn't even sit on Friday... (Shame, shame. Bad Dog!!!)
# posted by bosuncookie @ 6/19/2011 12:03:00 PM 
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