Mark Foote

There's a missing ingredient in all the wisdom traditions, IMHO--it's missing because it must be supplied through the experience of the individual. But usually in counting breathing or following breathing, you feel as if you are doing something, you know– you are following breathing, and you are counting breathing. This is, you know, why counting breathing or following breathing practice is, you know, for us it is some preparation– preparatory practice for shikantaza because for most people it is rather difficult to sit, you know, just to sit. (“The Background of Shikantaza”, Shunryu Suzuki; San Francisco, February 22, 1970) Suzuki said that directing attention to the movement of breath (“following breathing… counting breathing”) has the feeling of “doing something”, and that “doing something” makes such practice only preparatory. Although attention can be directed to the movement of breath, necessity in the movement of breath can also direct attention, as I wrote previously: There can… come a moment when the movement of breath necessitates the placement of attention at a certain location in the body, or at a series of locations, with the ability to remain awake as the location of attention shifts retained through the exercise of presence. There’s a frailty in the structure of the lower spine, and the movement of breath can place the point of awareness in such a fashion as to engage a mechanism of support for the spine, often in stages. ... The flow of “doing something” in the body, of activity initiated by habit or volition, (can cease). Instead, activity is generated purely by the placement of attention, and the location of attention can flow ("just sitting"). ... The difficulty is that most people will lose consciousness before they cede activity to the location of attention–they lose the presence of mind with the placement of attention, because they can’t believe that action in the body is possible without “doing something”... (Shunryu Suzuki on Shikantaza and the Theravadin Stages) That the activity flows and develops in particular patterns and particular locations, won't matter whose description is in hand if it's all "doing something". Doing nothing, yet everything is done, is an experience.

College days, out at Gazos Creek above Santa Cruz, letting the wind play harmonics on the guitar strings: Learned to play this in the college days--Fahey was so weird, but such a strong alternating thumb beat.

California dreams an island of sun and sand lakes in the desert

I reworked one of my previous posts on this thread into a post on my own website. Bindi, my apologies--I know anything having to do with the teachings of Gautama the Shakyan is like some kind of shadow-side distraction to you... The Practice of Time One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious. The latter procedure, however, is disagreeable and therefore not popular. (Carl Jung: The Philosophical Tree; Collected Works 13: Alchemical Studies. Paragraph 335) Shunryu Suzuki described the true practice of seated meditation as “just sitting”, meaning that “doing something” in the act of sitting has ceased. I believe, as Gautama the Buddha said, that the cessation of “doing something” in speech, body, or mind is a contact of freedom. I don’t think the integration of childhood memories, pre-speech memories, and inured emotional responses can take place apart from that cessation of “doing something” in the body and mind and that contact of freedom. I practice more now, as I see that the cessation I experience in “just sitting” helps to provide a sense of timing in my life, a sense of timing that seems related to a whole beyond what I can know. I’m not looking to become enlightened, or to make the darkness conscious. … time, just as it is, is being, and being is all time. (Dogen: “Uji (Being-Time)”; “The Heart of Dōgen’s Shōbōgenzō”, tr by Waddell, Norman; Abe, Masao. SUNY Press. 2001. p 48) (The Practice of Time)

Just now, Yin and Yang the Siamese cats, went out should'a seen 'em go

Shunryu Suzuki described the true practice of seated meditation as "just sitting", meaning that "doing something" in the act of sitting has ceased. What I find is that I have to constantly relearn the way my body and mind sit. I think that's because as the two coordinate to relinquish "doing" in sitting, I develop more feeling for my body and for my senses, and that changes the path to "just sitting" for the next time around. I believe, as Gautama the Buddha said, that the cessation of "doing something" in speech, body, or mind is a contact of freedom. I don't think the integration of childhood memories, pre-speech memories, and inured emotional responses can take place apart from that cessation of "doing something" in the body and mind and that contact of freedom. I practice more now, as I see that thought directed to the cessation I experience in "just sitting" (if not the actual experience of cessation) helps to make a sense of timing in my life, a sense of timing that seems related to a whole beyond what I can know. (apologies for the extensive editing after posting--what matters in the post is so much clearer after I hit "save"! )

The language of the unconscious for me comes through my experience of awareness by necessity, of awareness taking place out of necessity. The necessity can be the necessity for breath, it can be the necessity for support for the structure of the spine, or it can be a necessity arising from somewhere outside the boundaries of my senses. Underlying emotion and consequent action is the work of a lifetime, to square with the free placement of attention out of necessity experienced in the movement of breath, yet the understanding is out of the free placement of attention and not the other way around. I see that it's possible to realize activity solely by virtue of the free placement of attention, with regard to inhalation and exhalation. If I can practice that, and then touch on that during the day, maybe I can come to an understanding through grace of underlying emotion and action. My only shot, I think.

I liked the quotes from Jung in your original post, but I found the explanations by whoever authored the article uninspired. Daniel Goleman in "Emotional Intelligence" attributes the impulsive actions that overwhelm our better judgement to memories from before we had speech, stored in the amygdala. I think it's true that we have to come to terms with action whose source is in the unconscious, and with action whose source is in our innermost belief. If we don't permit ourselves to examine carefully what we truly believe, and especially the actions manifested from those beliefs, then we are two mints in one (so to speak). The question is how do we relinquish volition to the action of the unconscious, how do we remain conscious as action of the unconscious takes place, as action out of our innermost beliefs plays out like a hypnotist's suggestion in the action of a subject under hypnosis. I would suggest through the sense of place associated with awareness, from moment to moment. When “doing something” has ceased, and there is “not one particle of the body” that cannot receive the placement of attention, then the placement of attention is free to shift as necessary in the movement of breath. When a presence of mind is retained as the placement of attention shifts, then the natural tendency toward the free placement of attention can draw out thought initial and sustained, and bring on the stages of concentration. Shunryu Suzuki said: To enjoy our life– complicated life, difficult life– without ignoring it, and without being caught by it. Without suffer from it. That is actually what will happen to us after you practice zazen (“just sitting”). (“To Actually Practice Selflessness”, August Sesshin Lecture Wednesday, August 6, 1969, San Francisco; parenthetical explanation added) I practice now to experience the free placement of attention as the sole source of activity in the body in the movement of breath, and in my “complicated, difficult” daily life, I look for the mindfulness that allows me to touch on that freedom. ("To Enjoy Our Life")

I'd like to do that (delete the posts I quote that you delete), but my fingers won't lift to the keyboard. I think that's because I don't find your posts overly offensive, although I can see where on some occasions they might be embarassing to you. I hope you'll forgive me. Let's have a look at you, then.

You look great, liminal, unbridled optimism and all!

Why is it that you look exactly as I imagined you to look--ha ha!

Why is it that you look exactly how I imagined you would look!

I think is that precisely why? Steve, buddy--you have misattributed the quote to me. You will have to ask liminal_luke, although I don't know if he's really willing to go there right now. p.s.--I see where he went there, yay Liminal!

I shot it in the bathroom mirror, which I should have cleaned beforehand. If you shoot in a mirror, you can frame the shot and even possibly add lighting, as I did (with the room light). Just remember to look at the camera!

I practice now to experience the free placement of attention as the sole source of activity in the body in the movement of breath, and in my “complicated, difficult” daily life, I look for the mindfulness that allows me to touch on that freedom. ("To Enjoy Our Life")

Other way 'round, for me--it's bring the conscious to the unconscious: There can also come a moment when the movement of breath necessitates the placement of attention at a certain location in the body, or at a series of locations, with the ability to remain awake as the location of attention shifts retained through the exercise of presence. (Common Ground)

With my familiar, Sophie:

As [one] abides in body contemplating body, either some bodily object arises. or bodily discomfort or drowsiness of mind scatters [one’s] thoughts abroad to externals. Thereupon… [one’s] attention should be directed to some pleasurable object of thought. As [one] thus directs it to some pleasurable object of thought. delight springs up in [one’s being]. In [one] thus delighted, arises zest. Full of zest [one’s] body is calmed down. With body so calmed [one] experiences ease. The mind of one at ease is concentrated. [One] thus reflects: The aim on which I set my mind I have attained. Come. let me withdraw my mind (from the pleasurable object of thought). So [one] withdraws [one’s] mind therefrom, and neither starts nor carries on thought-process. Thus [one] is fully conscious: I am without thought initial or sustained. I am inwardly mindful. I am at ease. Again … [one] abides contemplating feelings … mind… [one] abides contemplating mind-states in mind-states… [as before with the body]. Such… is the practice for the direction of mind. And what… is the practice for the non-direction of mind? [First,] by not directing [one’s] mind to externals, [one] is fully aware: My mind is not directed to externals. Then [one] is fully aware: My mind is not concentrated either on what is before or on what is behind, but it is set free, it is undirected. Then [one] is fully aware: In body contemplatlng body I abide, ardent, composed and mindful. I am at ease. And [one] does the same with regard to feelings … to mind… and mind-states. Thus [one] is fully aware: In mind-states contemplating mind-states I abide, ardent, composed and mindful. I am at ease.” (SN V 155-156, Vol V pp 135-136) If you’re studying seated meditation, meditation is not sitting still. (“Lancet of Seated Meditation”, Dogen, quote attributed to Great Master Hung-tao of Yueh shan, tr. Carl Bielefeldt “Dogen’s Manuals of Zen Meditation”, 1st Ed.) Last but not least: So, when you practice zazen, your mind should be concentrated in your breathing and this kind of activity is the fundamental activity of the universal being. If so, how you should use your mind is quite clear. Without this experience, or this practice, it is impossible to attain the absolute freedom. (“Thursday Morning Lectures”, November 4th 1965, Los Altos; emphasis added) There’s a particular transition in zazen that I believe Suzuki was referring to. Here’s a description I made of that transition: The presence of mind can utilize the location of attention to maintain the balance of the body and coordinate activity in the movement of breath, without a particularly conscious effort to do so. There can also come a moment when the movement of breath necessitates the placement of attention at a certain location in the body, or at a series of locations, with the ability to remain awake as the location of attention shifts retained through the exercise of presence. (Common Ground) The mind is “concentrated in the breathing” when the movement of breath necessitates the placement of attention. If the presence of mind continues the placement of attention by the movement of breath, then the role of the mind is clear–that’s the way I read the transcript. (What Shunryu Suzuki Actually Said)

I wouldn't count on science alone, with regard to lowering stress levels or finding "good" posture. As I wrote to friends recently, I don't expect I'll ever be an exemplar of good posture, but I can hope to accord more with my own nature, and maybe acquire a feeling for the posture I need. That's my take on "good posture".

How so, do you think? I'll give you some examples. First, an explanation of the first line of the famous poem by Fuxi: In the 6th century C.E. in China, the Buddhist monk Fuxi wrote: The empty hand grasps the hoe handle Walking along, I ride the ox The ox crosses the wooden bridge The bridge is flowing, the water is still (“Zen’s Chinese Heritage”, translation by Andy Ferguson, pg 2) Another translation: The handless hold the hoe. A pedestrian walks, riding on a water buffalo. A man passes over the bridge; The bridge (but) not the water flows. (Ch’an and Zen Teaching, Series One by Lu K’uan Yü (Charles Luk); Rider & Co., London, 1960, pp. 143-145. Translated from The Imperial Selection of Ch’an Sayings (Yu Hsuan Yu Lu) [Yuxuan yulu (Imperial Selections of Recorded Sayings / Emperor’s Selection of Quotations)]) I would say “the empty hand grasps the hoe handle” is a reference to the role of ligaments at the sacrum in generating activity related to posture. Here’s a summary of a study that confirms that some of the activity of the lower body is “regulated” by the iliosacral ligaments: This study (research by Indahl, A., et al.) established that the ligamento-muscular reflex existed between the sacroiliac joint and muscles that attach to the bones that make up the sacroiliac joint. (The study’s authors) suggested that the sacroiliac joint was a regulator of pelvic and paraspinal muscles and, thereby, influences posture and lumbar segmental stability. (Serola Biomechanics website summary of Indahl, A., et al., Sacroiliac joint involvement in activation of the porcine spinal and gluteal musculature. Journal of Spinal Disorders, 1999. 12(4): p. 325-30; https://europepmc.org/article/med/10451049 https://www.serola.net/research-category/the-nutation-lesion-2/ligamento-muscular-reflex/) (Appendix–“For a Friend”, Revisited) Second example, maybe some light on Yuanwu's explanation of case 17 in the Blue Cliff Record: Answering the monk who asked, “What is the meaning of the Patriarch’s coming from the West?”, Hsiang Lin said, “Sitting for a long time becomes toilsome.” If you understand this way, you are “turning to the left, turning to the right, following up behind.” (Yuanwu, ‘Blue Cliff Record’, Shambala publications pg 110) “Turning to the left, turning to the right”—stretch in the ilio-tibial bands sets off reciprocal innervation of the left and right sartorious muscles, and consequently reciprocal activity in the tensor and gluteous muscles. The result is a subtle “turning to the left, turning to the right” in an upright posture, and a stretch in the fascia behind the sacrum and the lower spine. “Following up behind”—the combination of pressure from the “fluid ball” of the abdomen and stretch and resile in the fascia behind the sacrum and lower spine allows the vertebrae of the spine to find alignment, and permits the fascia behind the spine to provide support. (Appendix–Kinesthesiology of Fascial Support) More details on that last paragraph are on my site. Gautama taught four initial states of concentration, culminating in the cessation of ("doing something" in) inbreathing and outbreathing, then five further states culminating in the cessation of ("doing something" in) feeling and perceiving. The first three of the further states were excellences of the heart's release through the extension of the minds of compassion, of sympathetic joy, and of equanimity, extension through the four quarters of the world, above, below, without limit. I would say the states of concentration that he taught therefore involved both science and empathy, but things as they are (the cessations of "doing something") have to be experienced to be believed. That's because the action does not cease, but the actor does. So for example, the cessation of inbreathing and outbreathing occurs when breath in the consciousness-informed body takes place without a breather. Inbreathing and outbreathing per se does not cease, but "doing something" in the consciousness-informed body with respect to inbreathing and outbreathing does cease. Things as they are, or as Shunryu Suzuki said, "things as it is". Suzuki's emphasis was on "just sitting".

I usually watch the news, see what friends have posted on Facebook, and then lately watch an episode of Perry Mason. I sit for 25 minutes before bed, sloppy half-lotus. Lately I seem to be sitting longer than 25, and sometimes two sittings. Mostly up again after 4 or 5 hours of sleep. I do some Tai Chi and maybe another sitting, then back to bed for a few more hours, if I can. Up at 7 or 8 and a cup of coffee, another sitting or two, start my day.

senryu, love you some senryu, you sure do me, I like the rain

I've been working under the assumption that Western science will one day help to explain the wisdom teachings of the world. Also, although it's true that there's an aspect of the Eastern teachings that has to be experienced to be believed, I would say a better job can be done in describing such experience, and in describing the place of such experience in everyday life. . It’s impossible to teach the meaning of sitting. You won’t believe it. Not because I say something wrong, but until you experience it and confirm it by yourself, you cannot believe it. (Kobun Chino Otogawa, “Embracing Mind”, edited by Cosgrove & Hall, pg 48) There can… come a moment when the movement of breath necessitates the placement of attention at a certain location in the body, or at a series of locations, with the ability to remain awake as the location of attention shifts retained through the exercise of presence. (Common Ground) The difficulty is that most people will lose consciousness before they cede activity to the location of attention–they lose the presence of mind with the placement of attention, because they can’t believe that action in the body is possible without “doing something”... (Shunryu Suzuki on Shikantaza and the Theravadin Stages) But usually in counting breathing or following breathing, you feel as if you are doing something, you know– you are following breathing, and you are counting breathing. This is, you know, why counting breathing or following breathing practice is, you know, for us it is some preparation– preparatory practice for shikantaza because for most people it is rather difficult to sit, you know, just to sit. (“The Background of Shikantaza”, Shunryu Suzuki; San Francisco, February 22, 1970) Shunryu Suzuki said: To enjoy our life– complicated life, difficult life– without ignoring it, and without being caught by it. Without suffer from it. That is actually what will happen to us after you practice zazen. (“To Actually Practice Selflessness”, August Sesshin Lecture Wednesday, August 6, 1969, San Francisco) I practice now to experience the free placement of attention as the sole source of activity in the body in the movement of breath, and in my “complicated, difficult” daily life, I look for the mindfulness that allows me to touch on that freedom. ("To Enjoy Our Life")

What's real, would ask this-- haiku on the haiku thread oh one, so in touch!

Shunryu Suzuki said: To enjoy our life– complicated life, difficult life– without ignoring it, and without being caught by it. Without suffer from it. That is actually what will happen to us after you practice zazen ("just sitting"). (“To Actually Practice Selflessness”, August Sesshin Lecture Wednesday, August 6, 1969, San Francisco; parenthetical on zazen added) I practice now to experience the free placement of attention as the sole source of activity in the body in the movement of breath, and in my “complicated, difficult” daily life, I look for the mindfulness that allows me to touch on that freedom. ("To Enjoy Our Life") That's wu wei in daily life, to me: the breath without a breather, as the necessity takes place.