Break from Everything

"...Usually a quiet room is best for sitting--‐meditation, and we don’t eat too much beforehand. Forget what you are doing for the moment and take a break from everything. Don’t analyze Things for now and don’t judge your circumstances. Stop intentionally thinking about things. Give up following images and conversations in your head. Don’t aim to experience Any peaceful state. What’s that got to do with sitting cross--‐legged? Usually on the place Where we sit we lay a thick mat, on top of which we use a round cushion. Either sit cross--‐legged  in the full lotus posture or cross--‐legged in the half lotus posture. To sit in the full Lotus posture, first put the right foot on the left thigh, then put the left foot on the right thigh. To sit in the half lotus posture, just press the left foot onto the right thigh. Let the clothing hang loosely and make it neat. Then place the right hand over the left foot, and place the left hand in the right palm. The thumbs meet and support each other. Sit with the spine upright, not leaning to the left, inclining to the right, curving forward, or arching backward. The ears must line up over the shoulders, and the nose line up over the naval. Let the tongue spread against the roof of the mouth. Let the lips and teeth close. The eyes Are kept open, the breath passing naturally through the nose. Having found a comfortable posture, breathe out once and sway left then right. Sit still in the state without thinking: How can we stop thinking? Thinking in sitting--‐meditation is different from thinking intentionally. Thoughts are just there. This is what happens in sitting--‐meditation. Sitting--‐meditation is not something we gradually get better at. It is giving up trying to Get better at anything. It is re--‐living the Buddha’s realization for ourselves. Things go Back to how they naturally are, without any difficulty. To have grasped this simple knack Is to have found something rare and profound. Remember that the universe exists just Here and now, and problems disappear. When we rise from sitting, we don’t rush to get up. Rise calmly; don’t throw away the balanced state. We hear about those in the past who had dropped all distinctions between the ordinary and the sacred, of those who chose to practice sitting--‐meditation the moment they died, and they all dedicated themselves to this peaceful balanced state..."                              - The Universal Method for Sitting-­‐ Meditation A modern take on the Fukan Zazengi by Master Dogen