So I went to the Zen Center today…
And I liked it. It was a class for beginners in which we were shown different positions (Damn you, full lotus!) and then practiced several kinds of meditation. My favorite was the sitting meditation (zazan). I had been trying to work on this at home, but I discovered several flaws in my technique. And boy am I glad they warned us before they brought out the stick and started whapping people. It was much harder work than I expected it to be, but I felt great when it was over.
Are there any other Zen practitioners here on the board? Any advice, questions, or anecdotes? I’m just getting into this, so any guidance or reassurance would be welcome.
Well, I take it there are no Zen practitioners on this board, then.
(Or they missed the thread… or they’re ignoring me…:dubious: )
All the same, I really want to talk about this. Maybe someone could answer some of my more practical questions.
For example, I sit in the quarter-lotus position when I meditate. My legs almost always fall completely asleep.
Question: could I be doing any actual damage to myself? Will I end up with horrible vericose veins in thirty years?
Question: Sometimes when I have been sitting for a while, I start to see colors and things moving on the wall. I assume it’s just something my mind does when it gets bored. Is this normal? Is there a medical name for this phenomena? Do we understand how it works? More importantly, is there some way I can stop it from happening? It’s distracting.
Question: Does Cecil have buddha-nature?