Sitting Still

With palms together,
Good Morning Everyone,

Last night our small group of dedicated meditators sat Zazen at Temple Beth El. We sat upright, focusing our attention on our breath, and were simply present. The sanctuary has its own sounds. Temperature changes as the sun goes down cause buckling sounds to crack and pop slicing through the silence that otherwise pervades the building.

Two periods of Zazen, one period of Kinhin. I talked about moving our Zen mind from the cushion to our relationships, how self arises to defend, agree, or parry our partner. We talked a little about how thoughts seem to race sometimes, teasing us almost, to break away from our concentration. It was an open and easy discussion. Then we went into the social hall for tea and cookies.
Earlier in the afternoon, with the sun blazing and the temperature at about 100 degrees, I sat Zazen holding a small umbrella on the sidewalk at the Federal Building. I propped my small placard, which simply reads, "PEACE" against my knee. As I sat, I heard horns "Honk for Peace" , felt the sweat bead and flow down my nose, drip off my eye brows, and fall into the dark oblivion of my samue pants. The sweat seemed to measure the minutes.

These two periods of meditation were very different. One challenged me to sit still under very adverse conditions, the other challenged me to be present and not drift away into the wonderful stillness of the Temple sanctuary. In the end, our practice is like that, we practice according to the conditions of our lives. In this way, our very lives become our practice.

Be well.