[Buddha-l] The Body in Buddhist Practice

[Stuart Lachs]

Sorry to reply late to the thread.  Though I received the daily posts, 
because of some computer glich, I could not post.

I know posture is stressed much in Zen , especially so in Soto Zen. It also
seems that good posture can be conducive to easy breathing  and staying in
one relaxed position for a long period of time. My own practice has been Zen
for some years now. I think that a calm undistracted and concentrated mind
leads to easy breathing  and staying in one relaxed position for a long
period of time as much as, if not more, than good posture. I wonder if it is
not that the Japanese emphasis on perfect/good posture that leads one to
think it necessary?

A few years ago I  spent a fair amount of time meditating with an
experienced Indian meditator from the Advaita Vedanta tradition who could go 
into
"samadhi" and maintain it effortlessly for hours all the while his posture
was as bad as it gets. His posture was always bad but it did not seem to
keep him from going into these "states" and maintaing them for hours. I know
his effortless states were not considered Chan states, but I do not think
that is relevant to the discussion. I also knew another fellow, rather tall
and heavy, in the Zen tradition whose posture was quite bad but he too could 
sit
concentrated for long times. When he got up, his body did not seem to
bother him.

Having been around both Chinese and Japanese Chan/Zen centers, I would add
that one sees much more "less than perfect posture" with the Chinese.
Posture and form for that matter is stressed much more in Japanese oriented
Zen centers.  I wonder if the connection between the importance of 
good/perfect
posture and meditation  is not another culturally mediated idea?

Stuart

>
> This, too, has been my teaching, practice, and understanding of zazen.
>
> -- Larry
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> ----------
>
>> -----Original Message-----
>
>> My own training (admittedly Zen) suggests that the body is much more
>> than symbolic -- it practically IS meditation. There is no question
>> that the posture is often mentioned in symbolic ways, but I think it
>> is also true that there is hardly any other way to sit that is so
>> conducive to easy breathing and staying in one relaxed position for a
>> long period of time. And the body is a full participant in any
>> meditation I have ever been taught and it is what meditates. If Zazen
>> is the practice, then the body is the instrument and the mind the
>> observer.  Or so it seems to me.
>>
>> Jim Peavler
>