Vajra Fist

I've done a few years of breath meditation. Once you've built a foundation in stabilising the mind, typically in zen you either dive into koan or switch to shikantaza, depending on the teacher or school. I've always found the idea of koan study slightly unappealing. In particular breaking your mind, pushing and sweating only to be constantly rebuffed by the teacher. Certainly it doesn't seem like a practice that could be feasible outside of sesshin. Generally, shikantaza - also called silent illumination in caodong chan - or 'just sitting', appeals a lot to my lazy arse. There's a few dojos near me with teachers in the Nishijima/Kodo Sawaki Soto lineage, and I'm curious to give it a go. But a lot of Rinzai practitioners are quite scathing of shikantaza. They say its really only a practice that can be safely employed after kensho. That is when it becomes a reflection of the enlightened mind. Prior to that threshold, they say that by sitting without any effort or attempt to cut through delusion, you're effectively just 'stewing in your own hindrances'. Soto teachers say this enlightened mind is already present, and by sitting in this way it naturally emerges. Soto teachers say that there is no enlightenment to seek. They say so because they see seeking after enlightenment as a desire, which itself becomes an impediment to enlightenment. Whereas Rinzai teachers say that this de-emphasis of the importance of kensho could be a reflection that few if any people attain kensho through this method. ----‐‐‐--‐---‐------------- So what I'm asking is, where do you sit on this? Is shikantaza only something that should be practiced when you're close to kensho, or have already experienced kensho. Or is it a viable path to enlightenment even for beginners?

Recently I've been reflecting on the increasing geopolitical tensions and the likelihood for a new global war in our lifetimes. In the Western world, we have perhaps some of the most favorable conditions in history for cultivation. Teachings are everywhere and previously sequestered lineages are accessible from your home. We have no disease, famine, extreme poverty or war. But that could all change. For some reason yesterday I got a Facebook update from a chap called the Khenchen Lama Rinpoche. He prophesied a global nuclear war by 2030, and recommended his followers certain practices to stave off that possibility. I don't know anything about him or if he is a reliable source, but it lit a fire under my arse. I feel like instead of spending the majority of my time on hobbies, entertainment, I should perhaps practice more. Practice as much as I physically can. After all, we don't know when this special period of peace might end.

Looked into Nathan Brine. I read his book with interest. Seems like a decent chap. Sadly his course fees amount to $2,750, which is a bit of a punt for an old miser like me.

Can I just please compliment Maddie on how level-headed she's been throughout this thread. How she has been able to explain from a position of patience and repose. I find it really difficult to discuss critically things I care about in the face of challenge. Least of all things that would be as personal to me as this. So while I learned a lot I didn't know about the transgender experience, it has been this display of emotional maturity that has been the most instructive part of this thread for me. Bravo.

This reminds me of a dharma talk by Mike Luetchford called 'wobbling through life'. He likened shikantaza to riding a bicycle, where at first you tend to 'wobble' between external and internal distraction, until a natural balance arises. My question I suppose is how do you correct yourself when you notice that an imbalance has occurred - I.e. distracted by thought. Do you note the content of your thought, relax and then let them pass? Or do you just sit and hope that your mind eventually shuts up? I've experimented with shikantaza this past week (three hours today), and I've tried both approaches. The first feels a bit more like a method, or something that involves 'doing'. The second approach seems to go either of two ways: sometimes the mind becomes like a shiny metallic ball, reflecting everything without any blemish to the surface. Or the mind can just become dull, you stop realising that you're distracted by thought and just go into a spaced out trance. I've started working through a course by (Dharma Drum inheritor) Guo Gu on silent illumination. His teacher Sheng Yen taught a staged approach to the meditation rather than just throwing students in the deep end with the vague instruction to 'just sit'. It starts with progressive relaxation and then awareness of the body as an initial 'tether' for the mind. Experienced hands - is this the wiser approach?

Nearly every evening before bed for the past year I've been practicing the Medicine Buddha mantra, which in its Tibetan form is Tayatha Om Bekhanze Bekhanze Maha Bekhanze Ranza Samudgate Soha. Also at least once a week I've been listening to or reading the Medicine Buddha sutra, which is incredibly deep. Like my practice of the Mani mantra which I wrote about here I've been mulling writing something about the Medicine Buddha for a while here but wanted to get some practice time under my belt first. As Garchen Rinpoche says here, Medicine Buddha may be particularly relevant now in the time of the coronavirus: Personally, Medicine Buddha practice has the feeling of helping me wipe the slate clean at the end of the day, returning my mind to a more righteous and moral state. According to Chan master Yong Hua that may be part of the way that the Medicine Buddha helps guard against illness, by leading you away from habits and thoughts that generate karma. According to the sutra itself, Medicine Buddha practice has the following benefits.

I just listen to it when I walk the dog, maybe once or twice a week. Always pick up something new whenever I hear it, it's pretty rich.

I didn't even notice during the process, it's only in hindsight.

Thinking back on the timing of this post, made me realise a few things. About six months after I started practicing this, I changed jobs with a salary of double what I was on previously. Accordingly, we were able to move out of rented accommodation and buy our own place about a year later. We got a dog, my son got good grades and went to an excellent secondary school, my work introduced flexible working. Because of that, I had the time and energy to start a regular daily meditation practice. I feel like my practice at this time generated a lot of blessings, which not only created a comfortable environment for cultivation, but also set me on the right path. I have also come to realise that it is very difficult to cultivate without receiving blessings from a buddha. For instance, I've found that karmic obstacles can arise, such as the dog being sick on the carpet as soon as you sit down, or an amazon delivery. They seem like coincidences, but have the effect of disrupting your sitting. While my attitude over the years has shifted toward self-power, away from other-power, I've come to believe that some form of devotional practice is hugely important. Aside from returning to regular sutra study and mantra practice, I have started making financial donations to mahayana teachers that promote the medicine buddha dharma, as recommended by the sutra. I also plan to start a regular practice of bowing toward an image of this buddha, as soon as I can find a consecrated statue.

I've been involved in martial arts since I was a kid. As an adult, I can see clearly that the reason I was so drawn to it was because of insecurities. I was insecure about how well I measured up to other men. So I wanted to be physically stronger, tougher than others, and thereby less deficient. Now I'm an older and wiser, I'm comfortable in my own skin. I see other people without putting myself in the equation, and my natural inclination is toward helping. I find myself returning to martial arts purely as a fun way of keeping active and strong. But importantly, I don't care at all about fighting. Looking around at my peers involved in martial arts, I can still see some of the insecurity and immaturity that drove me to martial arts in the first place (although perhaps not as bad as me). So yes, I feel like martial artists can sometimes be immature, awkward and not fully accepting of themselves, because I was like that too. So that can translate into being overly reactive, competitive and jealous.

I got COVID the other day. I'm jabbed three times, so thankfully it wasn't too bad. But I've been doing a few exercises to make sure it doesn't worsen. Here's my attempt at bro science, along with some woo woo to possibly help anyone if they're worried about symptoms getting serious. I've no medical training, but from what I can gather, a shortage of a substance produced in the sinuses known as nitric oxide is potentially a factor in the significant worsening of symptoms, known as a cytokine storm. https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3271/10/1/3/pdf&ved=2ahUKEwjtra2B1Ov2AhXMi1wKHU5GBQsQFnoECCQQAQ&usg=AOvVaw2lwzNnt-kN4f3MEBpSw_hC Tldr So how do we increase nitric oxide ? According to the respected Buteyko teacher Patrick McKeown, the first thing you should do is breathe entirely through your nose. Mouth taping In order to ensure this, Buteyko practitioners typically tape their mouths up during sleep. That's right, surgical tape across the lips. Normally when I get a cold and go to sleep, my nose gets bunged up, meaning I breathe through my mouth. According to some, this means that my body is producing less nitric oxide and therefore I'm at a higher risk of having symptoms worsen. After a couple of nights mouth taping, my nose has thankfully remained clear. Humming Another thing that supposedly works is humming. Yes, I know how weird that sounds. According to the eggheads, humming produces a 15-fold increase in nitric oxide https://www.atsjournals.org/doi/10.1164/rccm.200202-138BC Thankfully, there is a pranayama exercise known as bhramari (or 'bee breath') which offers you the option to hum in a structured way. Here's a decent tutorial As you can imagine, the scientists are already exploring this: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7239502/ Tldr Now, bhramari is basically the internal vibration of the syllable 'om' (or aum for purists). I've been doing a bit of bhamari for sure, but I've also been doing a lot of 'omming'. If you're curious on the right way to do this, and you happen to be a member of Lotus Neigong Academy, then Damo Mitchell explores this in depth in his 'energetics of sound' course. Beetroot In this one, the science is a little less cut and dried, but what the hey. Basically beets are an excellent dietary source of nitrates, which your body converts into nitric oxide. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26653541/ I've been necking a couple of glasses of beetroot juice a day during this period, as a way of covering all my bases Conclusion If you made it through this wall of text - congratulations. These are the assorted methods I've accumulated in a bid to help me recover from Covid quickly. They might not work for you, but you're probably going to lose very little if you try them. Of course, if I'm untubated this time tomorrow, then chances are they didn't work for me either. But so far they've been helping me, an early shortness of breath I had early on seems to have largely disappeared and I'm breathing a lot better. Good health to all 😀

I'm still exploring it, but feel like there's a correlation between relaxation and depth of concentration. For instance, Hakuin's soft ointment seems geared toward that. And zhan zhuang, in Corey's interpretation seems to fulfil the same purpose. In the Dharma Drum version of shikantaza (silent illumination), a lot of emphasis is on progressive relaxation before the meditation begins proper. Reggie Ray, who is heavily into somatic meditation, partly from zen, goes so far as to say you can't enter jhana with tension in the body. I think there's something to be said for examination of physical sensations of pain as an application of discernment. For instance, whether it is constant or intermittent, whether the pain is in the body or in the mental aversion. But in terms of cultivation of concentration, relaxation as a side practice feels especially useful.

Corey Hess, who spent quite a few years at Sogen-ji, now teaches zhan zhuang online. From what I gather, it's mostly holding the tree. https://zenembodiment.com/about/

There's a type of vipassana practice from Mahasi Sayadaw called 'noting' which works like this. Modern practitioners include Daniel Ingram and Yutadhammo Bhikku. Some people have experienced some serious breakthroughs in this practice, advancing very quickly. I was on a discord channel run by students of the latter teacher and was quite impressed at their stories. Personally I prefer the more gentle samatha-vipassana approach of Thanissaro Bhikku, of being aware of the breath in different areas of the body. Insight arises naturally, you notice the correspondence between somatic experience and thought.

Some thai forest monks also do qigong and zen traditions they do zhan zhuang. I think it's an expedient means. Aside from the fact that sitting takes a toll on the body, qigong makes a nice type of cross training practice. One of the quirks of the mind is that it tends to recoil from the body as an object if there's even the slightest bit of pain or discomfort, distracting itself with thoughts as an escape. The energies produced by qigong can make the body a pleasant place for the mind to reside. The mind will tend to come back of its own accord, and more regularly. The mind stabilises quicker, enabling deeper states of concentration to then arise. I've seen some teachers also talk about the link between prana/qi and the breath. I think this the right dharma talk. But yes, I feel like Buddhist monastics tend to steer away from the actual alchemical side of qigong, aside from of course certain Chan/Zen systems where hara/dantien is emphasised. Generally speaking, I feel like qigong is useful in so far as it aids in Buddhist practice. But I think sitting for longer is better.

Found this absolute gem of an exercise set thanks to some eerily well targeted Facebook ads. Apparently it dates to the 70s. Although there is a western chap who has created a set called 'Jiangan' that supposedly dates back to older Chinese yangshengong exercises. This feels sublime for the upper back, particularly if you're generally hunched over a laptop for work like me.

I ran through some shaolin forms this morning, and it felt like exactly what I needed. Thanks for the reminder! Will try and keep it up, at least as long as these old bones hold out.

Can attest that sitting meditation, at least with the breath in the abdomen, does not necessarily build qi. Sitting is my main practice and I'm exhausted all the time. I *think* that sitting can cause qi to settle. So much so that the energy in the body can stagnate if you sit for too long. I'm looking at 'purging' practices now to clear that stagnant qi, for instance daoyin type exercises. But honestly I'm just feeling my way through this and finding out what feels good and will offer sufficient balance to allow me to sit for longer. Maybe I should just go for a run and lift some weights.

I had some debilitating back pain some time ago I've been doing forearm planks recently. Just three sets of 30 secs per day. It's done more for my back than anything else. Truly, having a strong core means you're more in structural alignment when bearing loads, and less likely to injure yourself. I've also been trying to stretch the psoas muscles, which control anterior pelvic tilt. So deep lunges to touch the hip flexor, as well as constructive rest pose on the back.

Indeed, Harada Roshi introduced standing practice for Rinzai Zen monks at Sogen-ji.

It's not a big deal though, surely? He's not claiming that his system is going to bring you to enlightenment, or make you rich or more attractive. If you want to give off static electricity to people, then honestly fair play. If you can tune your energetic system so that you can achieve that, then that's a phenomenal skill. Also fairly reasonable in fact, given that it's in line with the classic stories of energy masters. But honestly, I'd rather train myself to piss high enough to blast the neighbour's cat off my fence. That's a more useful skill personally, as my dog always goes mental when he sees that cat. In other words, faqi, like most other siddhis, are worldly skills. It might improve your health, but probably not as much as going to the gym regularly. It might bring peace, but probably not as much as equivalent time on the cushion. If people want to do this, and believe they can, then just let them. Whether they can or not has little to no bearing on our lives.

Crikey, surprised we've got to eight pages already. Once again, the debate over whether its physically possible to shoot electricity out of your fingers. For what it's worth, I attended a seminar with Rudi and found him to be a genuinely lovely bloke. He was in Ukraine at the time, at the start of the war, and Russian tanks were moving in. His partner was constantly worried about needing to evacuate but he hung on, committed to ensuring we knew everything we needed to before he bolted. But I didn't stick with it. Unfortunately, I don't believe this skill is particularly useful, at least in the wider scheme of things. But I can vouch for his character: I don't believe he'd purposefully deceive people. I've never been zapped personally, but I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. But whether that's something worth investing your time and energy into, is a different question.

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This is my meditation. I've had periods where I try other stuff, but for the last year at least this has been my daily practice. Sometimes longer or more frequent sits, if I have time, but always the same thing. I personally find it incredibly therapeutic. It suits me more than anything else. Hope it of use to you or anyone else. https://youtu.be/z2y9N3IdEqY?si=Gan5zUnyiL152hPE

The teacher I'm with at the moment doesn't emphasise mantras, but I was well into them at one stage, so I still use them as a supplemental practice. Personally, I tend to feel that mantra offers a very subtle, very gentle steer, generating certain qualities in the mind that can be beneficial to meditation. For instance, the mani will help generate metta, which is a good basis for jhana, the usnisa vijaya dharani helps me avoid some of the pitfalls from laziness that arise when practice becomes comfortable. I don't believe that mantra can focus the mind enough to lead to genuine insights that liberate the mind. But it can lead to energetic shifts in your body that can have a beneficial effect on your meditation.