Mark Foote

"What are their names, and on what streets do they live, I'd like to ride, ride over..."--David Crosby A thing that is unique in all the religious literature of the world is Gautama's characterization of mindfulness as a function of the four arisings of mindfulness: mindfulness of the body in the body, mindfulness of the feelings in the feelings, mindfulness of the mind in the mind, and mindfulness of the states of mind in the states of mind. How is Zen that?--such a fundamental aspect of Gautama's teaching! Don't mistake me, I believe Zen is that, just wondering if anyone else does.

Some stuff that's helping me to preserve "one-pointedness of mind", whether at the LDT or elsewhere. I had to write it myself, seems that nobody else has! The initial concentration is induced, said Gautama, by “making self-surrender the object of thought”: … the (noble) disciple, making self-surrender the object of (their) thought, lays hold of concentration, lays hold of one-pointedness. (The disciple), aloof from sensuality, aloof from evil conditions, enters on the first trance, which is accompanied by thought initial and sustained, which is born of solitude, easeful and zestful, and abides therein. (SN 48.10, tr. PTS vol V p 174; “initial” for “directed”, as at SN 36.11, tr. PTS vol IV p 146) In my experience, “one-pointedness” occurs when the movement of breath necessitates the placement of attention at a singular location in the body, and a person “lays hold of one-pointedness” when they remain awake as the singular location shifts. Gautama described the “first trance” as having feelings of zest and ease, and he prescribed the extension of those feelings: … (a person) steeps, drenches, fills, and suffuses this body with zest and ease, born of solitude, so that there is not one particle of the body that is not pervaded by this lone-born zest and ease. (AN 5.28, tr. PTS vol. III pp 18-19) Words like “steeps” and “drenches” convey that the weight of the body accompanies the feelings of zest and ease. The weight of the body sensed at a particular point in the body can shift the body’s center of gravity, and a shift in the body’s center of gravity can result in what Moshe Feldenkrais termed “reflex movement”. Feldenkrais described how “reflex movement” can be engaged in standing up from a chair: …When the center of gravity has really moved forward over the feet a reflex movement will originate in the old nervous system and straighten the legs; this automatic movement will not be felt as an effort at all. (“Awareness Through Movement”, Moshe Feldenkrais, p 78) “Drenching” the body “so that there is not one particle of the body that is not pervaded” with zest and ease allows the weight of the body to effect “reflex movement” in the activity of the body, wherever “one-pointedness” takes place. In falling asleep, the mind can sometimes react to hypnagogic sleep paralysis with an attempt to reassert control over the muscles of the body, causing a “hypnic jerk”. The extension of a weighted zest and ease can pre-empt the tendency to reassert voluntary control in the induction of concentration, and make possible a conscious experience of “reflex movement” in inhalation and exhalation. (Just to Sit) Regarding "one-pointedness of mind" moving to the MDT: I remind myself that the activity of the body in inhalation and exhalation tends toward coordination by the free placement of consciousness, and look for ease. (Applying the Pali Instructions) The practice you mention that really opened your heart, "holding in mind that I would love everyone even if they continued harming", is Gautama's extension of the mind of compassion: [One] dwells, having suffused the first quarter [of the world] with friendliness, likewise the second, likewise the third, likewise the fourth; just so above, below, across; [one] dwells having suffused the whole world everywhere, in every way, with a mind of friendliness that is far-reaching, wide-spread, immeasurable, without enmity, without malevolence. [One] dwells having suffused the first quarter with a mind of compassion… with a mind of sympathetic joy… with a mind of equanimity that is far-reaching, wide-spread, immeasurable, without enmity, without malevolence. (MN 7, tr. Pali Text Society vol I p 48) Gautama said that “the excellence of the heart’s release” through the extension of the mind of compassion was the first of the further concentrations, a concentration he called “the plane of infinite ether” (MN 111; tr. Pali Text Society vol III p 79). (The Inconceivable Nature of the Wind) Wouldja believe, I have a book now, A Natural Mindfulness. Also downloadable for free from my website.

lantern out. Cat out! out of the bag, disappeared but wait--what's that rub!

I don't know why that made me laugh... "T'aint funny, McGee!"

My summary of the mindfulness he described as his own, both before and after enlightenment, would be: 1) Relax the activity of the body, in inhalation and exhalation; 2) Find a feeling of ease and calm the senses connected with balance, in inhalation and exhalation; 3) Appreciate and detach from thought, in inhalation and exhalation; 4) Look to the free location of consciousness for the automatic activity of the body, in inhalation and exhalation. (Applying the Pali Instructions) That last is similar to your "stand above the minding".

(Omori) Sogen wrote: … It may be the least trouble to say as a general precaution that strength should be allowed to come to fullness naturally as one becomes proficient in sitting. We should sit so that our energy increases of itself and brims over… (“An Introduction to Zen Training: A Translation of Sanzen Nyumon”, Omori Sogen, tr. Dogen Hosokawa and Roy Yoshimoto, Tuttle Publishing, p 59.) Omori quoted one Hida Haramitsu: We should balance the power of the hara (area below the navel) and the koshi (area at the rear of the pelvis) and maintain equilibrium of the seated body by bringing the center of the body’s weight in line with the center of the triangular base of the seated body. (Hida Haramitsu, “Nikon no Shimei” [“Mission of Japan”], parentheticals added; referenced without publisher and date in "An Introduction to Zen Training, above) The equilibrium that Haramitsu described can follow a necessity of breath that places consciousness in the lower abdomen, given a feeling of ease at the point of consciousness and the experience of gravity as the source of activity and stretch. I’m partial to Yuanwu’s “turning to the left, turning to the right, following up behind” (“The Blue Cliff Record” Case 17, tr Cleary & Cleary). If I relax the muscles of the lower abdomen and the muscles behind the pelvis, and calm the stretch of ligaments between the pelvis and the sacrum, gravity can yield a “turning to the left, turning to the right”. “Following up behind” I believe refers to support engaged behind the sacrum and spine: There is… a possible mechanism of support for the spine from the displacement of the fascia behind the spine, a displacement that may depend on a push on the fascia behind the sacrum by the bulk of the extensor muscles, as they contract. There’s a frailty in the structure of the lower spine, and the movement of breath can place the point of awareness in such a fashion as to engage a mechanism of support for the spine, often in stages. (Applying the Pali Instructions)

books, brushes, inks, cat, all carefully stowed away. Lantern out. Cat out!

Working on a post in response to your last question, about "chop wood carry water"--something from that writing: Zen teachers demonstrate the relinquishment of volitive activity in the body in favor of the free location of “one-pointedness of mind”, constantly. Reb Anderson observed such demonstrations in the actions of Shunryu Suzuki: … I remember (Suzuki’s) dharma talks and I remember him in the zendo—that was wonderful teaching. I remember him moving rocks—wonderful teaching. I remember seeing him eat—that was wonderful teaching. He was teaching all the time in every situation. But when he couldn't sit anymore and couldn't walk anymore, he still taught right from there. (Reb Anderson, from a 1995 recording: https://www.cuke.com/people/anderson-reb.htm) In the parlance of Gautama: And what… is the ceasing of action? That ceasing of action by body, speech, and mind, by which one contacts freedom,–that is called ‘the ceasing of action’. (SN 35.146, tr. Pali Text Society vol IV p 85) As to "one-pointedness of mind": In my experience, “one-pointedness” occurs when the movement of breath necessitates the placement of attention at a singular location in the body, and a person “lays hold of one-pointedness” when they remain awake as the singular location shifts. (Just to Si t) “One-pointedness of mind” occurs out of necessity, in the course of an inhalation or exhalation. The subtle necessity of posture or carriage can induce one-pointedness in seated meditation and in daily living, again in the course of an inhalation or exhalation. "Phases" or "levels" in concentration may have to do with the way "one-pointedness of mind" coordinates reflex activity to shift the fascia behind the sacrum and spine rearward to support the nerve exits between vertebrae, and thereby open the body to the placement of "one-pointedness" anywhere in the body. Forsaking "one-pointedness" for the particulars drops the ball, ignoring "one-pointedness" in the apprehension of the particulars also drops the ball. Fortunately we still breathe. Not really levels in the necessity of that, only in opening the body appropriately.

"At the head of the bed is Nephthys and at the foot Isis. They are both touching a 'shen' symbol." "In the case of the lungs its obvious that the breath is involved, Isis the in-breath and Nephthys the out." So our up and down, in and out duo is getting ready to pull the plugs on David Copperfield, after which he will magically change places with ol' foxhead?

Ahem. Mark Foote bridges ancient wisdom and modern science in this remarkable exploration of seated meditation. Drawing on Gautama Buddha's original teachings, Zen masters from Dogen to Shunryu Suzuki, and contemporary research in biomechanics and neuroscience, Foote reveals how natural, automatic movement in the body emerges when we surrender volition and allow consciousness to find its own place. For practitioners seeking to understand the relationship between body and mind in meditation, A Natural Mindfulness is an invaluable guide.

It's a recurring motif in Egyptian pyramid and scroll art. At least I spared you my explanation this time (I was hoping to goad our host into giving one).

fickle heart, tongue cat proportioned to the groove Emily's puzzle

So he abides fully conscious of what is behind and what is in front. As (he is conscious of what is) in front, so behind: as behind, so in front; as below, so above: as above, so below: as by day, so by night: as by night, so by day. Thus with wits alert, with wits unhampered, he cultivates his mind to brilliancy. (SN 54.19, Pali Text Society vol 5 p 235; emphasis added) That's the Pali Text Society translation. Switching to Sujato Bhikkyu's translation on suttacentral.org for the explanation ('cause I'm too lazy to copy out the PTS translation): And how does a mendicant meditate perceiving before and behind: as before, so behind; as behind, so before? It’s when the perception of before and behind is properly grasped, focused on, borne in mind, and penetrated with wisdom by a mendicant. That’s how a mendicant meditates perceiving before and behind: as before, so behind; as behind, so before. And how does a mendicant meditate as below, so above; as above, so below? It’s when a mendicant examines their own body up from the soles of the feet and down from the tips of the hairs, wrapped in skin and full of many kinds of filth. ‘In this body there is head hair, body hair, nails, teeth, skin, flesh, sinews, bones, bone marrow, kidneys, heart, liver, diaphragm, spleen, lungs, intestines, mesentery, undigested food, feces, bile, phlegm, pus, blood, sweat, fat, tears, grease, saliva, snot, synovial fluid, urine.’ That’s how a mendicant meditates as below, so above; as above, so below. And how does a mendicant meditate as by day, so by night; as by night, so by day? It’s when a mendicant develops the basis of psychic power that has immersion due to enthusiasm, and active effort, with the same features, attributes, and signs by day as by night. And they develop it with the same features, attributes, and signs by night as by day. That’s how a mendicant meditates as by day, so by night; as by night, so by day. And how, with an open and unenveloped heart, does a mendicant develop a mind that’s full of radiance? It’s when a mendicant has properly grasped the perception of light, and has properly grasped the perception of day. That’s how, with an open and unenveloped heart, a mendicant develops a mind that’s full of radiance. (SN 51.20) You can perhaps see why I prefer the PTS translations in the above. Nevertheless! As to "as before, so behind; as behind, so before", where the Gautamid took a pass on the explanation, bear with me: In my experience, “one-pointedness” occurs when the movement of breath necessitates the placement of attention at a singular location in the body, and a person “lays hold of one-pointedness” when they remain awake as the singular location shifts. The weight of the body sensed at a particular point in the body can shift the body’s center of gravity, and a shift in the body’s center of gravity can result in what Moshe Feldenkrais termed “reflex movement”. The Tai Chi master Cheng Man Ch’ing wrote: In general, what the ancients called, “straightening the chest and sitting precariously,” has to do with the work of self-cultivation. … Therefore, I advise practitioners of T’ai-chi ch’uan to straighten their spines. Holding the spine erect is like stringing pearls on top of each other, without letting them lean or incline. However, if one is too tense and stiff, or unnaturally affected, then this too is an error. (“Master Cheng’s Thirteen Chapters on T’ai-Chi Ch’uan”, © 1982 Douglas Wile, p 21) I would say that the thread on which the pearls are strung is the fascia behind the sacrum and spine, the thoracolumbar fascial sheet, composed of the thoracolumbar and nuchal fascia. “Stringing pearls” is allowing the abdominals to work with the extensor muscles of the spine to align vertebrae and thereby permit the displacement of the fascial sheet. Gravity in the abdominals can work against the extensors in a rhythm regulated by the stretch of ligaments, while pressure created in the abdomen as the abdominals work can displace the fascia behind specific vertebrae in support of an overall stretch. Because the extensor muscles behind the sacrum are enclosed by bone on three sides, the thoracolumbar fascia behind the sacrum can be displaced by the mass of the extensor muscles as they contract. Gravity in the muscles of the lower abdomen and pelvis can work against the extensors, again regulated by the stretch of ligaments, to displace the fascia behind the sacrum in support of an overall stretch. I find that Gautama’s description of ease in the second concentration accords well with the engagement of “reflex movement” in the lower abdomen, around the pelvic basin, and behind the sacrum. Likewise, Gautama’s description of ease in the third concentration accords well with “reflex movement” in the abdominals and in the extensors of the spine. (Just to Sit) That's "before as behind, behind as before" to me. "As below, so above: as above, so below"--Gautama got in trouble for recommending the "meditation on the unlovely (aspects of the body)", which appears to be what he's describing here. I find "as below, so above: as above, so below" in the overall stretch of the fascia behind the sacrum and spine, which involves the whole body. "(The monk has) properly grasped the perception of light, and has properly grasped the perception of day". Pali Text Society has "(a monk's) “consciousness of light is well grasped, his consciousness of daylight is well-sustained" (which I prefer).

For Theravadin Buddhists, democracy is the name of the game when it comes to decisions of the order. Except that the group that would remain the Theravadins decided after the vote in B.C. 349 to take their dry sleeping robes and go home, what a bunch of party poopers! Intuitions we have about the way the world works rarely conflict with our everyday experience. At speeds far slower than the speed of light or at scales far larger than the quantum one, we can, for instance, assume that objects have definite features independent of our measurements, that we all share a universal space and time, that a fact for one of us is a fact for all. As long as our philosophy works, it lurks undetected in the background, leading us to mistakenly believe that science is something separable from metaphysics. But at the uncharted edges of experience — at high speeds and tiny scales — those intuitions cease to serve us, making it impossible for us to do science without confronting our philosophical assumptions head-on. Suddenly we find ourselves in a place where science and philosophy can no longer be neatly distinguished. A place, according to the physicist Eric Cavalcanti, called “experimental metaphysics.” https://www.quantamagazine.org/metaphysical-experiments-test-hidden-assumptions-about-reality-20240730/ I know, not what you were referencing...

"... there is in fact an account of the First Schism which gives just such a date, namely the tradition of the Sammitya school recorded by Bhavya (Bhavaviveka) and the Tibetan historians (probably following him). This account places the event in B.C. 349.... On this occasion a monk, about whose name there are disagreements..., put forward five grounds, of which four concern the question of the nature of an arhant... and none have any direct bearing on the discipline. An assembly took place... and the majority, it would appear, voted in favour of these grounds. This majority constituted itself into the Mahasamgha.... The minority which rejected the grounds, and which apparently included a number of the most senior monks, refused to submit to this decision and constituted themselves into the School of the Elders, the Sthaviravada. ... We seem led to the conclusion that the two parties were less far apart than at first sight they appear to be, except on the first ground [that an arhant can be seduced by another person]. The Sthaviravada were categorical that an arhant was by nature beyond the reach of any possible seduction; the Mahasamgha allowed an arhant to be seduced in a dream. Between these opinions no compromise could be found.... No compromise having been reached, the two parties separated and became two schools of Buddhism. Afterwards they gradually came to disagree on several more grounds, partly through working out the implications of their positions. In particular the nature of the Buddha was reconsidered. In the Tripitaka he is not apparently distinguished from any other arhant, except that he had the exceptional genius necessary to discover the truths unaided whilst the others were helped by his guidance. The Sthaviravada remained closer to this conception, though gradually they attributed a higher status to the Buddha, eventually complete 'omniscience', especially in the more popular propaganda. The Mahasamgha, on the other hand, having relaxed or at least not made more stringent the conditions for an arhant, found it desirable to make a clear distinction in the case of the Buddha; he was a being of quite a different nature, far above other human beings or perhaps not really a human being at all. They thus began that transformation of the Buddha, and his doctrine, which led step by step to the Mahayana...." ("Indian Buddhism", A. K. Warder, Motilal Banarsidass 2nd ed p 217-218) At least as far as Warder could discover, the original Mahayanists split from the rest of the tradition because they believed an arahant could have a wet dream. I personally like the Bodhisattva vow in Mahayana Buddhism, the commitment to hold off personal enlightenment until all enter at once. The idea, as I understand it, is that the Bodhisattva will continue to suffer the consequences of desire for sensual pleasure, desire for becoming, and desire for not-becoming (ignorance) until all can be freed from these three cankers altogether. That allows for wet dreams and more, and justifies it as a great sacrifice on the part of the Bodhisattva. Yes, it's laughable, and yet I do better in an environment that encourages some freedom from the rules. I myself am only looking to realize Gautama's way of living more often, the mindfulness that he said was primarily his way of living in the rainy season (when presumably he did a lot of sitting)--the way of living that he described as "perfect in itself, and a pleasant way of living too" (SN 54.9, tr. Pali Text Society vol V p 285). As I wrote in my book (yes, I have a book!--should be in print again soon): Many people in the Buddhist community take enlightenment to be the goal of Buddhist practice. I would say that when a person consciously experiences automatic movement in the activity of the body in inhalation and exhalation, finding a way of life that allows for such experience in the natural course of things becomes the more pressing concern. Gautama taught such a way of living, although I don’t believe that such a way of living is unique to Buddhism. (Appendix--A Way of Living)

Even a mind in thought, a full concert venue, a rush hour freeway, or a hill of ants on a hot day can be seen to be still. To learn what to look for generally requires pointing by a realized teacher. "Case 29", from "The Gateless Gate", by Ekai (called Mu-mon). Yes. I would say the mind is only really still when it is without will, intent, or deliberation, and the activity of the body can occur solely by virtue of the location of the mind. Mumon's commentary, according to Nyogen Senzaki and Paul Reps: The sixth patriarch said: “The wind is not moving, the flag is not moving. Mind is moving.” What did he mean? If you understand this intimately, you will see the two monks there trying to buy iron and gaining gold. The sixth patriarch could not bear to see those two dull heads, so he made such a bargain. Wind, flag, mind moves, The same understanding. When the mouth opens All are wrong. (tr. Nyogen Senzaki and Paul Reps [1934], at sacred-texts.com) Wikipedia on Senzaki: "a Rinzai Zen monk who was one of the 20th century's leading proponents of Zen Buddhism in the United States." I trust this translation of the commentary, some are not so good! Makes me think of Gautama's declaration that speech ceases as "one-pointedness" is laid hold of--more correctly, "determinate thought" that gives rise to speech ceases. When the mouth opens, when "determinate thought" that gives rise to speech commences, no "one-pointedness. I disagree, that the teachings of the sermons in the Pali Canon that form the basis of Theravadin practice are different from the teachings that form the basis of Zen practice, except as regards the transmission of the teaching. With regard to transmission, Gautama, refused to name a successor (DN 16, PTS vol. ii p 107). I understand why the Zen tradition felt it necessary to claim otherwise, but honesty is a virtue, no?

If you're referring to the quotations I cited above--evidence of what?

yes, but... Dogen Zenji says, “Water does not flow, but the bridge flows.” You may say that your mind is practicing zazen and ignore your body, the practice of your body. Sometimes when you think that you are doing zazen with an imperturbable mind, you ignore the body, but it is also necessary to have the opposite understanding at the same time. Your body is practicing zazen in imperturbability while your mind is moving. Your legs are practicing zazen with pain. Water is practicing zazen with movement, yet the water is still while flowing because flowing is its stillness, or its nature. The bridge is doing zazen without moving. (“Whole-Body Zazen”, Shunryu Suzuki; June 28, 1970, Tassajara [edited by Bill Redican]) Suzuki is riffing on a poem by the 6th century C.E. Chinese Buddhist monk Fuxi: The empty hand grasps the hoe handle Walking along, I ride the ox The ox crosses the wooden bridge The bridge is flowing, the water is still (“Zen’s Chinese Heritage”, tr. Andy Ferguson, p 2.) I'm not sure what Suzuki was trying to say with "Water is practicing zazen with movement, yet the water is still while flowing because flowing is its stillness, or its nature" and "The bridge is doing zazen without moving", other than to say it's perfectly acceptable if the bridge is not flowing and the water is not still. I think it helps to look at his remarks in the context of the original poem. Something I wrote about the bridge and the water, back in 2021: The place where consciousness occurs suddenly becomes the source of action of the body, the place seeming to flow from moment to moment, while action based on volition or habit ceases entirely, or falls still.

“Udayin, as an emerald jewel, of all good qualities, might be strung on a thread, blue-green or yellow or red or white or orange coloured; and a [person] with vision, having put it in [their] hand, might reflect; ‘this emerald jewel... is strung on a thread, blue-green... or orange-coloured’–even so, Udayin, a course has been pointed out by me for disciples, practising which disciples of mine know thus: This body of mine... is of a nature to be constantly rubbed away... and scattered, but this consciousness is fastened there, bound there....” (MN 77, tr. Pali Text Society vol II p 217) I read that to say that Gautama was aware of both his consciousness and his body. He described the above as one of the psychic insights he had while in the fourth concentration, one of the insights that lead up to his enlightenment (DN 2). 'When the mind is "awake" and still, there is just sensation and awareness of it': Sometimes when you think that you are doing zazen with an imperturbable mind, you ignore the body, but it is also necessary to have the opposite understanding at the same time. Your body is practicing zazen in imperturbability while your mind is moving. (“Whole-Body Zazen”, Shunryu Suzuki; June 28, 1970, Tassajara [edited by Bill Redican]) The ease of reflex activity in the body occasioned by the place of occurrence of consciousness can remain constant, even if the location of consciousness shifts, provided the body is open to the free occurrence of consciousness. The ease goes away, the activity occasioned by the place of occurrence of free consciousness remains.

"so much that they refer to fellow humans as something 'other'"--Nungali. Join with me then, Nungali, in applauding Stirling for writing the entire paragraph quoted above without a single use of the pronoun, "you". Everyone here knows that we're only talking to ourselves, right? Nobody else here, except the cat: But seriously, I like it when we address ourselves. "... arrived at by allowing the mind to come to a stop"--yes, but once a person is altogether "here", practice occurs and "the fundamental point" is actualized, right? When you find your place where you are, practice occurs, actualizing the fundamental point. (“Genjo Koan [Actualizing the Fundamental Point]”, tr. Kazuaki Tanahashi, included in his “Enlightenment Unfolds”) Dogen continued: When you find your way at this moment, practice occurs, actualizing the fundamental point… (ibid) (Dogen was convinced he was talking to someone else--so sad.) I would say the activity of the body can be entirely “reflex movement” occasioned by the placement of attention. To remain awake as the location of attention shifts and activity of the body takes place is “just to sit”. The freedom of “your way at this moment” is touched on in daily living through “your place where you are”. That’s my take. Find the place, remain awake and find the way at this moment--practice occurs and the singular point of consciousness is actualized.

It's not about the value of physical labor before and after enlightenment, although as I said in my last reply, the Zen idea of enlightenment quoted in your recounting of the saying is different from Gautama's. Miraculous power and marvelous activity Drawing water and chopping wood. (Pangyun, a lay Zen practitioner, eight century C.E.) Cleave a (piece of) wood, I am there; lift up the stone and you will find Me there. (The Gospel According to Thomas, pg 43 log. 77, ©1959 E. J. Brill) The weight of the entire body can bear at a single point in the movement of inhalation, as though lifting a heavy bucket or a heavy stone; the weight of the entire body can bear at a single point in the movement of exhalation, as though cleaving a tough block of wood. I would say it's about "one-pointedness" of mind, that these activities are conducive to the experience of consciousness at a single point in the body. So let's all get up, drop body and mind like in the way before your mother was born... while seated and more-or-less stationary!

I'm with Nungali, near-death experiences are only near-death experiences. I don't think they really tell us much about actual death. I'm not a believer in rebirth, either, although that doesn't say there isn't some phenomena there. I'm just not sure it has anything to do with the intention in a person's actions. Gautama seemed to imply that ceasing volitional actions of the body and possibly of the mind was conducive to a final rest that was more than simply not being reincarnated. At the same time, he declared that attainment of the states in which volitional actions of the body or body and mind cease was not necessary to the wisdom that provided complete destruction of the cankers, and that the cessation of volitional actions did not guarantee that wisdom (MN 70). This, after so many of his sermons recount his attainment of that wisdom with the cessation of volition in the body (and the exploration of various psychic powers), and one recounts his attainment of that wisdom after the cessation of volition in the mind. I would guess he could see that there were individuals in India who were freed, so to speak, without the concentrations, and likewise individuals among his followers who had attained the cessation of volition in actions of the mind (feeling and perceiving) and yet were not freed. I continue to believe that transmission in the Zen world is primarily based on the ability to relinquish volition in the actions of the body in seated meditation, Gautama's fourth concentration. That is actually quite different from the complete destruction of the cankers, that Gautama identified as the consequence of enlightenment. It's also different from the experience of zazen getting up and walking around, which is the kind of surprise expression of the spirit in the body that I think you are looking for. Perhaps of interest to you, Tommy, would be the fact that the first psychic result that Gautama experienced in route to his own enlightenment was the insight that consciousness is bound to the body; he described it as like a jewel strung on a thread, that is bound by the thread. I was a teen in the San Francisco Bay Area in the sixties, and through a friend I was able to try LSD several times. I can say that there is a feeling on the drug that everything makes perfect sense, like the way I used to feel after I listened to an Alan Watts lecture, but like the Watts lecture the effect wears off after a day or two. Not the way to come to spirit, in my experience, I gave it up long ago.

Thank you! The original was a little out of focus, but here it is--down at the Family Duck: