Jubilation and Rolaids

Think about exactly that feeling, the food on your tongue, in your mouth. Take one breath thinking about that feeling, and then let that feeling go away when the breath goes out. That is what meditation is: You see the thought and you let it float away, see the thought and let it float away. - from "Breakfast with Buddha" by Roland Merullo

Day Five. Blogger time doesn't pass, it oozes. I should clarify: when I'm actually blogging, I fall down a black hole of timelessness, only to discover that vast quantities of it have disappeared when I emerge. But each day when I sit down to write, beginning with a tally of how many days I've kept my goal, I'm stunned at the slow accumulation of essays. It really parallels my time spent in zazen, where 20 minutes feels longer than the last decade of my life.

I committed to blogging every day; luckily, I didn't promise I would blog WELL for every entry. After all, it's Super Bowl Sunday, and I'd hate to miss any of those pricey commercials. I'll simply record a victory regarding my time keeping ordeals. I had my game face on prior to my last sit, feeling confident that I had mastered the intricate workings of my cell phone. I sat up straight, held my mudra, counted my breaths, and let the time tick down. At the magical 20 minute mark, I noticed that my cell phone, which I had carefully placed face down on the carpet beside me, was blinking. No sound, no alarm. That would be because I had the phone on vibrate. The above-referenced jubilation arose because my eyes had been downcast but still open, per proper zazen form (read between the lines: I wasn't asleep!) So the timer accurately measured the 20 minutes, visually signaled me since I neglected to take the phone off its chronic position on vibrate, and Voila! Jubilation! I've conquered my Time Tribulations.

I read my post detailing the ritual of zazen as I learned it from my teacher, and decided that a blog on ADD will be forthcoming. I completely forgot the finishing aspects of the ritual. Typical Westerner: try to still my thoughts for 20 minutes, but the second that timer goes off (or not!) I'm off my sofa cushion like a shot and on to the next thing to DO. The finishing ritual goes like this: I sound the gong, bow gratefully forward to release the tension in my back, and repeat the sequence of three stretches to each side. I stand up, bow to the sofa cushion, wipe off the imaginary dust on both sides (the ritual clearly originated at a time when zazen was not conducted on wall-to-wall carpet) and carefully store it on the chest by my bed. One more bow as I lay it to rest until tomorrow. I think I've described the entire ritual now (the chattering of the monkeys varies!)

Every night when I'm finished meditating, I've had an unusual stomach ache. So reaching for the Rolaids is fast becoming part of the ritual. I could analyze this, but I'm going to sit instead.

Gassho,
CycleBuddhaDoc