If there is one defining feature of Zen, is the emphasis on the posture while in meditation. Universally, Zen teachers are strikingly upright and expansive. And this emphasis can also be found in Japanese Zen teachings.
This Blog is about how to sit upright. For many it may sound silly. Many think it happens "naturally" or comes with experience without any effort. Some might think they already sit upright just fine, thank you very much. Others might say "Well, I feel my body and rely on the sensations to guide me. I can feel when I'm leaning over, and I can feel my self making an adjustment, and then I feel upright. If I feel upright I am upright."
It's this last group that I want to talk to. The fundamental assumption in this blog is that the sensation we get from our bodies is not a reliable basis upon which to make decisions about how to do something. You may feel like you are leaning one way, when in fact you are not. You may feel tightness around your chest when it may, or may not be, tight.
I have lots of examples from my own life, but I have not shared them because I'm sure it would not convince anyone.
This post is based on an article suggested by a reader, Tim Kjeldsen. He suggested reading:
http://ipcoregon.com/pdf/pain_and_the_neuromatrix_in_the_brain.pdf
I have found it very interesting and highly recommend it. It has to do with chronic pain, but the theory of the existence of a "Body-Self Neuromatrix" has relevance here. The article from the Journal of Dental Education by Ronald Melzack, Ph.D who is a professor Emeritus at McGill University. Apparently he is an expert in phantom limb phenomena. This is when a person feels a perfectly real limb, that is not actually present. Since this non existent limb can hurt, brain researches have had to throw out the old Cartesian concept of pain as a sensation produced by tissue pathology.
The body-self neuromatrix is thought to be a group of very complex, widely distributed, multiple, communicating, cyclical processing neural networks. The inputs into this matrix include all the sensory inputs, but also cognitive inputs such as cultural inputs, personality, past experiences, etc. Inputs also include from the the endocrine and immune systems. Obviously complicated, but hey, it's brain science.
While the input and output from the body-self neuromatrix sound very complicated, the functions sound are pretty simple. It decides "Am I OK?". If it decides "Not OK" it triggers pain perception, actions and alters stress regulation. I'll write more about this later. But more germain to this blog entry is that the output from the body-self neuromatrix is projected to a sentient neural hub - in which the stream of nerve impulses is converted into a continually changing stream of awareness. This is where the experience of movement is created.
To back up a bit, I used to believe that "I" exist somewhere in my brain. I get accurate sensory information directly from my body and make decisions based on this. Brain science does not support this at all. Setting aside for now the location of any "I" in my brain, I clearly am not sensing my body at all. Sensations from my body are constantly mixed up with a whole lot of other inputs, mixed and remixed, and fully processed. When done it goes to the sentient neural hub and it is here that the stream of awareness and experience of movement is created.
I had to think about this a bit. And please read the article for yourself to be sure I'm getting this right. When concepts are complicated I reach for metaphors. I hesitate to do this because I have to acknowledge my limits to think clearly and write effectively. Sorry. Here is the way I see it: Trying to feel my body while sitting in order to figure out if I'm upright is like figuring out what is happening in the middle east by watching a powerpoint presentation on the middle east given by a EU prime minister. What the powerpoint presentation tells me is based on intelligence from the middle east, but also politics, economics, cultural issues, etc. Will the powerpoint give me a good idea of what is going on? Uh, maybe. Is it adequate to make a decision to go to war? Yeah, I'm thinking WMD here. Is this slideshow adequate to make decisions to "adjust" your posture?
There are two other articles I've read recently that have moved me. One was from a recent issue of Buddhadharma that talked about the Heart Sutra, which is the most commonly recited teaching at the zen groups that I have attended. It is a simple but uncompromising denial of the inherent nature of anything and everything. There is nothing with an abiding separate self. Everything is empty.
It is relatively easy to see how our powerpoint presentation is empty. But what about my eyes? My ears, nose, body and mind? Where is the solid reality in my ideas of myself or the sensations and stimuli?
The other wonderful article from Buddhadharma is by Reb Anderson regarding the "three turnings of the wheel", which really helps to organize the above. The first turning has to do with the four noble truths: there are real problems in life, there is a reason for these problems and ways to help resolve them. The second turning is the teaching on emptiness of all things. The third turning combines the two teaching and enables us to act.
The AT explanes how to physical sit and how to bring our practice into everyday life. Unlike yoga, the AT is based on intention and non-doing. Like zen sitting it is based on a fundamental deep acceptance of the present moment - of who you are. Both the AT and Zen are also in step with the body-self neuromatix theory.
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