Don't Move!

Like most people I vividly remember my first sesshine.  I had been sitting at the Santa Cruz Zen Center.  Now it's the most charming community zen center.  But back in the day, yo, it was distinctively informal and decidedly rustic.  Both my knees could not fit on the napkin size zabutan at the same time.  They would rest on the grass mat that was rolled out over the worn linóleum.  So it was quite a awesome shock, to to to the San Francisco Zen Center Page St. Zendo for my first sesshine.  My main impression, other than the this block of wood across the threshold entryway, was the senior students.  Black robes, upright, and they did not move all day.  Just amazing.  My body was all pain, all day, every day: constantly squirming.  Ah, those senior students were so cool and I was so not.  Clearly, I thought, they are doing good zazen and I am not.  I wanted to be like them.

Years later I was sitting a 10 day sesshin with the Zen Society of Oregon, we were urged, deep into the night, to "Don't Move!" for the remainder of the sitting.  Maybe I'm wrong, but this "Don't move!" teaching is commonly implicit and not uncommonly explicit.

If one wants to talk about how to sit physically - wants to develop a 'Yoga of Zen', then "Don't Move!" will have to be addressed.

Maybe the "Don't Move!" teaching is helpful for some people at some times, but I don't think it's a good teaching that can be generalized, at least not as it commonly understood.   As commonly understood this "Don't move!" is a blunt stick. Mostly it is used to impose some external inhibition: to inhibit the adjustment of posture, or scratching ones nose, the squirming.   Maybe the teaching is best for the macho young man doing late night sitting.  'Put a snake in a bambo pole and he snake will realize his true nature.'   Maybe for some snakes, but some might be upset and hurt.  What about those of us who are more sensitive? More apt to judge ourselves harshly?  Or those of us who are already struggling mightily?

People are living beings.  Living things move.  On it's face the "Don't Move!" teaching does not make sense.  But by setting our intention to sit still we can more easily see our tendencies, our proclivities.  Our habits.   For example, if my nose itches, I scratch it.  There is no gap between the stimulis and my act.  At it's best "Don't Move!" helps people recognize their habits, their conditioning.

So there should be some encouragement to sit still.  Certainly, it might be encouraging for the beginner to sit with other who are still.  If we all do what we can to sit still, it that enough?

Zen and the Alexander Technique find common ground in finding liberation from habit and conditioning.  They are both about finding freedom from acting on our prejudicial, reactionary, small mind.  Through Zen and AT training we develop tools to act based on a more considered, conscious, more heartfelt intention.   We have beautiful, refined, effective tools in both Zen and AT.  We don't need blunt sticks.  We encourage each other by how we use our bodies, not so much by what we say.

I propose we remove "Don't Move!" from the Yoga of Zen.  Really, that awesome abilities of mature Zen students to sit all day while apparently not moving is plenty of encouragement for the rest of us to do our best to 'not move'.  We don't need any more reminding.

I propose we take "Don't Move!" from the Yoga of Zen and put it in the category of precept practice.
I use the precepts as advice on how to sit, on what my intention durring zazen should be.  For me, first precept against killing has nothing do do with becoming a vegetaran:  After all, not killing is without limits.  There are no qualifications here: don't kill anything!  Not even the present moment!  If there is a stimulus to act, don't kill the stimulus!  Don't move to touch anything.  Don't try to run away!  Don't move a speck of dust.  Just sit.  It's OK.