2.4.09

ZAZEN & KAPOK 98662


Late last evening my Kapok Zafu and 10lbs of Kapok filling arrived. I emptied out the two oldest Buckwheat filled Zafus and gave them a needed washing. I then proceded to stuff them with kapok. If you are ever inclined to undertake such an operation I would like to warn you that this is a messy process. Particularly with ZMH and the PoC trying to help. Kapok fluff ended up a lot of places other than inside the Zafu covers. After a period of time I did manage to get enough kapok stuffed into the Zafu covers to be adequate for the little ones to sit on. I think I have enough kapok to fill two ore three more Zafu’s and I know I have seen patterns for them. I am thinking I will make some more. Can you ever have enough Zafus? I tried out the new one that was sent and I noticed that it does seem to have the benefit of not constricting the blood flow to my left leg as much when sitting full lotus.

I was on a day of leave yesterday so I decided to not bother coming to work this morning at the usual time but instead come in at the “Prescribed” time. Still I only managed one sitting after morning office but I did get good nights sleep. The Wife and the PoC were invited to sit but again only ZMH joined me. The timer got hung up though and we ended up sitting for 45 minutes. ZMH wanted to know how long and I obliged her by checking, as soon as I opened the application the bell went off.

It is kind of weird because normally my internal clock knows approximately when the bell should go off. Maybe I successfully let go of that, I don’t know.

Breakfast of cereal, hygiene and some genmai~cha to go. Hugs from ZMH and gratitude to her for sitting with me.

Now I am at work, reservists coming this weekend and a Commanding Generals Inspection. Joy!

6 comments:

Yamakoa said...

Hello Jordan,
I think I may have read somewhere that you have an Iphone. Are you using a special app to time your sitting dhyana. I use the timer function under clocks.

It is pretty incredible that your daughter can sit with you for so long a period. You guys may be the incarnations of Layman Pang and his sharper than life daughter. :-)

Take care and good luck with your inspection
"Y"

SlowZen said...

Yamakoa,
Yes, I am using the "Soto Timer."
It is a free app and can be programmed for multiple sessions. I like it mostly because it is free and can be programed for a different number of bells as in three fro beginning sitting two for a change of practice period and one for an end of the practice period. I would however like them to add some more sounds like a Mokugyo for announcing a session and clappers for kinhin. Maybe someday the author will update it. untill then it is just bells bells bells.

I am pretty amazed that ZMH joins me every day too. But I don't know about being incarnations of Laymen Pang and his daughter.

Pang Yun and his daughter Ling Zhao grew old together, traveling around China, becoming legends of Zen Buddhism. Their last abode was a cave in a mountain. Layman Pang new it was time for him to die, so he sat on the rock which he used for meditation and prepared to pass away as the midday sun would pass overhead. Ling Zhao, however came into the cave and told her father to go outside and look at the eclipse of the Sun that was occurring. He went out to look at this extraordinary event, but saw no such thing, just the passing of midday. Returning to the cave, he found his daughter dead, sitting upright on the rock, to which he said, Oh that girl! She was always ahead of me.”

I don't know that I could handle that.

As to the inspection, mine came early and now I am just watching the mechanization of the rest of the staff as they struggle to do the things they are supposed to be doing. I am fortunate to be in a position to dictate my own way of doing business, which is to do my job in accordance with the inspection checklist.

I seem to be chatty today!

Thanks for the well wishes as always!

Unknown said...

You are a lucky man Jordan. Seems ZMH makes a noble zazen partner. Two tigers taking to the mountains.

I'll I get is this damn cat and a dog that gets rambunctious if I make even the minutest movement when sitting. He thinks it is his breakfast time. He gets feed after morning sitting. If I look to see if time is up, time is up according to the dog. Scratch my nose and zazen time is over. Adjust cushion and zazen time is over. Well when I look at it like this, the dog is a helpful and watchful zazen partner. What more could we ask for. Noble and watchful zazen partners.

Carol said...

Jordan,

I can't tell you how much I've been enjoying your blog lately and how well you're handling different situations!
I am so proud of you and happy to call you son!

Love,

Mom

oxeye said...

Jordan, Is your internal clock located on your backside? I know mine is. I can tell by the feeling in my butt and legs when I am nearing one half hour on buckwheat hulls. Maybe your internal clock will have to get used to the kapok.

SlowZen said...

Will,
I have taken to feeding the cat prior to morning sitting. He was a real pest prior to adjusting for that though. The dog usually can’t be bothered to wake up although the other day he did come lay down behind us and almost immediately fall into a deep snore… Yes I am grateful for my sitting buddies. Thanks for your comments and your Practice.

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Mom,
Glad you’re enjoying the blog! And especially glad that you get pleasant feelings from reading it!

Love,
Jordan

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Jeff,
I used to have a backside timer, but I found that it could be circumvented. What I did was take out the office chairs and desks in the home office and started using a zafu and coffee table to work from. The benefit to this was experiential. I realized that the resistance to sitting long periods of time was 90% mental, as I could sit and read the digital Dharma on my computer for hours. And since then when the “pain in the backside” occurs I can usually swiftly dismiss it, or in the case of a sleepy leg, just shift from full lotus to half lotus. But the kapok is easier on the circulation in the legs for me too.

Thanks for looking!