The Posture of Meditation by Will Johnson

Author:Will Johnson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Shambhala

4

Resilience

Sit quite still, and breathe comfortably and naturally.

WHEN WE sit down in meditation, we are instructed to sit very still like an unmoving mountain or a carved statue of Buddha, to let go of extraneous motions, gestures, or nervous movement habits. Stillness, however, is antithetical to life. The common denominator to all life forms is the presence of motion. Everything is moving. Everything is pulsing. This is as true of individual cells as it is of large vertebrate mammals. True stillness and immobility only enter into our bodies when we die. The posture of meditation is able to reconcile this apparent contradiction between stillness and motion through adding the element of resilience to the preliminary conditions of alignment and relaxation.

It is important to recognize that, when applied as a value to the process of meditation, stillness refers to the gradual softening and quieting of the body and mind. It does not imply rigidity or immobility. The stillness of meditation, rightly understood and experienced, promotes the quality of quiescence. Paradoxically, the quiescent state is a function of softly resilient motion. We can only hold our bodies still through constant muscular tension and contraction. By constantly tensing and contracting the musculature, however, we effectively forfeit the condition of relaxation. We inhibit the natural flow of breath and the passage of energy through the body. By holding the body still, we transform the gelatinous nature of the body’s tissues into a kind of armoring that is able to block out our awareness of the body’s tactile sensations. The result of this physical holding and hardening is a mind filled with involuntary thoughts of attack and judgment, fear, desires, and fantasies. Clearly this is not the quiescent state of mind that we hope to create through the practice of meditation.

When applied appropriately to the process of meditation, stillness is a relative term at best. It is to be found between the two poles of an imposed immobility and a constant fidgeting. If we sit down to meditate and react to the appearance of every unpleasant sensation by moving or rearranging our body or even standing up and walking away altogether, our meditative inquiry cannot proceed very far. At the same time, if we impose an unnatural stillness on our sitting posture, we create the kinds of conditions outlined in the last paragraph. These too will seriously interfere with our progress. The introduction of subtle resilience into the posture of meditation allows us to avoid the pitfalls of these two extremes.

Resilience is a function of accepting and then yielding to the forces of nature that so affect and move through us. This may be the force of gravity, the sensations in the body, or the movement of the breath. Resilience is about flexibility and always involves surrendered motion. The leaf that dances on the wind is remarkably resilient. So too is the water of the ocean that allows the force of waves to move through it and constantly change its shape. The tallest trees and skyscrapers sway in the wind.

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