Ango Day 1

Today I kicked off Ango by participating in a modified version of the Treeleaf Saturday zazenkai.

I did nine full bows to Kannon using a folded IKEA blanket as a bowing mat, after which I sat on the cushion and chanted the MRO translation of the Heart Sutra. I sat for thirty minutes, and could feel the restless impulse to get up sooner, but let that impulse go and rested into the peacefulness of the mind that is not trying to get anywhere.

Instead of doing kinhin, which I confess I find tedious, I did two Sun Salutations. The version of Sun Salutations I do goes as follows: Tadasana, Namaste, backbend, "swan dive" forward into Uttanasana, lunge one leg back, turn sideways toward the forward leg into a hip opening pose I learned as "Beach Bum pose," Downward Dog, step one leg forward so the other leg is lunged back, do the hip opener on the other side, Uttanasana, "swan dive" upward into backbend, and end in Tadasana with hands in Namaste.

It was wonderful to break up sitting periods in this way, releasing the tension from my body and engaging in a practice where I found it much easier to be mindful than I do when doing kinhin.

I drank a glass of water and returned to the cushion, and sat for another thirty minutes. My mind rebelled and grew quieter in turn. I felt the thoughts clearing away like a curtain being parted. Afterward, I chanted the Verse of Atonement and the Zen Peacemakers translation of the Four Bodhisattva vows. I got up, did three final full prostrations to Kannon, and completed the zazenkai.

Afterwards, I mindfully ate a baked potato, saying a simple verse beforehand: "May all beings find nourishment." As part of my discipline of getting back on my diet, I recorded the calories as I recorded the calories of what I ate earlier.

I have connected with Daibh on the forum as my Ango practice partner.