Hi,

I suspect my question is another variation on the question that all beginners ask, basically "Am I Doing It Right?" :-) If this particular
version has been covered elsewhere, feel free to point me at it.

The standard metaphor for Zazen is the image of the mountain and the clouds; the clouds arrive, you neither chase them away nor indulge them, but observe them and let them pass. I see lots of beginner's saying how hard it is and how often thoughts arise, but my problem seems to be slightly different to this. For me, it seemslike the clouds arrive and I do not notice them. I sit there indulging these thoughts for what must be a number of minutes, before I become aware of them and let them pass. This seems "wrong" to me, as if I'm not paying enough attention or am not approaching Zazen with enough rigour. Presumably if one were to not notice one's thoughts for the whole period of Zazen and you spent the whole period feeding them till you got of the cushion, then this would be indistiguishable from just sitting (as distinct from "Just Sitting" and as I've already done million times in my life)

Thoughts and comments welcome.

Many thanks guys,

Matt