SatToday - Make sure you have SAT before joining in forum CHAT!
Dear All,
Treeleaf Sangha is a Practice Place centered on the daily Sitting of Shikantaza Zazen. We ask all our members to have sat Zazen sometime in the preceding day (today or yesterday) before posting in this Forum and joining in discussion. Please have "Sat" before any "Chat". gassho1
Also, both as a reminder to oneself, and as a way to encourage others in our Sangha with the spirit of community sitting, we ask our members to sign any posted message with their name and the words "SatToday" (or some variation ... our members are quite creative :) ). Thank you. Writing "SatToday" is not only a stimulus to ourself to sit, but also our allowing other people to see this "SatToday" helps us in our Bodhisattva Vow to encourage and support other members who might lack the stimulus and energy to sit until they see how many other folks are doing so together. If you have not sat within the preceding day, we ask you to refrain from posting until you have.
Now, the above will not be required of:
Quote:
- Folks new to our Community during the first few months they are here, until the person feels comfortable with this place and the Practice of Zazen.
- Anyone who is struggling with Zazen, or for whom life seems to be making sitting difficult, if they need our community to help them through the hard time. We all go through such times, and we always sometimes need the help of our friends. The doors will never be closed to anyone like that, provided that we will try to point the person back to regular sitting as quickly as possible, and expect the person to resume daily sitting as soon as possible.
- Zazen is not a competition or anything to brag about. So no need to mention how long one is sitting, or how many times per day. A sitting is a sitting.
In fact, "daily Shikantaza" is not a matter of any particular time or quantity of sitting, and we recognize as "SatToday" sitting for even 5, 10 or 15 minutes once a day ... while others may sit for 30 or 40 minutes many times a day, each to their own needs. The most important aspect, in fact, is to sit beyond time and measure, dropping all thoughts of "long" and "short" ... recognizing that even an instant of sitting is an instant complete (an "instant of Buddha" as we sometimes say). However, we recommend a minimum of 15 minutes a day if possible because, well, it takes a little time for us to sit, settle and recognize how timeless sitting truly is all along! [monk]
More on recommended sitting lengths here.
https://www.treeleaf.org/forums/show...091#post189091
Thank you all for supporting each other in daily sitting.
Gassho, Jundo
SatToday!
PS - I also am going to ask people not to post "Sat Today" merely in the automatic footer of their messages. Please sign it new each time you make a post. It needs to be something freshly written each day to keep it in mind, and not merely something that just appears.
