Difficulty with Practice on the Weekend/When I Have More Time

[gaurdianaq]

I've noticed I have more difficulty bringing myself to sit Zazen on the weekend when I'm not working, and it got me thinking about why that is...

During the week, I get up at 7am, I brush my teeth, shave, sit zazen, then eat breakfast, then start work at 9am. The schedule shifts around a bit (some days I shower before zazen, some days if I wake up particularly tired I eat breakfast before Zazen and let the caffeine kick in) but for the most part I would consider it rather effortless in the sense that it doesn't feel like a mental effort to sit. It's easier to accept that this is all I need to do right now, that now is the time for Zazen.

On the weekend however I might spend several hours aimlessly browsing the internet, and then when I finally do say "it's time for Zazen" it feels like an effort. I find my mind talking about all the other things I should be doing right now instead of Zazen, it becomes much harder to "feel it in my bones" that right now is where I need to be.

It's particularly difficult if I'm committing to sit longer than my usual 30 minutes as I did today when I sat along with Zazenkai. During Zazenkai today it felt like my mind went from "we should be doing something else, we should have started the zazenkai earlier, it's too late in the day now!", and after I continued to sit my mind seemed to shift to "well if we're not doing anything else then we'll be sleepy instead!"

I've been thinking about why this is... And I think it's because during the week the schedule is much stricter, 7-9 is my time for Zazen, eating, and preparing for work. 9-5 is work time, my hour long break during work is for eating and then more Zazen, and then the evening is for whatever happens in the evening. But the weekend is much more open ended (at least in my mind it is) there is no schedule so to speak. And because of that I struggle more.

It's made me appreciate some of the more rigid rituals/schedules in a Monastary, I originally thought that something like that would be limiting, but in some senses it can be liberating. Yet at the same time I also can't rely on someone else setting a strict schedule for me all my life, I have the benefit of having those external schedules during the week that make it easier to embody the right here and right now. And I suppose this is what I need to figure out for my weekend, how to continue to embody this practice on the weekends.

Apologies for going way over...


Evan,
Sat today

[Bion]

I've noticed I have more difficulty bringing myself to sit Zazen on the weekend when I'm not working, and it got me thinking about why that is...

During the week, I get up at 7am, I brush my teeth, shave, sit zazen, then eat breakfast, then start work at 9am. The schedule shifts around a bit (some days I shower before zazen, some days if I wake up particularly tired I eat breakfast before Zazen and let the caffeine kick in) but for the most part I would consider it rather effortless in the sense that it doesn't feel like a mental effort to sit. It's easier to accept that this is all I need to do right now, that now is the time for Zazen.

On the weekend however I might spend several hours aimlessly browsing the internet, and then when I finally do say "it's time for Zazen" it feels like an effort. I find my mind talking about all the other things I should be doing right now instead of Zazen, it becomes much harder to "feel it in my bones" that right now is where I need to be.

It's particularly difficult if I'm committing to sit longer than my usual 30 minutes as I did today when I sat along with Zazenkai. During Zazenkai today it felt like my mind went from "we should be doing something else, we should have started the zazenkai earlier, it's too late in the day now!", and after I continued to sit my mind seemed to shift to "well if we're not doing anything else then we'll be sleepy instead!"

I've been thinking about why this is... And I think it's because during the week the schedule is much stricter, 7-9 is my time for Zazen, eating, and preparing for work. 9-5 is work time, my hour long break during work is for eating and then more Zazen, and then the evening is for whatever happens in the evening. But the weekend is much more open ended (at least in my mind it is) there is no schedule so to speak. And because of that I struggle more.

It's made me appreciate some of the more rigid rituals/schedules in a Monastary, I originally thought that something like that would be limiting, but in some senses it can be liberating. Yet at the same time I also can't rely on someone else setting a strict schedule for me all my life, I have the benefit of having those external schedules during the week that make it easier to embody the right here and right now. And I suppose this is what I need to figure out for my weekend, how to continue to embody this practice on the weekends.

Apologies for going way over...


Evan,
Sat today

I feel you a lot because I work from home and I have no schedule so all my days are like your weekend.. What I did was create a schedule that I stuck to every day, regardless of the day of the week: so I wake up every day more or less at the same time and do things pretty much in the same order.. unless there are any big changes like for example when I’m away from home, have guests or a bigger work load. I understand the feeling you’re talking about and I used to have that quite a lot but as I kept practicing and kept to my daily sittings, my attitude changed.

Sorry for going over (again)

SatToday lah

[gaurdianaq]

I feel you a lot because I work from home and I have no schedule so all my days are like your weekend.. What I did was create a schedule that I stuck to every day, regardless of the day of the week: so I wake up every day more or less at the same time and do things pretty much in the same order.. unless there are any big changes like for example when I’m away from home, have guests or a bigger work load. I understand the feeling you’re talking about and I used to have that quite a lot but as I kept practicing and kept to my daily sittings, my attitude changed.

Sorry for going over (again)

SatToday lah

I actually work from home as well, but it's been easy enough to stick to 9-5 simply because that's when everyone else in the company is working... that being said the company is moving to permanent work from home which will probably entail more flexible hours... I'll probably keep the 9-5 anyways, probably going to try and start sticking to 9-5 on the weekends as well.


Evan,
Sat today, lah

[Bion]

I actually work from home as well, but it's been easy enough to stick to 9-5 simply because that's when everyone else in the company is working... that being said the company is moving to permanent work from home which will probably entail more flexible hours... I'll probably keep the 9-5 anyways, probably going to try and start sticking to 9-5 on the weekends as well.


Evan,
Sat today, lah

In my case, it’s just me.. no one to set a schedule for me, no one to check and see if I’m working or not .. I have to keep myself in check and let me tell you, I do a LOUSY job at it

SatToday lah

[Tomás ESP]

Something that has helped me deal with lack of discipline regarding zazen (and life in general): Death contemplation. Seriously. Not to bring you down or anything, but sooner or later we are going to die. And when I really bring the awareness of that fact into my body, I just stop wasting time doing meaningless stuff and sit zazen. In fact, it is recommended as a practice in the 4 Satipatthanas that the Buddha left in the Satipatthana Sutta. But it tends to be recommended for advanced practitioners, so I do it very lightly.

Gassho, Tomás
Sat&LaH

[Juki]

One thing that helps is to start Saturday and Sunday with work. Do your dishes, or get out the vacuum cleaner or do some other rhythmic household chore. It gets both the body and the mind ready to sit.

Gassho,
Juki

sat today and lah

[Geika]

Something that has helped me deal with lack of discipline regarding zazen (and life in general): Death contemplation. Seriously. Not to bring you down or anything, but sooner or later we are going to die. And when I really bring the awareness of that fact into my body, I just stop wasting time doing meaningless stuff and sit zazen. In fact, it is recommended as a practice in the 4 Satipatthanas that the Buddha left in the Satipatthana Sutta. But it tends to be recommended for advanced practitioners, so I do it very lightly.

Gassho, Tomás
Sat&LaH

Death contemplation can be a very heavy exercise. I recommend it, but at the same time I want to caution others about the possibility for panic and anxiety as well.

Be well
Gassho
Sat today, lah

[Jundo]

Death contemplation can be a very heavy exercise. I recommend it, but at the same time I want to caution others about the possibility for panic and anxiety as well.

Be well
Gassho
Sat today, lah

I second that. It could be very heavy for someone, for example, already rather anxious or depressed.

So, how about LIFE contemplation, and a celebration of that!?

Yes, they are two sides of the same no-sided coin, and without one no other, and both to be welcomed in their time (said Master Dogen), yet:

In the time we call ‘living’, there is nothing except life.

Gassho, J

STLah

[Kaisho]

I feel you a lot because I work from home and I have no schedule so all my days are like your weekend.. What I did was create a schedule that I stuck to every day, regardless of the day of the week: so I wake up every day more or less at the same time and do things pretty much in the same order.. unless there are any big changes like for example when I’m away from home, have guests or a bigger work load. I understand the feeling you’re talking about and I used to have that quite a lot but as I kept practicing and kept to my daily sittings, my attitude changed.

Sorry for going over (again)

SatToday lah

I need to do this myself as I am getting lax with time frames and making the effort.
For me I am a giant procrastinator so the desire is there but I always think it is something I'll do "later". Later comes and goes and I am squeezing in a short sit before bed. i know long or short matter not but still I think a routine would help me with this.

Gassho
Chelsea

Sat/lah

Sent from my SM-A205U using Tapatalk

[bayamo]

Something that has helped me deal with lack of discipline regarding zazen (and life in general): Death contemplation. Seriously. Not to bring you down or anything, but sooner or later we are going to die. And when I really bring the awareness of that fact into my body, I just stop wasting time doing meaningless stuff and sit zazen. In fact, it is recommended as a practice in the 4 Satipatthanas that the Buddha left in the Satipatthana Sutta. But it tends to be recommended for advanced practitioners, so I do it very lightly.

Gassho, Tomás
Sat&LaH

Memento Mori. I have an incense burner with three small skulls for this. Also, autocorrect changed "burner" to "burger", which I found amusing.
#sattoday

Oh yeah. If I didn't have inner peace, I'd completely go psycho on all you guys all the time. - Carl Carlson

[Tai Shi]

The zazen on weekend is useless because it's way too long. However, Sat. night 8 pm central USA great unconventional sit at Treeleaf. Kyosui knows what he's about, and his 1/2 hour sit fits nicely. Why not more like that. The several times I've been to Sat morning, no one there.
Gassho
sat/ lah
Gassho

[Kokuu]

Why not more like that?

There are usually three or four scheduled Zen sits every day which are mostly 30 minutes long. Saturday just doesn't have so many.

Gassho
Kokuu
-sattoday-

[gaurdianaq]

The zazen on weekend is useless because it's way too long. However, Sat. night 8 pm central USA great unconventional sit at Treeleaf. Kyosui knows what he's about, and his 1/2 hour sit fits nicely. Why not more like that. The several times I've been to Sat morning, no one there.
Gassho
sat/ lah
Gassho

I usually sit on my own since the group sitting times don't really work well for me (at least most of the ones I checked)


Evan,
Sat today, lah

[Shoki]

Since I retired two years ago, I know exactly what you're saying multiplied to seven days per week. The rigid, tight schedule of starting the day with zazen before going to work got a little looser and I started to think about all the things I had to do for the day, (food shopping, cooking, cut the grass, goofing off on the internet, etc.) so I said "I'll do zazen around 1:00pm after I do some chores", then I'd put it off for later again. Like any other practice or exercise, I find, for me, it's best to (I hate to say) "force yourself" to a schedule and stick with it to tighten things up (like Archie Bell and the Drells for those old enough to remember those guys).

Gassho
ST/lah
Shoki

[Tai Shi]

I stand corrected, and there are plenty of sitting times on Sunday, not so many on Saturday, but I need to allow myself to participate in Tonglen more realizing the need for others and for myself. Then I have been able to sometimes, once or twice, complete the Sunday Sit, and once or twice leave early. I think I know how to complete with more attention to the "heart" of the practice; once I was able to complete Friday/ Saturday Zazenkai, and I'm going to do it again. I want to to sit with "heart." I am in excruciating pain this morning 9-24-2020, 7:32 a.m. headache not too bad, spinal pain down to seven because of ice-jell pack to my neck, worse pain than lately, might miss our 8:30 sitting time because after this I will go lie down, please I request Metta and Tonglen for all those in pain.
Gassho
sat/ lah
Gassho