We continue from middle of page 38, "The Mechanics of Sitting," stopping right before the discussion of "Think of not thinking" at the very bottom of page 41.
This week's reading looks at the physical posture of Zazen, but also talks about our attitudes during sitting.
Assignment:
Describe a "problem" in your life that would literally disappear, no longer be a "problem," if you stopped thinking about it as a "problem." In other words, is there a "problem" which is only a "problem" because you think of it as a "problem?" This will not work for all problems in life or the world (e.g., if you have bad health, you still will no matter your view about it; Global Warming will still be a world problem even if we ignore it, although your approach to even these bad situations may cool down quite a bit, and become more level headed, through this exercise.).
Instead, I am talking about some other problem that literally only (or pretty much only) exists because you consider it a problem.
To try to identify such self-made "problems," try to consider them with these attitudes discussed in the reading:
(1) Rain is just rain. It just is what it is.
(2) I am obsessing about this thing, overly focused on it, and I will now put the obsession down.
(3) I will treat it just like a table in the room during Zazen that I will not ponder.
See if you can find and describe a "problem" that largely evaporates when you do so.
Gassho, J
STLah
Originally Posted by Naiko
What is the timeless waiting for? 
