For all of you who wear glasses.
do you sit with your glasses on or off?
and for Jundo and Taigu, is there any (official treeleaf) suggestions for sitting with or without glasses?
Gassho, Dojin.
For all of you who wear glasses.
do you sit with your glasses on or off?
and for Jundo and Taigu, is there any (official treeleaf) suggestions for sitting with or without glasses?
Gassho, Dojin.
Off. I find that it allows my eyes to blur a bit more, so I don't see anything too clearly. And if I left them on, I'd certainly feel them and be annoyed.
I sit with my glasses on. I do this because the very first Zen priest I learned Zazen from also wore glasses and I once posed this same question to him. I don't know if I will explain his answer properly, but he thought that if one wore glasses all the time, they should be worn during Zazen as well because it doesn't really benefit you to make sitting easier by compromising your sight.
I sit with them off, but recently I've wondered why. If I'm supposed to be experiencing each moment as it is, and I usually wear them...
I sit with them on. I get headaches if i dont wear them.
I wear glasses for nearsightedness and reading. They have a progressive bifocal built in. I am more comfortable sitting with glasses off but do wear them occasionally. Not too much difference just a little more comfort.
I keep them on...mostly because it's the most natural thing. I started out just doing spontaneous meditation and leaving them on reminds me that even though I sit in a funny posture, I'm not really doing anything special.
Chet
Hi,
Sometimes I sit with them on, sometimes I sit with them off. The vital part is to not give them any thought ("don't give 'em no nevermind" in that Americanism slang). That is how to really See Clearly! 8)
I have seen teachers sit with them on or take them off. Like Homeless Kodo Sawaki here ...
Sometimes it is said that searching for one's Buddha Nature is like searching for the eyeglasses perched right on one's nose! Or the eye searching for the eye! 8)
Gassho, J (the baby hid my glasses yesterday, been looking all over for them!)
I always sit with them on. I have tried, in the past, to sit without them, but since I wear glasses all of the time I found that it just added a distraction to my practice.
I usually sit with them on and have only tried sitting without as an experiment. Usually when I sit my focus relaxes so much that afterwards I have this noticable side effect of my vision being somewhat blurry! I thought that if I didn't wear my glasses it might make a difference with this issue. Didn't work so I just keep them on to avoid the hassle.
Gassho,
Hoyu
I am usually wearing my contacts or glasses when I sit. My eyesight is too blurry without anything.
Gassho,
Ekai
On. I found things would get a little blurry without them and a little drowsy.
Not so keen on contact lenses though, I found them quite drying.
Usually on, but occasionally off if I'm particularly tense. I tend to find the blurriness distracting when they are off.
Gassho,
Dosho
I do not wear glasses, so maybe this will help. I certainly would never put them on to do zazen.
I leave them on. Since I am blind as a bat with out them and we have walking meditation in between meditation, I don't wan to a) bump into somebody or b) step on something I wasn't able to see in front of me (pebble, etc). So. I leave them on.Originally Posted by Dojin
Oh, if your Zazen were truly mature, you would be able to see all this without eyes!Originally Posted by chicanobudista
[youtube] [/youtube]
What a trip down memory lane!
As a child those flashback scenes were my favorite part of the show. Haven't seen it in decades but was reminded by this clip how surprisingly good they were :shock:
Gassho,
Hoyu
P.S. In the 80's when the movie Karate Kid came out I also longed to have that Mr. Miyagi type master :lol:
off
I didnt know it will generate such a response rate.
i dont always wear glasses, i used to wear them just for lessons where i sat far and couldnt tell very clearly what was written and had to strain my eyes to see. but lately i started wearing glasses quite often. i wear them almost everywhere except for work since i use protective glasses and they dont fit together.
but as for zazen i still havent sat with glasses on. but i think i will give it a try and report back.
Gassho, Dojin.
I usually keep mine on. Never gave it much thought. sometimes they can get uncomfortable. Especially if i have had my headphones on too long because the press tightly into my head and push the frames into the skin harder so after a bit, yeah can be uncomfy.
But i've honestly never given thought to whether they should or shouldn't be worn.
_/_