How to Train a Wild Elephant_ And Other Adventures in Mindfulness - Jan Chozen Bays [32]
An essential aspect of Zen practice is walking meditation, called kinhin. We do it without shoes so that the sensations on the bottoms of the feet will be maximized. Walking meditation helps bring the quiet body/mind of seated meditation into our ordinary active world. Silent walking is a bridge between one side of meditation—silent sitting in pure awareness—and the other side—speaking and moving about. It is not so easy to keep the mind still while walking. Any movement of the body seems to produce movement of the mind.
We can challenge ourselves. Can I keep my mind still and focused in the bottoms of my feet for one or two circuits around the room? Or for the entire length of an outdoor walking path? Or from here to the corner?
Final Words: Placing your awareness in the bottoms of your feet will lead to mental stability and emotional serenity, if you practice it diligently.
23
Empty Space
The Exercise: As often as you can, shift your awareness from objects to the space around the objects. For example, when you look in the mirror, notice the space around the image of your head. In a room, notice the empty space rather than the furniture, people, or other visual objects.
REMINDING YOURSELF
Post blank squares of paper, or notes that say “Space,” in places where you will see them.
DISCOVERIES
Ordinarily our focus is on objects. Inside a house we focus on the people, animals, furniture, appliances, dishes, and so forth. Outside we still have tunnel vision, focusing on buildings, trees and plants, vehicles, animals, roadways, signs, and people. It takes an effort to shift our awareness to the space around all these objects or within rooms. Opening the mind to this space is somehow restful. Is our anxiety linked to objects?
This task can be a potent tool of awareness if people consistently practice with it. One student commented that ikebana, the Japanese art of flower arranging, helped her appreciate space. “I am learning to see space, which is as important as the objects in the space. Space keeps everything from being jumbled together and helps reveal the beauty of the leaves, branches, and flowers.” Similarly, space in our mind keeps everything from being covered over with a jumble of thoughts and reveals the simplicity and beauty of everything we see. Another person added, “When I looked at the space around an object, it suddenly ‘popped’ out and became more vivid. I also saw how chairs and many other things function only because of their empty space.” Another said, “It was as if everything was continuous, connected by space, and that everything was in meditation with me.”
Tears glistened in the eyes of one person as he described his experience. “When I remembered to be aware of space, it was as if the walls expanded and there was more space around everything. I decided to apply this to my thoughts, and suddenly there was space around them, too. My sense of ‘I am’ fell away—it was just a thought held in a field of space. But then my mind said, ‘Wow!’ and the heavy sense of self reassembled again.” Another person was startled to find space around her emotions and to realize that she is neither her thoughts nor her emotions.
DEEPER LESSONS
Our identity is bound up in objects, objects that reinforce our sense of self. “I’m a book collector,” “I have the latest entertainment center,” “I have beautiful art on my walls,” “I have five cats.” All day long we spend time engaging with objects. Our desire is focused on the things, animals, and people we want to occupy the space around us. We seldom step back and see the background, the empty space that makes up most of a room, a building, or an outdoor vista. When we are able to shift our awareness to the space around objects, there is a sense of relief.
It is equally important to perceive the space that exists within the mind. When we can let go of thoughts and hold our awareness on the mind-ground behind the thoughts, there is an immediate