{"id":1891,"date":"2007-07-28T08:18:00","date_gmt":"2007-07-28T08:18:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/2007\/07\/seven-days-staring-at-a-wall\/"},"modified":"2011-11-01T15:15:37","modified_gmt":"2011-11-01T19:15:37","slug":"seven-days-staring-at-a-wall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/2007\/07\/seven-days-staring-at-a-wall.html","title":{"rendered":"Seven Days Staring at a Wall"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"\"Actually, in our community<\/a> we sit \u201cfacing in,\u201d that is we sit in meditation facing into the center of the room rather than toward the walls which is the more normative form for Soto Zen groups. Still, the real facing is toward the mind. And for seven days featuring a tad more than nine hours a day of seated meditation doing that facing \u2013 there\u2019s a tonic for what ails!<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

We met once again at Senexet House retreat center in Woodstock, CT. Although with numbers that reached thirty-six at peak we\u2019ve pushed beyond the capacity of that center and are negotiating to move elsewhere for Rohatsu (our December three-day retreat).<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
These days my retreat practice includes more time sitting in the dokusan room (the interview room) meeting with students than time sitting alone with who I am. Let me hasten to add it remains a lively practice. For one thing, when I\u2019m just sitting (that\u2019s Zen lingo) if I decide to slump mentally, the immediate consequences are only my loss. But, when I\u2019m in the teacher\u2019s seat, to slump is to betray the trust of another person at that very moment. So, I\u2019ve felt pretty lively, pretty pushed for the last week.<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
Of course this means there\u2019s not a lot to comment on about the details of what\u2019s happened in the world at large this past week, other than to remember the cause of our problems, individually and collectively come from our endless greed, hatred & ignorance. And we all really had lots of opportunities to see what that means: those constellations of grasping, those constellations of aversion, and pesky, pesky, those constellations of certainty: each me as intimate as can be, weaving together, now this the larger thread, now that. Truly the endless source of hurt in the world. <\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Fortunately as we all were able to bring them with us into our retreat there was no missing the real stuff that was happening outside. And this exercise came with added benefit. While allowing ourselves the opportunity to at the very least face the monsters of our own lives, there was also an invitation to something more. For many of us for precious moments at a time, we were able to see through our grasping, aversion and certainties to the other facets of who we are: those constellations of generosity, clarity and curiosity which appear when we pay attention. Cool stuff\u2026<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
And, there was that other possibility for our seeing intimately. Everthing is grounded in the great sea of mind. That just sitting thing, whether found through the practices of shikantaza<\/a> or koan introspection<\/a> (or elsewhere) is more than worth the price of admission. It reveals the great field<\/a> out of which arises our various states, good, ill and indifferent. <\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
And, actually, it is in finding this we discover our real life, and our real way through.<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
At least that\u2019s my experience.<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
Really, a lovely thing: Zen retreats.<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

I recommend them to all.<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

(Pictures to follow)<\/div>\n
\"\"<\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Actually, in our community we sit \u201cfacing in,\u201d that is we sit in meditation facing into the center of the room rather than toward the walls which is the more normative form for Soto Zen groups. Still, the real facing is toward the mind. And for seven days featuring a tad more than nine hours […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":120,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1891","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nSeven Days Staring at a Wall<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Actually, in our community we sit "facing in," that is we sit in meditation facing into the center of the room rather than toward the walls which is the\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/2007\/07\/seven-days-staring-at-a-wall.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Seven Days Staring at a Wall\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Actually, in our community we sit "facing in," that is we sit in meditation facing into the center of the room rather than toward the walls which is the\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/2007\/07\/seven-days-staring-at-a-wall.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Monkey Mind\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/james.ford.1029\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2007-07-28T08:18:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2011-11-01T19:15:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/_niPwTW3rBbU\/Rqs_LZIJhaI\/AAAAAAAAARA\/kO9o7qBO5tE\/s400\/zen+meditation+posture.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"James Ford\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"James Ford\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/2007\/07\/seven-days-staring-at-a-wall.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/2007\/07\/seven-days-staring-at-a-wall.html\",\"name\":\"Seven Days Staring at a Wall\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2007-07-28T08:18:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2011-11-01T19:15:37+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/#\/schema\/person\/3f37f475fb5078d1e7faa93a63a0fddb\"},\"description\":\"Actually, in our community we sit \\\"facing in,\\\" that is we sit in meditation facing into the center of the room rather than toward the walls which is the\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/2007\/07\/seven-days-staring-at-a-wall.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/2007\/07\/seven-days-staring-at-a-wall.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/2007\/07\/seven-days-staring-at-a-wall.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Seven Days Staring at a Wall\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/\",\"name\":\"Monkey Mind\",\"description\":\"Easily distracted...\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/#\/schema\/person\/3f37f475fb5078d1e7faa93a63a0fddb\",\"name\":\"James Ford\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fa18971b225a3bb79f0c4c381a5fae20?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fa18971b225a3bb79f0c4c381a5fae20?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"James Ford\"},\"description\":\"James Ishmael Ford is a writer and spiritual director. He has been authorized as a teacher within two traditional Zen lineages. James has washed dishes, assisted a crab fisherman on the Florida keys, worked in bookstores up and down the California coast, and served as a Unitarian Universalist parish minister. He currently lives with his spouse Jan and her mother in Los Angeles. His next book the Intimate Way of Zen is due from Shambhala Publications in July, 2024.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.emptymoonzen.org\",\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/james.ford.1029\",\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/James_Ishmael_Ford\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/author\/jamesford\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Seven Days Staring at a Wall","description":"Actually, in our community we sit \"facing in,\" that is we sit in meditation facing into the center of the room rather than toward the walls which is the","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/2007\/07\/seven-days-staring-at-a-wall.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Seven Days Staring at a Wall","og_description":"Actually, in our community we sit \"facing in,\" that is we sit in meditation facing into the center of the room rather than toward the walls which is the","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/2007\/07\/seven-days-staring-at-a-wall.html","og_site_name":"Monkey Mind","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/james.ford.1029","article_published_time":"2007-07-28T08:18:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2011-11-01T19:15:37+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/_niPwTW3rBbU\/Rqs_LZIJhaI\/AAAAAAAAARA\/kO9o7qBO5tE\/s400\/zen+meditation+posture.jpg"}],"author":"James Ford","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"James Ford","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/2007\/07\/seven-days-staring-at-a-wall.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/2007\/07\/seven-days-staring-at-a-wall.html","name":"Seven Days Staring at a Wall","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/#website"},"datePublished":"2007-07-28T08:18:00+00:00","dateModified":"2011-11-01T19:15:37+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/#\/schema\/person\/3f37f475fb5078d1e7faa93a63a0fddb"},"description":"Actually, in our community we sit \"facing in,\" that is we sit in meditation facing into the center of the room rather than toward the walls which is the","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/2007\/07\/seven-days-staring-at-a-wall.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/2007\/07\/seven-days-staring-at-a-wall.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/2007\/07\/seven-days-staring-at-a-wall.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Seven Days Staring at a Wall"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/","name":"Monkey Mind","description":"Easily distracted...","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/#\/schema\/person\/3f37f475fb5078d1e7faa93a63a0fddb","name":"James Ford","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fa18971b225a3bb79f0c4c381a5fae20?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fa18971b225a3bb79f0c4c381a5fae20?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"James Ford"},"description":"James Ishmael Ford is a writer and spiritual director. He has been authorized as a teacher within two traditional Zen lineages. James has washed dishes, assisted a crab fisherman on the Florida keys, worked in bookstores up and down the California coast, and served as a Unitarian Universalist parish minister. He currently lives with his spouse Jan and her mother in Los Angeles. His next book the Intimate Way of Zen is due from Shambhala Publications in July, 2024.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.emptymoonzen.org","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/james.ford.1029","https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/James_Ishmael_Ford"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/author\/jamesford"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1891","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/120"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1891"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1891\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1891"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1891"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1891"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}