![](\"https:\/\/www.terebess.hu\/terebessgabor\/alltamasz1.jpg\")
<\/div>\nAbove is a \u201csleeping stick,\u201d apparently used by monks in China and then for a while in Japan to prop themselves up during late night sitting.\u00a0Some monks renounced the\u00a0comfort of the nest by vowing not to sleep lying down for long periods, like for the rest of their lives. I knew a guy in the 80\u2019s who had studied at the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas who made that vow. He slept leaning against a wall, although aimed to eventually be able to maintain the zazen pose and sleep. I wonder how that\u2019s going for him.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
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Anyway, sleeping sticks\u00a0are now mostly used as Zen nick-knacks. The above stick has calligraphy by one of the great Soto masters of the 20th Century, Kojun Noiri Roshi (click for an interesting interview with Noiri Roshi about Suzuki Roshi)<\/a>, one of Katagiri Roshi\u2019s teachers. Katagiri Roshi had a sleeping stick like the one pictured, about four inches wide and about two feet long. The top part of his was bevelled for the chin. Supposedly, the sleeping stick would be placed under the chin and then through the folded legs onto the tatami, propping up (or maybe waking up) the drooping sitter.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
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