A Better Way to Sit

Discovering the Five Rivers

As we apply Buddhist practice, we gradually become aware of the many elements that make up a moment, and the many elements that form our existence. Moment and existence, in one sense, are one in the same: everything that touches our senses, and everything that we perceive and think, exists in this miracle of the present moment. Bringing stillness to the body and heart and mind, we create the conditions for exploring the nature of being. Observing with delicate and steadfast attention, we can discover the Five Rivers of body, feelings, perceptions, mind and consciousness.

Being the Five Rivers

A clock is a convenient tool. We imagine it measures time, but actually it only measures distances. How far, in units of experience, between the morning and the evening? How far, in degrees of a circle, has the earth turned on its axis? How far has a river flowed while I have watched it?

Time is movement, and movement is change made visible. When I watch a river, and say “now”, the water I see in front of me is the same water that was upstream one moment earlier. It is the same water that will be downstream one moment distant from now. The threads of current will have mingled and transformed, but the water is the water, continual and unbroken.

Time has a river-nature. One moment is not unique from the previous, or from the next, but is part of it. The tick of a clock is simply the blink of an eye, like a camera that creates a “still life”.

The river as a whole is the river. This moment of the river includes the entire river body. Your body includes all of your body, all of the elements that existed before “you” were conceived, and all of the elements that will continue after dissolution. What you perceive is one moment of existence.

Embracing the Five Rivers

It is to become familiar with these rivers that we practice. If we become quiet, it is easier to hear the movement of their waters above the noise of our living. When the weather is hot, we look for an easy path down to the water’s edge, so we might swim and cool ourselves. Sometimes, with enthusiasm, we plunge in from any height, and In the same way, we look or dive into the practice of mindful awareness, that we might cool ourselves in these rivers of Being.

The term “yoga” means work, or practice. In the West we think of it as a series of physical exercises, yet that is simply one of eight principal practices of the yogic traditions, yoga asana. Yoga asana are dedicated to awareness of the body in the body. It is not an end in itself, but used as a preparation for meditation and contemplation. Yogis understand that, as the physical body and the activity of the mind are interrelated, the health and flexibility of one is the health and flexibility of the other.

Awareness of the body in the body

Yoga asana are not intended to be simple physical exercises. If we think of them in Buddhist terms, these movements are a tangible practice that brings greater awareness of the body, in the body. In the Ashtanga school of yoga, attention was given to the alignment of the bones, the ligaments that connect them, and the muscles that keep the body supple and free. With careful stretching, strengthening and alignment, the body was found to be more limber and more at ease, and aches that distract one’s attention relieved. One could sit longer and in greater stillness after the smallest amount of asana, so the practice of mindful meditation was more gracefully attained.

A Better Way to Sit

Just as one doesn’t have to be a Buddhist to enjoy mindful awareness, once doesn’t have to be a yogi to benefit from the skillful tools they developed over centuries of practice. Siddhartha the Buddha would have studied most of these methods on his path to enlightenment. They would have become elements of his posture, as the food he ingested became cells of his body.

With mindfulness, concentration and insight, we can bring yogic awareness techniques to the practice of seated meditation. The Evening Chant of the Plum Village tradition calls us to sit solid as a mountain, and free as a white cloud:

With posture upright
And solid
We are seated
At the foot of the Bodhi tree
. . .
Noble Sangha, diligently
Bring our minds into meditation

The meditation below offers a few guiding principles, taken from the practices of the Ashtanga and Anusara schools of yoga asana. They align with the Four Foundations of Mindfulness, a physical path to awareness from body, through feelings, to mind and consciousness.

alignment of body

Breathing in, I am aware of the legs;
Breathing out, the legs touch the earth.
Breathing in, I am aware of the seat;
Breathing out, the seat touches the earth.
Breathing in, I am aware of the sacrum;
Breathing out, the sacrum touches the earth.

We are the children of the earth. Every movement, active or at rest, begins with our relationship to this mother’s body. When we are laying on our beds, the contact of our skin with the cushion describes our rest. When we are standing, we touch our mother through the soles of our feet, and through the bones and tendons and muscles that support our frame. When we are walking, it is not reaching for the next step, but pushing against the solid body of the Earth, that allows us to move.

It is the same when we are seated. Lightness of being arises from the quality of our connection to the Earth. To prepare our seat, we first become aware of our breath: breathing in, notice the inbreath, and breathing out, notice the outbreath. With one or two breaths we might already by at home in the body. Follow your breath as long as you need; it is the doorway to the present moment.

Once your mind is calm, give attention to how you are seated. If you are on the floor, allow your legs to relax. You might feel the touch of the earth along your feet, your shins, and your knees. Stacking your legs, in what is called a half-lotus, might work well for a shorter meditation, though the lower foot and leg must bear the weight of the upper, and the bones of the ankle may cause discomfort. You might enjoy widening your knees, allowing both feet to come to the earth. Placing one foot in front of the other, the shins rotate slightly forward, the tops of the feet and the heels following. A little padding under the ankle is often enough to make this a solid and comfortable touching of the earth.

If you are in a chair or on a stool, allow your feet to be at ease, feeling them fully in contact with the earth. In some yogic traditions, one imagines there are four corners of the foot: at the left and right of the ball (lifting your toes, the ball is part that is in contact with the ground), and at the left and right of the heel. When you are seated, standing or walking, it is useful to allow all four “corners” to embrace the earth. When seated, your legs will be most comfortable when the height of the chair allows them to be at a right angle.

It will be helpful if the seat helps the body lean slightly forward. This removes pressure on the lower back, and the effort of muscles you would otherwise need to stay erect. On the floor, a zafu or meditation cushion is usually filled with buckwheat husks. Their nature allows them to shape themselves to your body, as well as to gently hold that form. A good practice is to settle on top of the cushion and then to slide slightly forward, creating an angle in the buckwheat husks. A Japanese meditation stool is slanted already, with rounded legs to help you find the most comfortable angle. Or, if you are flexible and practiced, the full lotus position will do the same with little or no padding beneath you. Sometimes we are seated in a chair, for meditation or for mindful eating. A small cushion placed below and a little behind you, or a towel that is rolled or folded, can help you remain upright and free of the back of the chair.

You can check the angle of legs and the position of your seat by gently tilting the hips forward and backward. Doing so engages the sacrum, whose angle to the earth aligns your lower back and spine. There is a point where the posture is easiest. You “arrive” when the belly is soft and relaxed, and the breath fills and empties with little effort, low in your diaphragm.

When we offer our attention to these parts of our bodies, we begin to notice when they are most at ease. Small changes in our seat can have large consequences in our practice! Greater ease of Being directly benefits our meditation, and when the elements that create our seat are settled, they become as still and as solid as a mountain. That solidity creates spaciousness and freedom in the middle of our body.

alignment of feelings

Breathing in, the belly fills;
Breathing out, the belly relaxes.
Breathing in, the heart opens;
Breathing out, the heart relaxes.
Breathing in, the shoulders lift;
Breathing out, the shoulders relax.

The conscious effort and the slight adjustments are not simply to create an upright posture. They are in themselves Awareness of the Body in the Body. Returning to breath and stillness with each step, we return to the present moment. Practicing nirvāṇa in each moment, we attain nirvāṇa. As we give attention to the next “step”, gently letting go of the last, we might recognize the impermanence of our state of being.

The sacrum supports the lower spine, which is neither collapsed forward nor compressed backward. Becoming aware of the belly as it fills and empties, one can observe when that motion is most relaxed. An upright posture helps mindful breath enter and leave the body as gently as a white cloud, which is warmed and transformed by the fire of our own being. Already we are creating a noble posture, and the quieter our physical frame, the more noticeable the feelings, perceptions, mental formations, and consciousness become.

When the breath is effortless, the conditions for joy and happiness are present. Just as fear invites physical closing and self protection, the feeling of happiness brings physical opening and the opportunity for connection. Breathing in, the center of our chest lifts gently toward of sun. You become the fresh flower. Breathing out, the petals of your life remain open, and are nourished by the sun’s warmth. One begins by making this motion with intention. Later, the smallest adjustments in posture invite the same opening, whether laying down, seated, standing, or walking.

With intention, as you breathe in, you can lift the shoulders gently toward the ears. Doing so, the vertebrae of the spine are also lifted and aligned. As you breathe out, allow the shoulders to roll gently down and back, while the shoulder blades softly come toward one another. Placing your hands upright near your knees and moving them onto your thighs turns the bones of your arms, and naturally keeps the shoulders and the heart open.

You might notice how even the slightest physical adjustments or mental efforts create tensions in other muscles; this is the nature of an interconnected body, a body made of many separate elements. As we skillfully practice, we make fewer adjustments, and our meditation becomes a beautiful refuge.

Let your legs relax and touch the earth, and tilt the sacrum slightly forward and back to revisit the alignment of your seat with your torso. In all Mindfulness exercises, there are these two elements: becoming aware, associated with the careful effort of an inbreath; and letting go, during the engaged awareness of the outbreath. In each step of the Better Way to Sit, reach for an awareness of the body in the body as you breathe in. Then practice your easy posture, mindfully maintaining it as you breathe out.

When the body understands these small adjustments, one breath with awareness can recreate them with ease. It is like exploring a trail in the forest: at first each step is full of wonder, and invites a lot of attention. Every root and stone and flower wants you to watch: is like taking a walk with a hundred small children. Later when you have walked that trail two, or ten or a hundred times, the same roots and stones and flowers are old friends, they accompany you silently. As you greet first one, and then another, you know exactly where you are on the path. You progress lightly and without effort, and begin to notice all the other wonders of the forest, beyond the movement of your feet.

alignment of mind

Breathing in, I am aware of the chin;
Breathing out, the chin relaxes.
Breathing in, I am aware of the ears;
Breathing out, the ears rest.
Breathing in, I am aware of the eyes;
Breathing out, the eyes relax.

Thây calls these practices Mindfulness Trainings, not Mindfulness Beings. Aware that nothing is static in the body and the feelings, nor in the perceptions and thoughts and consciousness, we know that in the relationship of these five currents there is a rushing, playful river of life. Now the waters are tumbling over rocks and rapids, now the waters are as placid as a broad and deep pool. We are not creating a stiff, upright posture. We are not carving an ice statue; we are simply creating a quiet section of river. We are becoming more skillful at creating stillness.

After revisiting legs, hips and heart to bring them ease, we can gently nod the chin up and down, finding the point where it feels like it is floating. You neither face the ground, nor look up to the heavens, but nobly your gaze is straight ahead. Allow the teeth to part and the jaw to open slightly. You are the ruler of a land which is at peace. You are a shepherd and the flock is fed and safe. Your belly rises and falls, and your breath is a warm breeze on the hilltop.

With the chin easy and level, allow the ears to come back slightly toward the back of the body. This motion involves the chin, and you can also imagine bringing your chin backward that same minute distance. Nod minutely up and down,then come to stillness. The vertebrae of the neck will stack and straighten slightly. Remember the intention is skillful alignment, where alignment brings ease. Soften the jaw.

Even minor movements and conscious movements involve both physical and mental effort. The interdependent elements of the body are sympathetic to those efforts, and small tensions arise here and there. Often where we do not notice them. Becoming familiar with the all of the visible and invisible parts of the body, we can learn to calm them. We revisit all of the previous elements, allowing them ease. It is like a shower of warm water that washes away strain.

Notice your eyes. They are a miracle, with muscles that control their focus, their motion, whether the shutters of the eyelids are open or closed, and whether the eyebrows are raised or lowered. These muscles are engaged with every passing feeling and thought, and with every physical endeavor. They embrace and express these small tensions. Allow the focus, the movement, the eyelids, and the eyebrows all to relax. You are not looking forward toward anything. You are in the here and in the now.

alignment of consciousness

Breathing in, I am aware of the brow;
Breathing out, my brow is softened by the breeze.
Breathing in, I am aware of the crown of my head;
Breathing out, my crown is lifted toward the stars.
Breathing in, I am aware of my lips;
Breathing out, I smile.

Just as a passing emotion engages the eyes, it also changes all the muscles of your face. In sympathetic response, changing the muscles of your face soothes the passing emotions. Stillness is stillness, and one has any number of paths to arrive where stillness resides. With attention, allow the skin of the upper cheeks and of the forehead to soften and become smooth. With an outbreath, you might gently step back through the other points, softening them with a breath as you go: eyes, ears, chin, chest, belly, sacrum, seat, legs. It’s retracing your steps on the forest path, to remember its detail, to know it better.

In T’ai Chi Chuan, they liken the spine to a strand of pearls, connected yet supple. Our whole body, greeted with awareness, is this strand of pearls. With ease in all the joints and muscles, with the breath softly entering and leaving the lungs, allow the crown of the head, without reaching, to reach toward the sky. “You” are the present moment. Right now is where the Five Rivers meet. You are the expression of life that connects the earth and the sky.

Nirvāṇa is nothing more than arriving in the present moment. All of the physical elements of the body are at peace, in the here and in the now. Practicing this way, the mediator can offer the happiness of letting go: to the Buddha and all of her teachers; to the written and unwritten teachings he has received; and to the sangha and communities to which he and she invisibly but tangibly belong.

Aware of the body in the body, I relax the lips;
Aware of the body in the present moment, I smile.

Calming The Five Rivers

gatha on a better way to sit

Legs, hips
Heart, chin,
Crown:
Breathing in, I touch the earth
Breathing out, I feel the sun.

Body, feelings
Perceptions, mind,
Consciousness:
I am the present moment
Where the five rivers meet.