5:52 am
I’ll take my time crossing my legs. With my legs tightened I cower on the cushion. I try to buy time. Already four days of sitting motionless, zazen, are stuck in our bodies and a few more days remain ahead of us. In the middle of this meditation week, the Sesshin, my laziness slips in. I try to find niches where I can recover. Now I feel the tiredness, the eyes are heavy, the muscles sour, the bones thick. Nevertheless, I feel refreshed after the night’s rest and am curious to see what the day will bring. The schedule is clearly defined, every minute is set and we don’t have to think – but that’s exactly what it’s all about: What do mind, thinking and feelings bring to us today?
The sesshin’s structure frame are the four daily meditation blocks of three thirty to forty minutes zazen each, paused by walking meditation. We also take the meals while seated: so we keep ourselves in the formal meditation posture for about eight hours.
A two-hour working period in the morning called Samu, and a two-hour silent lunch break structure the same daily routine. Simple, but with many pitfalls for the ego.