Thursday, August 18, 2011

a little help from a friend

.
Being largely spineless and lazy, it is hard for me to put into practice what doctors advise -- exercise. But today, while walking my body around the block, I found a small companion to urge me along -- The Heart Sutra, one of Buddhism's favorite chants.

One step for each syllable ... Kan ji zai bo sa ... and so forth. Since I am used to chanting it at a fairly brisk pace, my walking pace was forced to keep up. I got through it twice and added a three-round version of Great Vows for All (Shu jo mu hen sei gan do...), more slowly and in accordance with my lagging legs before I reached my stoop once more.

We'll see if the pepper-upper quality persists as the days progress.
.

2 comments:

  1. Excellent. As a life long physical culture devotee I am fascinated by how many zen folk I meet who share your dilemma. Physical practice and cultivation are excellent adjuncts to zazen. Keep at it. Movement and physical effort will invigorate your practice. If Bodhidharma taught the monks physical movement it must be important.

    ReplyDelete