The Gate

P.S. I just realized that how you actually phrased it most recently was "the lack of separation between you & the chair," not "between your butt and the chair." So I'm hoping I can go with the "MeChair" reframing.

Changing the exercise is unlikely to help.

Maybe you should go work with Angelo, attend his retreats, etc. or maybe guide yourself?

Changing the exercise is unlikely to help.

But I get what it would mean to look for "the lack of separation between me and the chair," and it seems to be that this might be mainly a change in the description of the exercise (instead of "the lack of separation between butt and chair"), not any significant change in what the exercise is about. Or am I wrong about that?

This is the point at which your Zen master would hit you over the head with a stick.

Stop worrying about descriptions and do the exercise.

Loving

This is the point at which your Zen master would hit you over the head with a stick.

:-) Maybe so.

Stop worrying about descriptions and do the exercise.

OK, OK. I'll continue with this:

That's why I'm pointing to the lack of separation between you & the chair. Ignore your thinking & just feel & look

Good.

Used my regular afternoon meditation time to first settle into attending to butt-meets-chair sensations and then try to see non-separation (or let go of “self”-illusion-based sense of separation.

This is the point at which your Zen master would hit you over the head with a stick.

(Imagined my first Zen teacher shaking his head with a bemused expression on his face, repeating my name in a mock-scolding tone, and perhaps miming whacking me with a stick. So, yeah.)

Should I keep on doing seeing/hearing/feeling also?

*Bops your head with a stick*


ButtChair

Please LOOK for any place where your butt ends & the chair begins.

Is there any clear dividing line between them? Or only the Sensation with no clear division?


It is simple direct & nonverbal. Just LOOK.

Then write what is true.

That's it.

*Bops your head with a stick*

Not sure what that particular bop was for . . . ?

Anyhow, will continue with attending to butt-meets-chair sensations and looking for (non)division between me and chair.

Should I be continuing with seeing/hearing/feeling(/smelling/tasting) also?

Watch this & see what answer your body gives you.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=n6RnrkOD7 ... uBphAoK764

Let me know.

Watch this & see what answer your body gives you.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=n6RnrkOD7 ... uBphAoK764

OK, so I understand the "body yes" and "body no" to be detectible bodily sensations regarding what you want and don't want when you need to make a decision (even if you have doubts in your mind about it), right?

And you want me to see what answer my body gives me about . . . whether there's a clear dividing line between butt and chair or only sensation with no clear division?

You can do that. but I want cou to check this:

Should I be continuing with seeing/hearing/feeling(/smelling/tasting) also?

Oh, OK. I don't think I need to continue with seeing/hearing/feeling.

I'll just continue with attending to butt-meets-chair sensations and looking for (non)division between me and chair.

Excellent