problems during zazen
me brought up the issue of the problems that arise during zazen (buzzing in his ears in his case). in my case it's pain in my lower back on the same side as the leg that is twisted up onto my other leg (half/quarter lotus). today was the first day that i didn't experience any pain or cramping in my back but i'm not sure what i was doing differently this time.
is this pain just cos of inflexibility or am i sitting wrong? any suggestions?
posted by Anonymous @ Sunday, March 05, 2006
8 comments
8 Comments:
I'd suggest looking up some very simple yoga hip opener exercises, and/or taking a gentle yoga class. You may want to simply sit 'Indian style' as you work on opening your hips slowly over time.
The knee should not really twist in 1/2 or full lotus. The ability to get into lotus is directly dependent on how open your hips are. The rotation comes from the hips not from the knees!
Does anyone else have this slight buzzing in the ears? I recall first noticing it years ago and thinking how ironic it would be (if all people had this slight buzzing ) for audiophiles who spend thousands of dollars for perfect sound reproduction - minus any 'noise' - when, in fact, there remains noise inherent in our hearing that no amount of dolby can reduce!
But later, as I sat more, I began to worry that maybe this isn't universal, maybe my hearing is a little messed up? My wife says she's got it too and said "everyone has that" but I really don't know. It's not a bother except when I'm in a quiet place - then I notice it, more now that I'm sitting regularly, because I notice everything more now...
Thanks Dan & Karen - I investigated tinnitus and found this:
In 1953 Heller and Bergman performed an simple and classic experiment. They placed 80 tinnitus free individuals (university members) in a sound proofed room for 5 minutes each, asking them to report on any sounds that might be heard. The subjects thought they might be undergoing a hearing test, but actually experienced 5 minutes of total silence.
93% reported hearing buzzing, pulsing, whistling sounds in the head or ears identical to those reported by tinnitus sufferers. This simple experiment shows almost anyone can detect background electrical activity present in every living nerve cell in the hearing pathways as a sound.
Although some areas of the auditory system may be more active than others, every neuron will contribute to some extent to the final perception of tinnitus. These electrical signals are not evidence of damage, but compensatory activity that occurs all the time in the auditory system of each one of us. Compensation can occur as a response to changes in our sound environment (e.g. silence) to hearing loss which may be a natural part of ageing, or to exposure to sudden noise.
It's good to think of the sounds produced by this compensatory activity as 'the music of the brain'. Of those who DO experience persistent tinnitus, population studies have shown that about 85% do not find it intrusive, disturbing or anxiety provoking (something tinnitus sufferers find very hard to believe!). The reason for this is not so much because the quality or loudness of the tinnitus is different; in fact we have found that tinnitus is of a very similar type of sound in those who are bothered by it and those who are not.
at http://www.tinnitus.org/home/frame/THC1.htm
The funny thing is the subjectivity of it - if I 'worry' the sound may be something 'bad' then it seems louder and more noticeable. If I think, instead, that it's normal it seems quieter and less noticeable...
Karen, yes.. very interesting. And not only is the apple absorbing every color except red - the image of the red apple does not exist ANYWHERE except inside our head.
All this, sound, light, perception in general etc. gets into some very zen issues.
During my first go at morning zazen I can sit for 1/2 hour periods with little trouble except pins and needles feeling in my legs. But after about 10-15 minutes of sitting in the evening, I start getting sleepy and even when I successfully fight off sleep, zazen will be very strange. melting walls and weird open eye dreams. very different from morning zazen. Anyone else have similar problems?
As for hearing the buzzing sound, here is a quote from Ajahn Sumedho, a popular Theravadin monk:
As you calm down, you can experience the sound of silence in the mind. You hear it as a kind of high frequency sound, a ringing sound that's always there. It is just normally never noticed. Now when you begin to hear that sound of silence, it's a sign of emptiness - of silence of the mind. It's something you can always turn to. As you concentrate on it and turn to it, it can make you quite peaceful and blissful. Meditating on that, you have a way of letting the conditions of the mind cease without suppressing them with another condition. Otherwise you just end up putting one condition over another.
erik, thanks for that quote - I had suspected (and hoped) that it was a normal phenomenon. I liked your quote because I had been experiencing a similar event - when I would be, say, at work, and hear this sound I would suddenly notice it and think of zazen, then realize that everything I was sensing was more present than normal - that I was more present than normal.
Regarding the melting walls - I wonder if this isn't a problem with the wall-staring zazen method. After reading others' comments I tried the wall-staring this morning and boy I had trouble focusing my eyes - there wasn't enough depth to the scene so my eyes started going buggy. I never have that problem when I face into the room (although sometimes my focus will go a little soft, it is easy to interpret and handle).
I have that buzzing too. It's kinda cool :-) I think it's cause I watch too much TV though!
As for wall staring, I face the wall but stare at the floor about a metre in front of me. That seems to allow the eyes to focus naturally.
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