Here from "The Monastery Store" is just the thing for all you sitting meditators who get sore backs, tailbones, and hip joints from attempting to sit for extended periods on classical meditation cushions containing natural fibers like kapok or buckwheat. They develop lumps that put even more stress on your spine. So, the Buddhist monks at Zen Mountain Monastery have come up with a viscoelastic foam cushion that always retains its original shape. (I still fail to understand why some meditation purists insist that a sitting posture unnatural and painful to most westerners is an essential element of the discipline. I find that a plain old chair is adequate for my limited excursions towards a more quiet mind.)
Monday, December 11, 2006
The Buddha and viscoelastic foam
Here from "The Monastery Store" is just the thing for all you sitting meditators who get sore backs, tailbones, and hip joints from attempting to sit for extended periods on classical meditation cushions containing natural fibers like kapok or buckwheat. They develop lumps that put even more stress on your spine. So, the Buddhist monks at Zen Mountain Monastery have come up with a viscoelastic foam cushion that always retains its original shape. (I still fail to understand why some meditation purists insist that a sitting posture unnatural and painful to most westerners is an essential element of the discipline. I find that a plain old chair is adequate for my limited excursions towards a more quiet mind.)
yes ofcourse. no Master will ever ask the disciple to sit in an uncomfortable posture.
ReplyDeletemeditation can happen only when one is in tune with himself, ie.
starting from body it moves up as breath, mind, intellect and bliss.
To be natural is the best posture of availabilty for meditation to happen. However, in the initial stages, some prescribed postures are followed but surely not with a discomfort.