This Sunday, under the skilled guidance of Zac, explored walking meditation as a powerful practice on the path of awakening. It is a way to touch the depths of insight while moving through the world, and an invaluable resource when sitting practice isn’t possible.
Zac played a section of: Winnie Nazarko: 2017-07-11 The Other Retreat
These are the five rewards for one who practices walking meditation. Which five?
He can endure traveling by foot; he can endure exertion [one is fit for striving]; he becomes free from disease; whatever he has eaten & drunk, chewed & savored, becomes well-digested; the concentration he wins while doing walking meditation lasts for a long time.
These are the five rewards for one who practices walking meditation.
Ajahn Sucitto said:
Can you walk without a “there”?
Walking as a way to undo “headism”:
a form of bodily discrimiation called “headism.” It says, “I’m on top, everything is secondary to me,” and it drags everything underneath it around. Headism can be overcome by operating through the body rather than through the head. It can be practiced in walking meditation.
Every posture tells the mind different things, or creates a different tone in the body (power poses, for example). Sitting crosslegged is about being here (you can’t even get up quickly). What does walking tell us? Retrain the mind that walking is about being here too…
Practices… you can do any practice while walking. Eg:
- 6 senses
- Sattipathana (all four)
- Feet – close following, lifting, moving, placing…
- Settling into the rhythm
- Metta
- Imaginal – body of buddha
- Breath
- Inquiry (whos walking? What is walking? How do I know I’m walking?)
- Faith: walk to awakening practice: every step a step closer to liberation
Burlington Buddhist Sangha 