Welcome to This Very Body!
Meditation is normally thought of as a quiet, seated activity, and I have pursued formal meditation in the Zen style for some years.
But I've always been interested in a more dynamic approach to meditation, posing the question "is it possible to do a Zen of movement, of activity?"
What has encouraged me in this is the physical culture surrounding the meditative culture in Zen: the Zen or Japanese way of handling materials and expression, through the tea ceremony, gardening, poetry, art and so on. I have also been influenced in this by my love for martial and movement arts.
The way of expressing wisdom in these movement arts is often limited and rudimentary, where Zen has a whole vocabulary of meaning available to those willing to delve.
So I will do a somewhat cheeky thing: I shall beg, borrow and steal the wisdom of Zen, and then use it illuminate our life of movement and activity.
I have been encouraged in this further by writings of some of the Zen masters themselves, and thus I borrow words from Hakuin, the furiously energetic seventeeth century reformer of Rinzai Zen:
"What is this true meditation? It is to make everything: coughing, swallowing, waving the arms, motion, stillness, words, action, the evil and the good, prosperity and shame, gain and loss, right and wrong, into one single koan."
Finally there is this question from Richard Strozzi Heckler: "
Can the practice of a discipline such as bodywork or a martial art lead to psychological and spiritual growth?"
Thus it is my delight to explore meditation in movement, body Buddhism, embodied mindfulness, martial awareness and partnered practice.
I am inspired by the Zen tradition,particularly the writings of Hakuin and Hongzhi, and the work of Rafe Kelley, Rory Miller, Alan Watts, Michael Stone, Mark Walsh, Tom Weksler, Fighting Monkey, and many more besides. Photos on the site come from a pilgrimage that my partner and I walked in 2008 in Shikoku Japan which is a continuing source of inspiration.
Welcome and enjoy! Nick
But I've always been interested in a more dynamic approach to meditation, posing the question "is it possible to do a Zen of movement, of activity?"
What has encouraged me in this is the physical culture surrounding the meditative culture in Zen: the Zen or Japanese way of handling materials and expression, through the tea ceremony, gardening, poetry, art and so on. I have also been influenced in this by my love for martial and movement arts.
The way of expressing wisdom in these movement arts is often limited and rudimentary, where Zen has a whole vocabulary of meaning available to those willing to delve.
So I will do a somewhat cheeky thing: I shall beg, borrow and steal the wisdom of Zen, and then use it illuminate our life of movement and activity.
I have been encouraged in this further by writings of some of the Zen masters themselves, and thus I borrow words from Hakuin, the furiously energetic seventeeth century reformer of Rinzai Zen:
"What is this true meditation? It is to make everything: coughing, swallowing, waving the arms, motion, stillness, words, action, the evil and the good, prosperity and shame, gain and loss, right and wrong, into one single koan."
Finally there is this question from Richard Strozzi Heckler: "
Can the practice of a discipline such as bodywork or a martial art lead to psychological and spiritual growth?"
Thus it is my delight to explore meditation in movement, body Buddhism, embodied mindfulness, martial awareness and partnered practice.
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| all photos copyright © 2008 Catherine Gill and Nick Walser |
I am inspired by the Zen tradition,particularly the writings of Hakuin and Hongzhi, and the work of Rafe Kelley, Rory Miller, Alan Watts, Michael Stone, Mark Walsh, Tom Weksler, Fighting Monkey, and many more besides. Photos on the site come from a pilgrimage that my partner and I walked in 2008 in Shikoku Japan which is a continuing source of inspiration.
Welcome and enjoy! Nick
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