Some years ago, I learned a simple and extremely useful practice from Ajahn Mum, a Cambodian meditation master. He was, to put it mildly, an earthy teacher. When I first met him, I asked if he was a forest monk—”forest” often a code word for a true contemplative rather than a scholar or someone concerned mainly with rites and rituals. He looked at me intently, knowing full well what I was up to, stretched out his legs so that I could see the soles of his feet, and said: “All the forests of Thailand and Cambodia are imprinted on these feet.” We both laughed and worked harmoniously together for the next two years.
At a later point, I asked him about a practice called “evening out the postures.” I had erroneously understood this to be a practice of enacting each of the four postures—sitting, walking, lying down, and standing—for the same amount of time. First he laughed, and then he taught me the essence of this approach to mindfulness by suggesting that I do a retreat for one entire day moving through each posture. Rather than following a fixed amount of time, however, he told me to work intuitively.
I followed his instructions, and it was wonderful. The time allotted was not according to clock time, but to me. This meant that I might stay in a given posture, such as sitting, for an hour. Then I walked for ten minutes, stood for twenty-five, and laid down for fifteen. For a full day and evening, I continued with this practice, with time set aside for eating and bathroom needs. Within each cycle of the four postures, I varied the amount of time devoted to each one.
Why did I shift from one posture to another? I could not help but see my intentions and motivations. Was I being skillful? Lazy? Was I trying to escape from a painful emotion about to surface? I realized that mindfulness is independent of posture, time, situation, or place. It was always available. Always. How liberating!
Ajahn Mum’s teaching profoundly deepened my understanding of awareness in the service of waking up to every aspect of being alive. It has allowed me and many others to realize that meditation can be a way of life, not simply a collection of techniques reserved for special postures and places designated as “spiritual.”
As part of self-discovery, you may find certain postures more fruitful than others. Some of you are more inclined to sit, and so you will sit much longer while going through these rotations. Others will find the walking more beneficial. All of the postures have a role to play, but their contribution reflects your individual nature. And of course, your choices may change over time.
Dear yogis, take a few hours sometime and rotate intuitively through each of the four postures. When you are distracted, just come back to it again and again. It is a formless and invisible practice with no dependence on a special location. I hope that this profound discovery, which has meant so much to me and to many other yogis, will help as you transform from a life that is largely conditioned and unexamined to one that is fully awake. Remember, Buddha means someone who is fully awake, alive and free. Imagine: A simple, familiar walk can wake you up!