I would like to say something about walking meditation.
You know,
It's a wonderful body practice,
Either between periods of sitting meditation or just as a practice on its own.
Mindful presence in the moment is a thing to be cultivated.
Practices like Anapanasati,
The full awareness of breathing,
I mean this is a wonderful practice for developing mindfulness and it can be applied to self-investigation,
Examining how things like anger,
Doubt,
Or spiritual laziness root themselves into us and what paths we can take to alleviate those kinds of things.
But walking meditation can be a wonderful practice of mindfulness just in itself.
Taking the opportunity to hold oneself erect,
Walking with intention,
Walking with purpose,
This is our commitment to the expression of Buddha mind,
Bringing presence to each moment,
To every action.
Walking meditation is a body practice for mindfulness.
Thich Nhat Hanh said,
Walking meditation is first and foremost a practice to bring body and mind together peacefully.
He also said,
When you walk,
Arrive with every step.
That is walking meditation.
There's nothing else to it.
I love that.
There's such peace to be found in walking meditation.
No hurry,
No hassle.
Peace in every step,
Can you imagine?
Pico Inayo ties walking meditation to the third step of Anapanasati practice,
Experiencing the whole body.
Seeing the breath as part of the experience of the body but not the breath to the exclusion of everything else.
Inayo says that when shifting from sitting to walking meditation or between any physical activities throughout the day,
An element of continuity can be maintained through whole body awareness.
Walking meditation offers perfect opportunities for the practice of mindfulness and whole body awareness.
Standing upright,
Shoulders relaxed,
Eyes cast gently downward.
I like it best to fold my hands across my belly,
That way they're still.
It kind of makes the process different from walking just to get somewhere.
You can do walking meditation at a nearly normal pace but I prefer to take it more slowly.
I took a six month bicycle trip once and I was amazed at what you could see of the landscape at 10 miles per hour that you just couldn't even fathom at 60.
And going slowly gives us the opportunity to really mindfully engage with our walking,
Particularly in the feet.
The heel first rolling down onto the sole,
The hind foot rising as the front foot rolls forward onto the toes.
There's a real grace there,
A real rhythm,
A purpose but without entanglement.
Walking and feeling the breath,
Walking and feeling the air on your face,
Walking just for the pleasure of walking.
