Question
First, I want to tell you how happy I am to meet you through the Internet. What a wonderful idea, an online mondo. The questions and answers remind me of Krishnamurti’s books.
I am fifty-six and practiced zazen in the Buddha’s traditional posture for about ten years, both daily at a dojo and at a monastery for sesshins. During those years, I sometimes had to “battle” with my knees. They repeatedly developed substantial fluid buildup, particularly during sesshins. I had trouble participating in samu and difficulty, sometimes even an inability, walking in the days after a sesshin. My motivation was great; pain was not a problem. At the time, I was told to massage them and apply clay poultices. Of course, I tried everything. Finally, recent medical investigations (a scan) showed that these joints cannot bend without causing inflammation because of a hip malformation. My movement is increasingly limited as a result of having demanded too much of my knees. My daily life still follows the rhythm of zazen. In that respect, nothing has changed, except that I now do it on a chair. I don’t think my “case” is an isolated one.
Why have I never seen anyone practice this way, either in a dojo or a monastery?
Is it to avoid distorting True Zen?
Thank you again for your answer.
Anonymous
Answer from Master Kosen
Exactly, but in certain cases where it is impossible, people are allowed to sit on a chair outside the dojo.
Kosen