【Description】
When chanting, are you used to kneeling, sitting on your heels or sitting cross-legged? Which one is correct? Or are all three okay?
Grandmaster JinBodhi says, “Self-cultivation is like a tree. A tree has its trunk, branches and leaves. Self-cultivation is the same.” To learn more, please listen to Grandmaster JinBodhi explain in detail.
【You will learn】
- The correct postures for chanting
【Content】
On Cultivation
(Hello, Master. During chanting, can we be in a kneeling position? Is it true that the longer we kneel, the better the effect?)
Actually, meditation methods can be likened to a tree. The tree has a trunk, branches and leaves. So does meditation. It has main, secondary and supplementary methods. For instance, we have an exercise after we finish meditation. It is very important. But no matter how important the exercise is, it is only a supplementary method.
A meal always consists of the staple food and dishes. For example, I cook rice and a dish. Rice is the staple food. I would add some Sichuan pepper and chili to the dish. To make it more delicious, I may add some shallots. Indians usually like to add curry. And a little garlic. That is seasoning. Suppose I change my way of cooking. I cook a big dish of pepper and only a bit of rice. Then I add a piece of vegetable. Can this meal be eaten? Of course not.
So if someone confuses the main and secondary methods, then he is only a layman in meditation practice. When we are not a professional, we will mislead and cause harm to people. In practice, when kneeling to chant, it cannot be for more than 10 minutes or our legs will get hurt. If we take pepper and chili as staple foods, rice and vegetables as dishes, we will fall sick.
I have never taught my students to kneel throughout a chanting session. Some think kneeling shows their strong mind. Then they asked me to name that behavior. Well, vajra kneeling. That is where it comes from. But it is wrong if you take it as the main method to practice.
(Hello, Master. Can we adopt diamond pose (sit back on the heels) while chanting?)
If you are tired from kneeling, you can adopt the diamond pose. Adopt the diamond pose for no more than 10 minutes, just the same as kneeling. For most of a chanting session, sit cross-legged. Whether to kneel will depend on your age and practice time. Kneeling may cause injuries. If we kneel to practice, our repentance is indeed very sincere. But our legs may get hurt. It is alright if you don’t mind.
However, kneeling is not the main way to practice. Sitting cross-legged while chanting is the main way. For sincere repentance, we can chant while kneeling. When we feel tired, we adopt the diamond pose. Then follow that with sitting cross-legged. Alternate between the 3 ways. We can chant for a longer time if we sit cross-legged. Kneeling and diamond pose are secondary ways. They are not main methods. If you use the secondary ways, do you know their side effects? (Knee injury.) Your knees especially will get hurt easily.
People who are past 45, or women who are over 40 years old, tend to suffer from osteoporosis. Osteoporosis causes bones to get injured easily. So our legs get hurt easily if we adopt an incorrect posture during chanting.
In chanting, sitting cross-legged is the main way. It is the best method to practice. Kneeling and diamond pose are secondary methods. Don’t kneel or sit back on the heels for too long.