Editor’s Note
Practice is inseparable from our daily lives. Our daily lives are inseparable from the four decorum - walking, standing, sitting, lying down. If one knows how to integrate the four decorum in his practice by maintaining awareness and not entangle in mental afflictions, there is no excuse for saying we have no time for practice.

The basic requirement of practice is to maintain awareness, be it in the narrow sense of just standing or in the broader sense of keeping still. "Standing like a pine" is a more delicate requirement of dharma practice, meaning to further experience that like the pine, our awareness is upright, courageous, confident, penetrating and unwavering.

(The four decorum refers to the practice to restraint our body and mind through the four types of body posture of walking, standing, sitting and lying down, so as to meet the goal of cultivating the Buddhist conduct. In doing so, externally we display solemnness and dignity, and internally we remedy such afflictions as heedlessness, forgetfulness, laziness, restlessness, lethargy and distraction. If a practitioner manages to carry out the four decorum of walking, standing, sitting down and lying down, it indicates that the period his mind is associated with liberation exceeds the period it is associated with afflictions. It is an important stage in the cultivation of practice. The Bodhisattva Charya Nirdesha states the following: “One who cultivates the Buddhist conduct achieves his goal by not allowing his mind to go heedless, and always subduing his mind whether during walking or sitting. He would endure the sufferings of walking or sitting for a long period of time, and would not stop doing so or lie down when the time is not right. During standing or lying down, he would abide by the principles of the truth and maintain right mindfulness. The four decorum refers to the conduct of these four types of body posture properly and in good manners.” On the four decorum of walking, standing, sitting and lying down, the sages offer a metaphor of walking like the wind, standing (remain stationary) like pine, sitting like a bell and lying like a bow. It means walking like the wind without coming into contact with anything, standing like a pine tree which stands erect, sitting like a bell which is as steady as a rock, and lying like a bow which is inwardly prepared and always ready.)

“Standing” occupies the second position of the list of the four decorum, after “walking” and before “sitting”. It is a decorum on the stationary state. In the narrow sense, the word “standing” refers to standing on one’s feet, whereas in the broad sense, it refers to the stationary state of the body, or a temporary stoppage of movements. Beginners of the Buddhist practice who are not able to calm down through sitting meditation may adopt the posture of standing as a convenient precursor to sitting meditation. The way to do it is to stand still with both feet about a foot apart, hold the right wrist with the left hand and position it at the abdomen, keep both eyes looking downward, and feel the inhaling and exhaling breath through the upper lip (or the tip of the nose). This is called the standing meditation. “Standing” in the broad sense is, in association with the movements of the body, being aware of all moments of stoppages (when the body is still) during “moving” (walking and movements of the body) and maintain awareness.

In addition, when excessive “moving” (walking and movements of the body) becomes exhausting to the body, “standing” acts as a buffer in slowing down. On the other hand, when excessive “sitting” causes the practitioner to become lethargic and dull (trance meditation), “standing” has the effect of waking one up. Hence, “standing” has a complementing effect between “walking” and “sitting”.

“Standing like a pine” is the metaphoric description of “standing” by ancient sages. The straight and upright stance of a pine brings to practitioners the perception of being upright, courageous and confident. Its deep rootedness brings to mind the power of fitting perseverance, the power of enthusiastic penetration, and the power of unwavering resoluteness. Like the pine, our awareness is upright, courageous, confident, penetrating and unwavering.

The following story came from the Chan School: “Chan Master Yixuan of Zhenzhou Lingji became a monk at an early age. Upon renunciation, he went to learn from Chan Master Huangbo. One day, as Chan Master Yixuan was planting pine trees, Chan Master Huangbo asked him, ‘Why do you plant so many pine trees in this wild jungle?’ Chan Master Yixuan said, ‘Firstly, it is to dignify the monastery. Secondly, it is to set a good example for the future generations.’” Be a great man with uprightness and resoluteness – this is the inspiration the pine provided Chan Master Yixuan.