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Inspiring personal stories, and practical guidance for navigating life’s challenges with mindfulness and compassion.

Present Online

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Inspiring personal stories, and practical guidance for navigating life’s challenges with mindfulness and compassion.

Present Online

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Inspiring personal stories, and practical guidance for navigating life’s challenges with mindfulness and compassion.

The four decorum – Standing Like a Pine
Slide2
February 1, 2024
By Venerable Shi Faliang
释法梁
Translated by Wu Xin

四威仪之立如松

The four decorum - Standing Like a Pine
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.
编辑心语
修行离不开生活,生活离不开行住坐卧四威仪。懂得在四威仪中用心,就是在四威仪中保持觉性,不与烦恼 相应,也就没有了藉口说没时间修行了。

从狭义的站立到广义的身体静态或短暂中保持觉性,都是修法上的根本要求。“立如松”则是修法上更细腻的 要求,如松之笔直耸立,意思是进一步去体会觉性如松般正直、果敢、自信、把持、深透、承担的特质。

(四威仪即通过行、住、坐、卧这四种身体的仪态来约束自我的身心,以达到修道的目的;外在展现出的是 严肃与庄重,内在的则是对治放逸、失念、懈怠、掉举、昏沉、散乱之类烦恼。当修道者在行、住、坐、卧 这四威仪都能修持时,事实上就说明他的心与解脱相应的时间已长过与烦恼相应的时间,这是一个很重要的 修行环节。《菩萨善戒经》云:“谓修道之人,心不放逸,若行若坐,常在调摄其心,成就道业。虽久于行 坐,亦当忍其劳苦,非时不住,非时不卧。设或住卧之时,常存佛法正念,如理而住。于此四法,动合规 矩,不失律仪,是为四威仪也。”古德对行、住、坐、卧这四威仪有行如风、立(住)如松、坐如钟、卧如弓 的比喻,意思是行走时如风之不着于物,站立时如松之笔直耸立,静坐时如钟之沉稳不动,寝卧时如弓之内 收酝酿。)

“住”于四威仪中居次位,在“行”之后,“坐”之前,属于静态威仪。狭义的“住”指的是站立,广义则指身体的静 态或短暂的停顿。初学者无法直接通过打坐静心,可采用前者作为打坐的前方便,即双脚相距一尺平开,保 持站立不动,左手握右手腕后,轻靠腹部,双眼向下垂视,然后通过上唇(或鼻端)来感觉出入的气息,此 称立禅。广义的“住”则是配合身体的动态,即在“行”(行走、身体的动作)的过程中,对任何停顿都清清楚楚 知道身体的静止,并保持觉性。

再者,过度的“行”(行走和动作)对身体而言会是一种透支,“住”于此时便起了缓冲的作用;而过度的“坐”也 容易使禅修者陷入昏沉和沉寂(枯木禅),“住”于此时便起了唤醒的作用。因此,介于“行”和“坐”之间 的“住”起了很好的辅助作用。

“立如松”是古德对“住”的比喻。松的笔直耸立给修道者所带来的感觉是正直、果敢、自信,它扎实的深植地 里,让人联想到的是进退得当的把持力、勇猛精确的前进力、负起重任的承担力。一个人觉性如松,显得正 直、果敢、自信、深沉,能担当。

禅门有这样一个故事:镇州临济义玄禅师年轻出家,受戒后,参学于黄檗禅师处。一日,义玄禅师在栽种松 树,黄檗禅师见了就问:“深山里栽种这么多松树干什么?”义玄禅师道:“一来庄严山门,二来给后人树立榜 样。”做个顶天立地的大丈夫,这是松给义玄禅师的启示。

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About the Instructor

  • 哈达瑜伽 - 美国瑜伽专业联盟200小时认证教师
    Hatha Yoga Teacher 200-hr Yoga Alliance

  • 哈达流动瑜伽 - 英国瑜伽专业联盟200小时认证教师
    Hatha Yoga Flow Teacher 200-hr Yoga Alliance

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  • 6年从事禅法结合瑜伽的教学工作
    Engaged in teaching work combining Zen and yoga for 6 years