Morning Zazen Reflection Across the World
by Rabbi Daniel J Gigi MA, London, UK
(Author on the Ecstatic Kabbalah and exponent of the Hasidic School of Izhbitsa-Radzyn)
I started joining Sonoma Mountain sangha for online morning zazen at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. As sanghas and communities started taking their services online, it was an opportunity to connect with Roshi whose books and insights have played a formative role in my spiritual growth and understanding. The only part of the schedule I could join, however, was the morning zazen, which for me in England is the middle of the day. It has since proven to be a regular feature of my week, punctuating everyday busy-ness within a mindful community and helping me reset for the rest of the day. It has also inspired me to take on a regular sitting practice at other times. Since the summer I have included a sitting first thing in the morning, a habit I can no longer do without. The sitting itself has also created a greater sense of stability in my practice, and my zafu is now in regular use. I live in a tiny apartment with a small family, but that little space, a zafu on a zabuton—the perspective it gives on the room and view from the window—imbues within the place a tangible sense of stillness.
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