SadhanaOriental Meditation and Christian Prayer
To pray with body (taking a breath)
[22] Walking meditation (2)
Did you master the first step of good walking?
While trying to achieve the first step, let’s proceed to the next step.
In order to accurately and fully observe the bodily sensation associated with the rhythmic move of our body during the walking meditation, let’s try to observe the sensation in our feet in addition to the parts mentioned in the previous step.
Focus on the sensation on the soles of your feet.
Choose either the right or left foot.
Walk very slowly, and observe four major sensations on your foot while you are walking: (1) sensation that the sole of the foot touches the floor (ground), (2) sensation that the whole weight of your body is put on the foot and causes pressure on the floor (ground), (3) sensation that the foot kicks the floor (ground) in order to obtain force to move forward, and (4) sensation that the foot leaves the floor (ground) and is relieved of all kinds of pressure.
We need to practice this method of walking so that we can observe all the four sensations above without fail. Repeat while whispering “touch,” “press,” “kick,” and “leave.” Repeat again and again at a slow speed. Assign only 10% of your mind to call the sensations “touch,” “press,” “kick,” and “leave.” Remaining 90% should be used to observe the feeling on the soles of your feet. When you come to be able to observe all the sensations in a rhythmical manner, you are making significant progress.
Shift your focus down to the belly button, and make sure that you observe the sensation on the soles of your feet in a rhythmical way.
See your surroundings as a mere wallpaper with half-opened eyes. Try to be free from all kinds of distracting thoughts.
Let’s add one more thing. Observe as many bodily sensations as possible, such as the sensation on your face, soft feeling on your shoulders, warmth in your arms, clothes lightly touching on your back, and trousers and skirts touching on your thighs and calves.
Then, you will be able to be very calm and relaxed without any agitation in your current situation.
By carefully observing “touch,” “press,” “kick,” and “leave,” we can feel how we relate to the earth. This is simple but valuable because we are observing a part of the original sensation that we have as a living thing on earth.