Keep one straightforward mind in every posture

Carry a single, undivided attention through walking, standing, sitting and lying down, without performing it for anyone.

Perché funziona

The sūtra’s samādhi of the single practice is “to always practice the single direct mind in all one’s actions, whether walking, standing still, sitting, or lying down.” It quotes the Vimalakīrti Sūtra’s line that the straightforward mind is the place of enlightenment, and it warns that speaking of straightforwardness with the mouth, while the mind is twisted, means you will not practise the straightforward mind. The practice therefore tests the mind’s straightness in ordinary postures, not only on the cushion.

Come farlo

1. Before you start, stand still for a breath, feel both feet on the floor, and look around the room with open eyes.
2. Choose one ordinary activity for the week, such as walking to a car, washing dishes or waiting in a line.
3. Settle attention on the activity itself: the step, the water, the sound, without adding a running commentary about how well you are doing.
4. When the mind goes off to a story about someone else, bring it back to the one thing in front of you, plainly.
5. Notice whether the attention is straight, undivided and honest, or whether you are performing calm for an imagined observer.
6. Before sleep, recall one moment when the mind was straight and one when it was not, without grading either.

Prove scientifiche

The single-practice passage and the Vimalakīrti quotation are in the Meditation and Wisdom chapter of McRae’s translation. No study has tested this practice. (anecdotal)

The phrase “samādhi of the single practice” is specific to this sūtra’s terminology. Comparisons with off-cushion practices in other traditions are not drawn here. If scattered attention turns into fear or a sense of unreality, stop and use the grounding steps; see the meditation-related-challenges page.

Fonti

• McRae, John R. (trans.) (2000). The Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch (Taishō vol. 48, no. 2008). BDK English Tripiṭaka. Moraga, CA: BDK America. Free PDF from the publisher.

Errore comune

Turning straightforwardness into a display. The sūtra criticises people who speak of the single practice with their mouths while their minds are twisted, so trying to look calm for others is the error.