Not The Only Seeker In Town

So I'm browsing through the Good Value Army, not looking to buy anything, when suddenly I spot 'mongst the random rummage...

This.

It's a seiza bench.

And not just any seiza bench. This one is made by Shasta Abbey, so you know it's up for serious practice. (Note the upholstery and rockered legs. That's quality sit.)

For the uninitiated, seiza means "kneeling" in Japanese. Which the Japanese, as a chair-free people, do a lot of. Which means all Zenners – even non-Asian ones – must do a lot of it, too.

And that's a problem, because as I've pointed out, we Westerners are a chair-bound lot. I'd go so far as to call us crippled, in this respect. (Though that said, I'm told the Japanese themselves no longer inhabit the floor as much as they used to, so that Japanese meditators of my generation and younger often experience similar difficulty in Zen practice today.)

But since Westerners also view cheating as a feat of intellect, sometime around the 1970s we adopted this modest little ruse, which allows a guy to sit like a white man while still looking all enlightened and everything. Truth is, even "kneeling" in this fashion will mess you up; I've often held this position for upwards of two hours, and can affirm that your knees and ankles will gently remind you they're there when it's over.

But wait! The bench is also a crutch to help you stand up! Beat that, anachronistic old zafu!

I've wanted one of these literally since I took the path, because it helps change things up during sesshin and there are other places and times where it's a more appropriate choice than a cushion. It also helps greatly in everyday life, such as when doing a project on the floor.

But sturdy and comfortable seiza benches are expensive, and I have this thing about buying stuff I can make.

In other words, I spent the last 16 years preparing to build one.

Which, as you can see, was very shrewd of me, because I've just scored this deluxe model for less than the cost of lunch. Just waiting there amidst all the wooden salad spoons and beat-up tennis rackets, for an old bald fellow dressed all in black to snatch it up like a thrift-store turtleneck.

Road it took to get here included at no extra charge.