Side effects of the Zen posture:
- It promotes a stable spine
- You stay awake longer while reading
- You automatically avoid a slumped posture, which also has a psychological effect
- Breathing
Good and bad exist only in the mind.
The best way to control people is to encourage them to do mischief.
People say concentration on the mind, but concentration is not the true intention of Zen. The true intention is to see things as they are, observe them as they are, and let everything go as it goes.
I want to quiet my mind. If I let it be as it is, then it will become still. That is then the Great Spirit. Everything that comes from outside is already in the mind. That which comes from outside does not cause me any difficulty. I myself bring forth the waves of my mind. In pure zazen, there are no more waves. As I sit, the waves will become smaller and effort will turn into subtle sensation.
Those who have difficulty sitting have an easier time awakening the way-seeking mind than those who sit effortlessly. And this has something to do with pain.
Rest does not mean that you stop doing something. True rest can also be found in activity.
To practice zazen (meditation practice) is not to expect anything. If you have expectations, you are already involved in impure practice.
Source: Shunryu Suzuki, Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind