Day 14

When meditation becomes a habit, it can start to be... not boring, exactly, but something like it. Some days I sit on the cushion almost automatically, without any real presence of mind. I make the effort at the beginning, especially just before I sit while doing the very brief prostrations, prayers and offerings I do, to be right there doing them and not anywhere else doing or thinking anything else. But I've noticed at times that as I sit on the cushion I let go of that vigilance, and relax my attention too far. Over the years I have definitely become easier on myself when this happens; it's very hard for me to say whether that's a positive or negative thing. It is not useful to berate oneself for slipping up or to harbour regrets, but there is a point to meditation other than keeping the back straight while sitting on a round cushion, and it takes vigilance to see it through.