silent sitting

One of the great Chinese masters of this practice, Hongzhi, describes this silent sitting in this manner:

Your body sits quietly; your mind quiescent, unmoving. This is genuine effort in practice. Body and mind are at complete rest. The mouth is so still that moss grows around it. Grass sprouts from your tongue. Do this without ceasing, cleansing the mind until is gains the clarity of an autumn pool, bright as the moon illuminating the evening sky.

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