Quite Sitting is one of my favorite parts in my morning workout. I have a meditation bench that I put on the back deck (or in front of the family room window now that the weather has turned here in Ohio) that overlooks the backyard flower garden. My wife loves birds, feeds them regularly, and there are always quite a few that come to the feeders. Earlier this fall, we had a flock of wild turkeys that came by to eat the seeds that dropped to the ground.
Once settled on my bench, I try to quiet my mind and take in what’s happening outside while trying not to analyze what I see. For me, this is very hard to do. My mind keeps wandering all over the place until I realize what’s happening and call it back. This is especially true when I close my eyes.
I have found that if I concentrate on the pauses between the inhale and exhale of breath, it’s easier to ‘not think.’ I can’t help but think that concentrating on not thinking is thinking, but I haven’t worked that out yet.
The meditation bench that I built is a sturdy and comfortable little thing that allows me to sit as prescribed in Shifu Painter’s book, Combat Baguazhang I. The seat slopes forward slightly so my hips are more elevated than my knees, which is the proper position for Quiet Sitting.
With a few hand tools, you can build such a bench. Mine is made out of pine that I purchased at the local big box hardware store. It was the prototype that I made before I used more expensive woods to build other benches for friends. Because it was the prototype, it has quite a few holes
drilled into the seat where hinges connected the legs to the seat bottom. I had thought to make the bench more portable by making the legs foldable. While this worked well, meditation benches rarely move so I abandoned the idea on the later models that I built.
Although my bench is made out or cheap pine and has more holes in it than a stop sign on a country road, I am attached to it and would not trade it for a fancier model. On the bench is the spirit jian that we sometimes use in class. I sit with the jian and it, like the bench, is an old friend.
Would you like to make your own bench? It’s easy. Here’s what you need:
Seat: ¾” pine board, 9”x24” long – 1 piece
Legs: ¾” pine boards, one end is cut on the diagonal – 2 pieces
The legs measure 9”x8 ¾” in the front and 9”x9 ¼” in the back.
Braces: ¾” pine boards, 2”x24” – 2 pieces
The bottom of the legs need to taper so the bench tilts slightly forward. That’s why one side is slightly longer than the other. You can see the slight right tilt on the picture of the bench at left. If you’re lucky enough to have a table saw (or a friend with one), cut the leg bottoms at an 87° angle. The extra piece of wood at the bottom of the leg that's shaped like a wedge was used to get the angle of the seat just right. I experimented with other angels before settling on 87°.
The legs on my bench are attached to the seat with glue and pinned in place with ¼” dowel rod pieces to give it extra stability. Nails and screws are easier to use, but be sure to drill a pilot hole first so the wood doesn’t split.
Use the braces to keep the legs from breaking away from the seat once you start to use it. Attach one brace at the back and bottom of the legs and the other at the front and top. Don’t put the front brace on the bottom of the bench legs, because it’ll get in the way or your legs when you sit and fold them under you.
Once settled on my bench, I try to quiet my mind and take in what’s happening outside while trying not to analyze what I see. For me, this is very hard to do. My mind keeps wandering all over the place until I realize what’s happening and call it back. This is especially true when I close my eyes.
I have found that if I concentrate on the pauses between the inhale and exhale of breath, it’s easier to ‘not think.’ I can’t help but think that concentrating on not thinking is thinking, but I haven’t worked that out yet.
The meditation bench that I built is a sturdy and comfortable little thing that allows me to sit as prescribed in Shifu Painter’s book, Combat Baguazhang I. The seat slopes forward slightly so my hips are more elevated than my knees, which is the proper position for Quiet Sitting.
With a few hand tools, you can build such a bench. Mine is made out of pine that I purchased at the local big box hardware store. It was the prototype that I made before I used more expensive woods to build other benches for friends. Because it was the prototype, it has quite a few holes
drilled into the seat where hinges connected the legs to the seat bottom. I had thought to make the bench more portable by making the legs foldable. While this worked well, meditation benches rarely move so I abandoned the idea on the later models that I built.Although my bench is made out or cheap pine and has more holes in it than a stop sign on a country road, I am attached to it and would not trade it for a fancier model. On the bench is the spirit jian that we sometimes use in class. I sit with the jian and it, like the bench, is an old friend.
Would you like to make your own bench? It’s easy. Here’s what you need:
Seat: ¾” pine board, 9”x24” long – 1 piece
Legs: ¾” pine boards, one end is cut on the diagonal – 2 pieces
The legs measure 9”x8 ¾” in the front and 9”x9 ¼” in the back.
Braces: ¾” pine boards, 2”x24” – 2 pieces
The bottom of the legs need to taper so the bench tilts slightly forward. That’s why one side is slightly longer than the other. You can see the slight right tilt on the picture of the bench at left. If you’re lucky enough to have a table saw (or a friend with one), cut the leg bottoms at an 87° angle. The extra piece of wood at the bottom of the leg that's shaped like a wedge was used to get the angle of the seat just right. I experimented with other angels before settling on 87°.The legs on my bench are attached to the seat with glue and pinned in place with ¼” dowel rod pieces to give it extra stability. Nails and screws are easier to use, but be sure to drill a pilot hole first so the wood doesn’t split.
Use the braces to keep the legs from breaking away from the seat once you start to use it. Attach one brace at the back and bottom of the legs and the other at the front and top. Don’t put the front brace on the bottom of the bench legs, because it’ll get in the way or your legs when you sit and fold them under you.
If you have the interest, try it and let me know how it goes.
