Walking – With Calm and Steady Steps

Buddhism holds that practice can be done anywhere in our daily life. While walking, you can maintain calm stability in your steps provided that you can relax your body and mind, concentrate on and feel your steps, and remain clearly aware of the sensation of your foot stepping forward, landing on and lifting off the ground, without being interrupted by your deluded thoughts and the external environment.

People who have ever hiked in the mountains must have experienced breathing heavily and being physically exhausted. Some may even feel daunted by the idea of reaching the summit of some high mountain or climbing up a steep slope. You have to climb 972 steps before reaching the top of the Dome of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, designed by Michelangelo. However, some people can make it to the top without panting or blushing at all. So, how do they do that?

In his book entitled "Two Thousand Years of Pilgrimage (兩千年行腳)" Master Sheng Yen shared his experience of climbing up the steps at that time. With faith, he simply remained clearly aware of how he was climbing up every moment, by climbing up one step after another. The Master believed that there might be as many as 972 steps. However, by taking one step at a time and treating every step as a new step, he naturally did not feel tired. As a result every step he took at any moment was calm and steady.

Walking is something everyone can do. However, walking for better health and peace of mind is not easy. We can tell a person's psychological state at the time from the way they walk. For example, being absent-minded, one often walks in a sluggish manner. Being in a cheerful mood, one's steps will naturally be lively and brisk. On the busy streets of Wall Street in New York, you can see some people in a hurry to work, and some rushing to catch a ride, as if being afraid of missing out on something once they slow down their pace. With the hurried pace and a tense mind we often forget how to walk properly. Incorrect walking postures can easily cause joint muscle strain and sprain, while hunchback can easily lead to shoulder pain, back pain, and nerve pain. If we are distracted while we walk, we're more likely to trip over or bump into something and, thus, become injured.

As Dr. Yeh Jui-chi from the Department of Nephrology at Taipei Mackay Hospital stated that excessive stress can give us too much adrenaline, increase our blood sugar levels, and speed up our heartbeat. When we get nervous, our movements and postures become stiff, which can easily cause vascular obstruction, as well as cause our body to produce lactic acid. Too much lactic acid will make our body feel sore and achy.

Dr. Paul White, the former U.S. President Eisenhower's chief heart surgeon, once proposed the idea that "The legs are the ‘second heart’ of the human body." We usually use thigh and calf muscles for walking and exercise. Once you suffer thigh and calf muscles atrophy, you will not be able to maintain a correct posture. In addition, you will also easily feel tired and experience back pain, knee pain and other symptoms. In recent years, fitness walking has become a popular exercise, which mainly focuses on improving our lower limb power. Nearly two-thirds of all muscles in the human body are concentrated in the lower body. Exercising leg muscles is the best way to prevent physical deterioration, and walking is an ideal exercise for slowing down the aging process.

So, how do we walk for better health and peace of mind? While we walk, our mind is easily drawn by the external environment, entertaining wondering thoughts. Our feet may be moving forward, while our mind is still anxious about work or worrying about family members, unable to remain clearly aware that we are walking. The "walking meditation" practiced during meditation retreat is a basic practice we can do in our daily life. As explained in "Master Sheng Yen Teaches Chan Meditation (聖嚴法師教禪坐)", walking meditation requires us to remain undisturbed by our discursive thoughts and the external environment during walking, all the while remaining clearly aware of how we step forward as well as lift and place our feet. Whether in slow walking meditation or fast walking meditation, we should grasp the principle of relaxation and concentration. Through the practice of walking meditation, we can develop patience, stability and willpower. The Vinaya in Four Parts (Cāturvargīya-vinaya) also says: "There are five benefits of walking: first, one is able to walk afar; second, it helps one develop clear thinking; third, it helps one remain healthy, with few illnesses; fourth, it fosters digestion; fifth, it helps one attain to stable concentration." Adopting the way of walking meditation for daily walking will help us endure the challenge of walking long distances, maintain inner peace and stability, and develop in wisdom and right thinking. Taking a walk after meals is also good for digestion, which helps us stay healthy and less prone to illnesses.

Walking properly not only helps develop our physical and mental health and stability, but also helps us maintain our composure. As mentioned in the Ornament of the Mahayana Sutras (Mahāyāna-sūtrālamkāra), when the Buddha walked, his pace was always light and calm, with a relaxed and easy posture showing no signs of fatigue. Buddhism holds that practice is in our daily life, at any time and place. As long as we relax our body and mind while walking---that is, remaining clearly aware of our steps as we lift and place our feet, without being disturbed by our discursive thoughts and the external environment-- we can then walk with steady and stable steps.

How to practice walking meditation

1. While walking, focus on the feeling of "walking", and relax your body in a natural manner.
2. Feel the sensation of the soles of your feet coming into contact with the ground.
3. Let your arms swing in a natural manner, and fix your gaze naturally in the front.
4. Pay attention and make sure your shoulders and spine are in a relaxed state.

Keep your steps steady, and don't suddenly go fast or slow down. Breathe in a natural and smooth way.



Related articles:

Chan is Everywhere in Daily Life

Walking – With Calm and Steady Steps

Standing – Relax Your Body and Mind to Lighten Your Burden

Sitting Meditation – Regulating the Mind and Breath in Sitting, for Better Health

Optimal Sleep Postures --for a Steady Mind and Body, and a Sound Sleep



Resource: Issue 232 of Humanity  Magazine, Dharma Drum Publishing Corporation
Photo: Dharma Drum Mountain 
Translation: Anne Yeow (姚麗萍) 
Editing: Keith Brown, Chiacheng Chang (張家誠)