Bowing to See True Nature

In the Kwan Um School of Zen we are supposed to perform at least 108 prostrations every morning. I say “at least” because we also have a tradition of performing extra prostrations, usually 500 or 1000, during times of distress. It is a great way to burn up extra karma. I believe that Zen Master Seung Sahn did 500 prostrations a day for most of his life as a monk, which perhaps accounts for his ceaseless and amazing energy.

I have done extra prostrations at various times and can attest to their amazing efficiency. I have never felt so alert or spacious so quickly, nor have I maintained that openness for so long. And I never even got the full benefit because I have bad knees, and they never let me do more than 270 a day. Even then, after a few months, I developed some kind of stress injury in my lower leg where the calf muscle joins the knee joint. When the pain started waking me up at night, I knew it was time to stop!

For a long time I couldn’t do any prostrations, and this became an excuse to cease morning practice altogether. But over the past two or three years, with a little determination and great patience, I have found that I can do 108 prostrations most mornings. It helps if I take a day or two off every week.

Recently I made a vow to do 108 prostrations every morning for 100 days. This has had a wonderful effect on my practice and life. My sitting practice is much deeper and my mind, even when I get up off the cushion, is noticeably calmer and more balanced. Unfortunately, it has begun to cause some problems with my feet and ankles, such that the first few prostrations are painful until I get warmed up, and my feet feel stiff and sore not only in the morning but at various times throughout the day.

The other morning I had to admit that I am giving myself another stress injury. If I don’t stop doing prostrations every day, I am going to have a serious problem. But how can I protect my feet and keep my vow? Easy: I’ve started doing standing bows, peppered with a prostration every ninth or tenth bow. The first day I was in kind of a hurry and was bowing quickly and somewhat carelessly. But somewhere around bow thirty or forty my mind suddenly slowed, and I began to pay attention to my bows. The standing bows are really no different from the full prostrations. This surprised—and delighted—me.

After only two days of this practice, I find that my feet are still sore when I first wake up, but my ankles don’t hurt at all. Maybe in a week or two I’ll be able to resume doing full prostrations—but only five days a week!