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What should I do with fear that comes up during zazen?

Fear is not blocking your sitting. Fear is the sitting. Don't push it out, and don't feed it with stories. Find where it lives in the body: the tight throat, the fluttering belly, the held breath. Stay there, curious, the way you'd watch weather move across a lake. Fear wants you to leave. Simply not leaving is enough. Next time it rises, let your attention drop low into your belly, feel three full breaths, and keep sitting.

Hear it spoken (Instagram) →

This was one stranger’s question. In the app, you sit, say what is actually going on, and the teacher answers you, in a voice, privately. The first dokusan is free.