What Are You Committing To?
Practice for the benefit of yourself and others—at the same time.
The Quiet Power of Choosing to Commit:
At the heart of every sitting session is a choice—not dramatic, not forced, but careful. It is the choice to return. To re-orient. To offer ourselves fully to this moment.
Commitment in sitting practice isn’t about perfection. It isn’t even about progress. It’s about the fullness of our participation.
It’s not about showing up with answers. It’s about showing up with sincerity, ready to feel our way. There is something quietly, subtly transformative in this willingness to simply show up. To do it for ourselves and others, simultaneously. It’s a commitment to be here, to be now.
We do it just once, today, but with a lightness and a sense of wonder that enables us to show up tomorrow, and then again the next day.
Nobody is requiring it, or even asking for it. At some point we make a commitment to ourselves, not because we’re convinced or certain, but because we’re being drawn to what matters. Somewhere inside, it feels important.
So what do we commit to?
In sitting, we commit to not fixing ourselves. We commit to not trying to achieve some polished version of calm. Instead, we commit to listening. To grounding in the present moment. To reconnecting, intimately, tenderly, with ourselves. To remembering who we really are.
We commit to the breath, because it steadies us. We commit to our upright posture, because it calls us into dignity and presence. We commit to holding all beings in our field of practice, because we know—we feel in our hearts—that our participation is entangled and entangling with the vast web of life.
When we sit, we commit to aligning our deepest intentions with our actions. We let the embodied act of being here ripple outward. We practice for the benefit of ourselves and for each other—at the same time. We expand this intention outward, offering it to the whole shimmering, unfolding, boundless universe.
Every sitting we start by saying, “Tapping into the heartfelt essence of wisdom and compassion, we sit together and cultivate a sincere intention to practice for the benefit of all living beings, throughout space and time, without one exception.”
This is not a duty. Or a burden. It’s a gateway we choose to enter. A re-orientation toward the path we choose to walk. It’s an commitment we make with humility. With compassion and gratitude and appreciation for everything that has been given to us.
Let’s offer it now.
What Are We Committing To?
Below is a lightly edited transcript of an introduction to a Sitting Lab sitting.
As we orient ourselves
to practice today,
I am thinking
about our theme of commitment.
I remember a moment
when I first came to practice.
I wasn’t so sold
on the whole idea.
I wasn’t really committed
to anything.
I was just checking it out.
Then I had a conversation
with one of my teachers,
and she said:
That is fine. But you should know that
nothing important will happen for you
unless you make a commitment.
Those words
went straight into my heart.
So I was thinking about that today—
thinking about our practice.
What is it for you
that is important?
What are you doing here
that matters deeply to you?
Why do you show up here today—
make an effort,
to be here and now,
for yourself
and for each other?
What are you committing to?
You can hold that question
lightly
in your mind.
Not needing to think about it—
just allowing it
to shape the pattern
of your practice.
Letting it support you
to be curious,
to be full of wonder,
as we bring our attention
down into our hearts,
and into our bodies.
Find a sense of upright alignment.
Connect with the breath—
the sensation
of breath
moving in and out
of your body.
Allowing that
to settle us.
To ground us.
And holding all beings
in our intention.
Practicing
within a field of awareness—
an intentional field
to practice for our own
benefit,
to support and
encourage each other,
and to serve the larger
web of life.
Some way. Some how.
This is
orienting our practice
to be of benefit
for all living beings—
without any exceptions.
Let’s continue
to sit silently
together.
Now.”
The sound of three bells and then silence.
Each weekday, a small group of us sit quietly together four times a day, using Sitting Lab’s community platform. We invite you to check it out and join us if you believe that a regular, deepening sitting practice could help you become the fullest version of yourself.
On Sunday, June 29th, we offer our monthly Half-Day sit. If you want to go deeper in your practice, sit together with others, and learn more about Sitting Lab, this is a great place to start. More info here.