Originally posted by Cenarious:
many times when i felt like meditating the requirement to sit straight made me give up
Right posture is actually quite important, and Shi Fu says that it WILL affect the growth of wisdom. According to him, in terms of liberation it's ok, you still can be liberated as an arhant. But to develope wisdom as a Bodhisattva you should learn to get a straight back. To him it is actually quite important that we learn to keep a right posture. He also gave examples of famous masters like Zen Master Hsu Yun (120 years old!) and his own master, Zen Master Dong Chu, who grew very old and yet their posture is almost perfect!
According to what I learnt from Thusness, posture also affects one's mind stability. Mudra (hand gesture) is also another factor.
Sitting straight is actually quite enjoyable. You just have to get used to it, it takes some time. And as I mentioned there are long term benefits: you won't get hunchback so easily when you grow old.
You also won't fall asleep easily with right posture.
