Standing Meditation with Eyes Closed

Standing Meditation with Eyes Closed

For standing meditation（站樁）, I suggest keeping your eyes gently open or half-open（垂簾）, with a soft gaze ahead and slightly downward.

Closing your eyes may help you turn attention inward（內觀）, but it also removes visual information used for balance. Closed eyes do not necessarily mean deeper relaxation or better practice.

Given your knee’s previous giving-way episodes, practise near a stable support and keep your eyes open. If you become unsteady or dizzy, sit down.

Keep the head naturally upright, shoulders relaxed, and breathing unforced:

「目光柔和，神意內斂；鬆而不懈，靜而清醒。」
Soften the gaze, gather attention inward; stay relaxed, supported, and alert.

Even if your mind feels completely empty（心無雜念）, open and closed eyes still give your body different information. Mental quiet does not remove that difference.

• Eyes softly open（鬆視）： You receive visual information while remaining quiet inside. You see without staring or following every detail—見而不逐.

• Eyes closed（閉目）： Visual distractions decrease, so bodily sensations may become more noticeable. However, you lose visual reference points for balance, and may sway more or become sleepy.

In standing meditation, 空 does not mean losing awareness. It means releasing unnecessary thought and tension while remaining clearly aware—空而有覺，鬆而不懈.

You can practise the same inner quiet with either, but softly open eyes help you bring that quiet into movement and contact with others: 內靜外明—quiet within, aware without.