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“I’ve read it cover to cover more times than I like to admit and my impression is – outstanding. (Hey, you should be sitting!) Some of the cartoons are so on the spot its hilarious beyond words.”
— Dr Per Sundin, Cosmology & Gravity Group, Department of Mathematics, University of Cape Town

So, What’s Funny About Meditation?

Once upon a time, not very long ago, in a land not renowned for its meditative traditions, a small group of spiritual aspirants began learning to “sit” or “meditate”. At first, they began gently, sitting for short periods of time—only 15 minutes. Then, several years later, they all began to sit together for 1 hour first thing in the morning—at 6:30 am.

Although not always together, or as early, they continued to do this more or less consistently for the next few years. Occasionally, they received simple comments or advice about how to do this usefully—how to sit up properly, stay in present time and place, breathe, relax, be poised, investigate the source of their attention, be ready and be very still.

Simply sitting still and trying to manage one’s flow of attention can be quite humbling, and if modest amounts of private humiliation can be considered good clean fun, the drawings in this book show that the benefits of sitting are accompanied by many special opportunities for good clean fun.

Although sitting is reputed to have multiple benefits, being funny is not usually mentioned as one of them. Perhaps this is just an oversight.

Each sketch in this collection was drawn from the illustrator’s personal sitting experience, and at some point it may occur to you that meditators are not inherently graphic artists. On this you are probably correct and we would only suggest that, as with hand crafted fabrics, diverse thread size and the occasional twig can all be appreciated as part of the unfiltered natural authenticity.

Whether you are a meditator or not, if you find these sketches amusing, that would be very good, and if you are encouraged to sit—well, that would be extra very good!

“Amusing and thought-provoking, this cartoon anthology and primer with brief, informative introductory text, describes the key principles and practical steps followed by a group of non-monastic meditators during the past few years. When this community of novices had clocked some 1000 hours each in contemplation, they were invited to illustrate their individual experiences and discoveries. The result is this significant compilation which forms a unique contribution to the literature on attention and the discipline of self discovery known world-wide as ‘meditation’ and colloquially as “sit” or “sitting.” In addition to humour, some of these cartoons reflect finely focused glimpses of self-observation and insights which can emerge from a meditator’s struggle with their own vanity and powerlessness in front of the personality’s habitual associative patterns of identification and lopsided attachment in body and mind and emotion.”
— J. Walter Driscoll Contributing Editor, Gurdjieff Reading Guide, Gurdjieff-Bibliography.com

“Sit Illustrated captures something often lost in books about meditation: the sheer funniness of the situation. From runaway trains of thought to embarrassing bodily sounds, the whole gamut of what can happen when human beings seek their true nature by simply sitting is revealed. And then, where words fail, their pictures deftly portray those moments when distractions cease, and in the clearing there is simply… well, as I said, words fail. But the cartoons work!
Simply a joy to read.”
— Tim Ward author of What the Buddha Never Taught

“A humorous yet honest look at the vagaries of the mind likely to occur in the experience of any would-be meditator. This book is actually an encouragement since many people first sit down with the preconception that all one need do to obtain a silent mind is to tell it (politely) to shut up. The discovery that this approach does not work is of course the beginning of self-knowledge. Obviously it is important on any spiritual journey to be sincere – but also not too serious. To be able to laugh at our foibles and hang-ups is a sign of mental sanity, allowing us to be open and honest with ourselves and others. So your book happily fulfils a need by reminding us that we can face our meditation obstacles with a smile even while continuing to sit with patience and perseverance.”
— Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo Dongyu Gatsal Ling Nunnery

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