Greetings, Friends!
A few days ago I visited with a chair yogi who had walked from Lotus Center’s reception area to the bathrooms, via the meditation room. I noticed that she was wearing her shoes, and invited her to go shoeless when walking through our meditation room. “As with the movement room,” I explained to her, “We regard the meditation room as being sacred space.”
“Oh,” she replied, “I thought that we didn’t wear shoes in the movement room so that we don’t scuff the hardwood floor.”
That gracious chair yogi was absolutely right: part of the reason for not wearing shoes in our (110 year-old!) movement room floor is to protect it from shoe scuffs and other damage. At the end of the day, in my opinion, removing shoes when entering a sacred space is a symbolic gesture of respect, but it’s not a gesture of respect performed simply for the sake of abiding by rules . . .
For what it’s worth, here’s my take on the subject: The meditative, yogic, and Tai Chi disciplines that are taught here at Lotus Center are ancient and considered by some to be sacred. The practice of these disciplines likewise could be regarded as sacred. And the space in which these disciplines are taught, learned, and practiced might also be seen as sacred.
Who ultimately determines whether these disciplines, practices, and spaces are actually ordinary or sacred? You do. And here’s the truly important question: Who ultimately benefits from regarding these disciplines, practices, and spaces as being sacred? Again, you do. As my meditation teacher might have said to me, “Grasshopper, special, sacred places don’t exist inherently, from their own side. You create special, sacred places with your mind! Do you want to practice in ordinary space or in sacred space?”
So far in 2025, class attendance at Lotus Center has been higher than normal; and those increased class sizes are the result of both returning students and new students. That more people are partaking of our community-owned Lotus Center delights me, and it seems like an ideal opportunity to share some contemplations on the Dharma of Shoelessness in our sacred space. Thank you for indulging me.
With gratitude and love,
jeff goin
director