From Wikipedia:
Self-arrest is a mountaineering related maneuver in which a climber that has fallen and is sliding down a snow or ice slope arrests (stops) the slide by himself without recourse to a rope or other belay system.
Self-arrest can be performed by using an ice axe or by using the climber’s hands, feet, knees and elbows. Self-arrest with an ice axe is a difficult maneuver, but without it the probability of effectively arresting a fall is greatly diminished.
Bill Wellhouse and I took a class in mountaineering from the Yosemite Mountaineering school a number of years ago. The class was held high up in Ellery Bowl, in the Tioga Pass area. One of the most important techniques we practiced was self-arrest using an ice axe. The instructor couldn’t emphasize this enough: at any time on steep icy slopes you might, in an instant, lose your footing and find yourself sliding. Recovery had to be practiced over and over until it was automatic and instantaneous: no matter what position you found yourself in — typically, with a heavy pack, the position was on your back, sliding head first — you had to be able to maneuver around to dig the point of the axe into the slope while getting your weight over that point. Without your weight on top of it, there was little chance that you would be able to stop the fall. If you didn’t catch yourself soon enough, there was little chance that you would be able to stop the fall.
Likewise, in Zen practice, self-arrest is a key part of the training, and must be practiced over and over. At any point, I might lose my footing and find myself sliding down the icy slope of my conditioning. It might be in a sitting period: oh, there I go again, thinking, thinking, trying to patch up a self-image of mine. Or, worse, I may find myself already in an argument with someone, defending another self-image.
Perhaps the ice-axe of Zen practice is just one word: STOP. Just STOP.
Thinking, thinking, thinking: just STOP.
Arguing, defending my self image: just STOP.
The most important word of Zen: STOP.
Sam Gabriel, San Diego, CA
http://home.roadrunner.com/~clothespin
sam_gabriel@yahoo.com