He may not actually be sleeping. He has jet lag, it seems. He knows somewhere on this globe, many people are sleeping. He would like to join them. But he is not tired. So he follows his breath in and out. Not awake, not asleep. His concentration focuses first on the sensation of his breath, then the sound of his breathing, and finally the kaleidoscope of colors through his closed eyes. Its almost like he is once again in a sensory deprivation tank. His thoughts resting on one point. Concentrating. Stopping.
In this way, he goes on for hours. In his moments of lucidity, he wonders if this what death is like? If so, he thinks he could accept it. Then he goes back to his breath. Death is just another breath out. So many thoughts, so many breaths. Just like life:
"If you think, "I breathe," the "I" is extra. There is no you to say "I." What we call "I" is just a swinging door which moves when we inhale or when we exhale."----Shun Ryu Suzuki
Indeed, the trope of the "Sleeping Cat" is not without historical antecedent. The "Sleeping Cat" is also a famous wood carving by Hidari Jingoro located inthe East corridor at Tosho-gu Shrine in Nikko, Japan. It something like this:
Here is a closer look:
It is written that the "Sleeping Cat" symbolizes Nikko or the Spirit of Ieyasu, who is the manifestation of the Buddha of Healing, giving nourishment to the mind, body, and spirit. And in his own way, the Sleeping Cat in the cage feels nourished by his slow breathing. By his concentration. And by the end of thought and sleep.
I encourage you to visit the Sleeping Cat in Nikko. Especially if you are visiting nearby Ashikaga and are wined and dined like the dignitary that you are not. And the Coco Farm and Winery where autism is rewarded by the fastidious separation of grapes into piles. And goats scare away the crows from the vineyard. If you look hard, you may even encounter one of the heirs of Confucius along the way--turn left at the Fukai factory if you want to find her.
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