How many of you all have left a session early. Like sitting with other people.

Once I was going to sit with some monks in the Theravada tradition and I had taken a Clonazepam under doctors orders. We all went upstairs to meditate and at some point I got really restless and went back downstairs to the dinjng/kitchen area. When they were finished and came back downstairs the head monk told me he didn't think that medication was good for me, which left me conflicted.

Hi SBS,

Googling clonazepam, it seems as if it is prescribed for some pretty serious medical problems, and if you had those problems, then I suspect the doctor was probably right in prescribing it. On the other hand, I think it unlikely the head monk knew much about medicine. My experience with most meditation retreats/sitting evenings is that while the recommendation is to not get up, if you leave the hall quietly for a good reason, nobody is usually bothered. My suggestion therefore would be to find somewhere else to sit where the group leadership is more accommodating.

Hope that helps.

Takeaway. Dr's orders are a good thing, but not necessarily food for thought.