Zazen: The Fundamental Meditation of Zen By jjayson in Culture Mon Oct 28, 2002 at 09:32:33 PM EST Tags: etc (all tags)
	Zazen is the fundamental practice of Zen Buddhism. It is an form of meditation that focusing on living in the moment and being undisturbed by unnecessary thought and attachment. In various forms, it has spread from India through China, to Japan and now to the West. This is my attempt to provide you with what I have learned through experience and others, hopefully giving you enough to try it yourself. Zazen has helped me relax, remove stress, and deal with stressful situations as they occur. I have noticed a large change in attentiveness to others, and I now notice the small things that I never used to, such as: when somebody changes their hair or when they wear something new. I speak slower, listen better, and generally communicate better with others. A true selflessness does come from zazen practice that is hard to qualify.

"To study the Buddha Way is to study the self, to study the self is to forget the self, and to forget the self is to be enlightened by the thousand things." — Master Dogen "When the mind rests on nothing, true mind appears." — Diamond Sutra The Zen school of Buddhism developed in China about one thousand years after Shakyamuni Buddha lived. It is practice of awareness, not a philosophy or theology. It is about being present in the now, just as the now is. The fundamental practice of Zen Buddhism is zazen meditation. Zazen literally means "sitting zen" or "sitting concentration." It is a form of meditation where you try to concentrate on the now while sitting motionless, speechless, and thoughtless. In it you become completely focused on the moment. The mind is pacified, without complications and fear. Selfishness diminishes; compassion and wisdom come. Zen is about having time for the self. By reaching the deepest part of you, you can notice what brings you happiness and unhappiness and change your way of looking at things. It will reveal what you are letting crowd your thoughts, how hungry you are, if you are sleepy, and other changes in your body, making you mindful of the self. Yet, sitting in zazen is to be beyond thinking. Biologically through zazen, your cardiac and respiratory functions are regularized. Your brain reacts to stimuli, but quickly returns to the rhythm of zazen, collapsing your brain's waves to slow alpha and rythmic theta waves [alternate reference], and stress does no develop. Start by giving yourself small islands of time each day, gradually growing, hopefully to 24 hours of zazen. Even five to ten minutes is good to start with. Select a quiet place away from distractions: telephone, television, radio, and others. Zazen can be practiced at any time in the day that is best for you. Some find it best practiced after getting out of the shower and your are loose, refreshed, and not tired. Use something soft to sit on. In Japan they use a thick round cushion called a zafu, while in Tibet they use square mats. However, any cushion, pillow, or rolled-up blanket will work. Dress in loose clothing or at least loosen the clothes you have on by removing belts and unbuttoning pants. Posture Zen grows out of the idea that there is little distinction between the mental and the physical, so that by sitting with a straight aligned spine and being physically still, it will support the mind in settling and focusing. Because of this belief, a large emphasis is placed on posture and what helps to hold correct posture which will then hold correct thought. Indian Yogis first knew of sitting cross-legged for meditation. It is hard to fall asleep that way and less tiring than standing. There are several ways to sit on the floor, as well as ways to sit in a chair or lying down. However, all the classic postures involve a stable three-point base: each knee and your sitting bones. The simplest position is called the Burmese position. The legs crossed by placing the first foot between the opposite thigh and groin, then the next foot is placed in contact with the shin. Both feet should be on the floor and well as the knees. This is one of the best positions for those just starting. The common full-lotus position is where each foot is on top of the opposing thigh. It is symmetric, solid, and efficient. It originated as a yogic position in India, but it requires some good flexibility. You should not attempt to force the full-lotus as it will be painful and can result in injury. There is also a half-lotus position where one foot is on the opposite thigh and the other foot is tucked under. Its asymmetry makes it difficult to remain relaxed while trying to hold the body symmetric. The full-lotus is preferred to the half-lotus because in it, the legs don't move out of position when they are deeply tucked; while in the half-lotus the legs can move, misaligning the upper body. Tip the pelvis forward to help the knees touch the floor. If they are not, sitting on the edge of a cushion will lift the bottom higher and allow the knees to naturally drop. Push the knees against the floor, picture pushing your head against the ceiling, then relax into position. If the knees will not touch the floor, then try a higher cushion or try to place cushions under the knees. It is common for the legs to fall asleep, but if they are numb for more than a few seconds after standing up, then too much pressure was placed on the nerves in the legs, and sitting closer to the edge of the cushion will help this too. "If one's body is straight, one's mind is easily straightened too. If one sits keeping one's body upright, one's mind does not become dull. One must be aware when one's mind runs around in distraction, or when one's body leans or sways, and allow body and mind to return to sitting upright." — Dogen Zenji It is most important to keep the spine straight. Keep the back straight to allow the diaphragm to move easily. The spine should be in a natural S-curve, centered on a base above the bottom. Rock side-to-side slowly diminishing, from a wide arc to smaller arcs, to center the spine. To assist in getting that nice S-curve, slightly thrust forward the diaphragm while pulling your head back and tucking your chin. This way, the chest is kept open. Don't become tense and rigid. Picture yourself like a puppet hanging from the ceiling. Find a position that is comfortable to you. Never hurt yourself, and don't get caught up in the position. The mind is more important than the body. If sitting cross-legged doesn't work, try kneeling-style with your knees together and sitting on your feet with cushions piled between your feet or on a small bench that can be purchased. You can also sit on the front of a chair with the feet flat on the floor, using cushions to vary your height, if necessary. Support the back instead of leaning against the chair. Another alternative, if you have disability problems, is to lie down on the back with the knees bent so the feet are flat. The position of the hands is very important to zazen. Hold them in each other, parallel, so that the knuckles and fingers overlap. The thumb tips should be slightly touching, forming an ellipse. Hold the edge of the hands against the abdomen so that the thumbs are navel high. So not rest the hands on the feet, as sometimes this will pull the shoulders down, while holding the hands up will allow you to be mindful. The shoulders and arms should be relaxed. Pay attention to the hands and thumbs. They will tell you how you are doing. If you are drifting, the thumbs will also drift apart. If you are tense, the thumbs will push against each other too hard and form a peak. If one side of the body is higher than the other or one shoulder is tense, the ellipse will be lopsided. Keeping the head level, very slightly pull the chin back, bringing the ears over the shoulders. Pulling the chin too far back will produce tension that you will feel in your neck. The mouth should be closed. The tongue should be held gently to the roof of the mouth. This will prevent salivation and the need to swallow as much. The teeth should be touching lightly to prevent the mind from talking. Breath in from the nose, expanding and filling the lower lungs down to the diaphragm. Exhale through the nose, deflating the lungs. Breath at a natural cadence and do not try to control it. Look down at a 95 degree angle, so you look about a meter in front of you. Only the gaze should be down, not the head. Blink a few times and let the eyelids naturally fall slightly open, enough to let in light. This will prevent falling asleep and dreaming. Try to unfocus your eyes. Now that you are in correct position, work on correct thought. Take a few deep breaths, then let the breathing go at its natural pace. Feel your body for a few seconds: feel the rise and fall near your diaphragm; feel your spine and back; feel the air come in your nose, down into your lungs, and then leave your body. Be as still as possible. Then concentrate on the now: not your posture, not your breathing, not bills you have to pay, not a problem from work, not what is in front of you, nothing. Do not concentrated on any particular object or try to control your thoughts. However, be mindful of everything that is around you and do not drift off. As a thought comes, let it pass, making no judgement. Do not struggle with it; just leave it alone. It will only stay as long as you attach to it. If thoughts recur, let them come and go as they please. This is not failure. Don't try to use zazen to suppress thoughts that need to occur. Essential to zazen is to awaken from distraction and return to right thought in each moment. After zazen your legs can become tense, stiff, and asleep. Kinhin, a form of walking after zazen, can be used to stretch them after or between long periods of time practicing zazen. It is zazen in motion: walking meditation. In Kinhin, everything above the waist is as in zazen. However, you walk in a slow motion with short steps, breathing synchronously with each step: in on one step and out on the next step. In Kinhin still strive for correct posture and correct thought. It is not a break from zazen, merely a different form. Concentration Concentrating and emptying the mind is very difficult, and when beginning, it can be maddeningly difficult. A good beginning for many people is to count the breaths. Focus your attention on each breath counting starting from one and going to ten, then repeating. Some people restart at one whenever they have a stray thought that enters the mind. Don't worry if you cannot get very high — some days you will not get past one. Eventually, this is abandoned when the concentration grows. This is real zazen, don't think of it as practice for the real thing. When a thought enters your mind, picture it floating away as a cloud or as if on a river. This helps some people to not attach to thoughts and more freely let go. If you are having trouble clearing the mind of random thoughts, another technique is whenever a though enters the mind, try to think of as many related thoughts as quickly as you can. You will soon run out of related thoughts and the mind will become blank. Over time you wear your mind down and then can truly concentrate on the self in the now. Since we are social animals, group activity is important to us, as well as individual meditation. Try to find a meditation center near you to speak and learn from others. It will also keep you motivated for the entire time you practice zazen. Zen is practiced in more than zazen; Zen is practiced in daily life by letting moments come and go as they are and living in each of those moments. Learn this through zazen and try to apply it to all moments. [[ More Pictures of Positions: Full-lotus, Full-lotus from angle, Half-lotus, Burmese, Sitting-bench ]]

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Have you even practiced Zazen? If not, will you now try? Yes, I have practiced before. 43% No, but I will try. 39% No, and I will not try. 16% Votes: 114 Results | Other Polls

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collapsing your brain's waves to slow alpha and rythmic theta waves alternate reference Burmese position full-lotus position half-lotus position natural S-curve cushions piled between your feet small bench position of the hands Full-lotus Full-lotus from angle Half-lotus Burmese Sitting-be nch Also by jjayson