Zazen

In Zen Buddhism, zazen (literally "seated meditation"; Japanese: ? ?; simplified Chinese: ? ?; traditionalChinese: ??; pinyin: zu chn; WadeGiles: tso4-ch'an2) is a meditative discipline practitioners perform to calmthe body and the mind, and be able to concentrate enough to experience insight into the nature of existence andthereby gain enlightenment.

SignificanceZazen is considered the heart of Zen Buddhist practice. The aim ofzazen is just sitting, that is, suspending all judgmental thinking andletting words, ideas, images and thoughts pass by without gettinginvolved in them.

MethodsSettingIn Zen temples and monasteries, practitioners traditionally sit zazen asa group in a meditation hall, usually referred to as the zendo. Thepractitioner sits on a cushion called a zafu, which itself is usuallyplaced on top of a low, flat mat called a zabuton.Before taking one's seat, and after rising at the end of the period ofzazen, Zen practitioners perform a gassho bow to their seat, and asecond bow to fellow practitioners.The beginning of a period of zazen is traditionally announced byringing a bell three times (shijosho), and the end of a round by ringingthe bell either once or twice (hozensho).Long periods of zazen may alternate with periods of kinhin (walkingmeditation).

PostureThe posture of zazen is seated, with folded legs and hands, and an erectbut settled spine. The hands are folded together into a simple mudra over the belly. In many practices, thepractitioner breathes from the hara (the center of gravity in the belly) and the eyelids are half-lowered, the eyesbeing neither fully open nor shut so that the practitioner is neither distracted by, nor turning away from, externalstimuli.The legs are folded in one of the standard sitting styles:Zazen 2 Kekkafuza (full-lotus) Hankafuza (half-lotus) Burmese (a cross-legged posture in which the ankles are placed together in front of the sitter) Seiza (a kneeling posture using a bench or zafu)In addition, it is not uncommon for modern practitioners to sit zazen in a chair, often with a wedge/cushion on top ofthe chair seat so that one is sitting on an incline, or by placing a wedge behind the lower back to help maintain thenatural curve of the spine. While each of these styles are commonly taught today, Master Dogen recommended onlyKekkafuza and Hankafuza.

Types of zazenIn his book Three Pillars of Zen, Philip Kapleau says that practitioners in the Rinzai school face in, towards eachother with their backs to the wall, and in the Soto school, practitioners face the wall or a curtain.[2] Kapleau quotes

Hakuun Yasutani's lectures for beginners. In lecture four, Yasutani describes the five kinds of zazen: bompu, gedo,shojo, daijo, and saijojo (he adds the latter is the same thing as shikantaza).[3]InstructionVery generally speaking, zazen practice is taught in one of three ways.1. Concentration2. Koan Introspection3. Shikantaza (just sitting)Koan practice is usually associated with the Rinzai school and Shikantaza with the Soto school. In reality many Zencommunities use both methods depending on the teacher and students.

ConcentrationThe initial stages of training in zazen will usually emphasize concentration. By focusing on the breath at the hara,often aided by counting. This counting meditation is called susokukan, and has several variations. Through thispractice one builds up the power of concentration, or joriki. At some Zen centers, the practice of mentally repeating amantra with the breath is used in place of counting breaths for beginners. In some communities, or sanghas, thepractice is continued in this way until there is some initial experience of samadhi or "one-pointedness" of mind. Atthis point the practitioner moves to one of the other two methods of zazen.

Koan IntrospectionHaving developed awareness, the practitioner can now focus his or her consciousness on a koan as an object ofmeditation. Since koans are, ostensibly, not solvable by intellectual reasoning, koan introspection is designed toshortcut the intellectual process leading to direct realization of a reality beyond thought.ShikantazaShikantaza is a form of meditation, in which the practitioner does not use any specific object of meditation; rather,practitioners remain as much as possible in the present moment, aware of and observing what passes through theirminds and around them. Dogen says, in his Shobogenzo, "Sitting fixedly, think of not thinking. How do you think ofnot thinking? Nonthinking. This is the art of zazen."[4]