Zen Meditation

Zazen Meditation Posture

Classic postures for meditation all involve a stable three-point base, but it is important to recognize that posture per se is not a \"show stopper\" for Zen meditation. Do not force yourself into a posture that may harm your body.

The classic sitting posture is the \"full lotus\" in which one sits on the floor with each foot placed on the opposite thigh. You can try this if you are extremely limber or adept in hatha yoga. You will find the sitting postures almost hopeless without sitting on a cushion or folded blanket to get your buttocks above the floor. In any sitting posture, you should be sitting on no more than the front half of the cushion.

As noted earlier, there are specific cushions designed for meditation. The Japanese use circular cushions they call zafus. The Tibetans use square cushions. However, any cushion or a folded blanket will work. Just find a comfortable seat.

The \"half lotus,\" in which one foot (either one) is on the opposite thigh and the other foot is resting on the floor, is both less symmetric and less stable than the full lotus. However, most of us find it easier to sit on the front of a cushion with our legs crossed and our knees resting on the floor in front of us.

Kneeling is a stable posture that many people find useful as an exclusive position or as a change from the sitting position. A common approach is to set the meditation cushion perpendicular to the floor and under the buttocks with the feet pressing against the cushion from both sides. If your thighs are limber, you can set the cushion parallel to the floor for greater stability. Kneeling benches slope from back to front and are placed over the legs and under the buttocks.

You can also sit on the front part of a chair without using its back, stand, or lie flat on the back. Persons with physical disabilities should find a position that is as comfortable and as stable as possible and use it.

The spine should be held by gravity in a gentle s-curve above the three-point base. One approach to positioning the spine is to thrust forward from the diaphragm while pulling the head back and tucking the chin so the eyes are slightly downcast and the nose is in line with the navel. In this position, the spine is given a gentle stretch and the chest is kept open.

The arms and shoulders should be kept as relaxed as possible. Flap the arms about and let them fall into the lap with palms up one on top of the other. The ends of the thumbs are touched together making an ellipse. The arms should be positioned so that the shoulders are completely relaxed with the shoulders neither held up nor bent forward. Each of us has a different arm length, and this effects where we position our hands to keep our shoulders tension-free.

Touch the lips together without pressure, and touch the tongue lightly to the roof of the mouth.

The eyes are kept relaxed, unfocused, and preferably open. Open and close the eyelids several times, and then let them fall where they may. Usually this is slightly open. Then let the focus of eyes relax until they see no identifiable object. When the eyes are soft or unfocused, if possible, gently open the eyes without creating tension and keep them unfocused.

For a few moments experience the body and its sensations directly just as they are without describing what is happening, commenting on it, or making any judgments.

Zazen Meditation Breathing

Now pay attention to the breath. Steadily breathe in through the nose, down to the diaphragm, and out through the nose without any tension. Do this several times, and then let the breath breathe itself.

Experience briefly the body and breath just as they are without descriptions, opinions, or commentary.

At first you may find that counting your breaths helps to focus attention while meditating. Silently count one as you first inhale, and with each subsequent breath add one to your silent counting until you reach ten. Then begin again at one. The purpose of your counting is to begin focusing your attention on breathing rather than your other thoughts. If you loose count, simply return to one and begin again.

You may also wish to try other means of focusing on your breathing by concentrating on the sensation of inhaling and exhaling upon your nostrils. Or you may focusing on the sensation of your lungs filling and emptying as you breathe.

Over time, as your mind learns to quiet down and become more receptive, focusing your attention on the breath and developing a detached awareness of the various sensations, feelings and imagery that arise in the mind will naturally involve less conscious effort. If tools such as breath counting impede practice, they should be discontinued. We suggest that you discuss this issue at the appropriate time with an instructor.

Zazen Meditation Attention

Attend to the thoughts and emotions that come and go in your mind. Normally we interact with these thoughts and emotions by either amplifying and enhancing them or truncating and suppressing them. In either case, we pump energy into them. This energy constantly creates and maintains our lifeworld, the self.

In our meditation practice we neither amplify nor suppress thoughts and feelings. We simply experience them as they are, letting them arise, grow to maturity, and dissipate without interacting with them.

The energy we normally spend chasing our thoughts we now channel towards remaining in the present. We open our minds up, and let go of any distinction between the aware subject, the process of being aware, and the object of awareness. We remain totally in the present just as it is without leaping into the past or future.

Throughout our lives, our mind has been conditioned to turn what is here into things. During meditation we break this habit by not attaching to the \"thing-making\" spasms of our mind.

Simply let thoughts and feelings come and go. Stay in the present just as it is without \"thinging it up.\"

Relax, and become awareness.

Kinhin or Walking Meditation

In order to rest and stretch our legs between periods of stationary meditation, we practice walking meditation.

In the formal version of waking meditation, the head, shoulders, back, eyes, breath, and awareness are as in sitting meditation. The hands can be held as in sitting meditation. Alternatively, one can make a fist of one hand, tucking the thumb inside the fist, and positioning the fist in the center of the chest at heart height. Place the other hand palm down on top of the fist, and hold the elbows at the same height as the fist with the forearms parallel to the floor.

The walking is a slow continuous motion with short steps. We breathe synchronously with our steps, usually breathing in on one step and out on the next.

The length of individual meditation periods should vary with need and opportunity.

When meditating alone, pick a length that is comfortable, but pushes the comfort zone. Periods of around a half-hour work for many people.

When meditating by yourself or with others, it is a good idea not to go beyond forty-five minutes without a break to rest the legs, unless you are comfortable with such longer periods.

Preparations for Sitting Meditation

The basis of Zen meditation is to adopt a posture of body and mind (viewed as inseparable) that allows one to remain comfortably (relatively anyway) for long periods of time without expending significant amounts of energy.

Many who practice Zen mediation use a sitting cushion or \"zafu.\" The zafu is cylindrical in shape, fairly stiff, and roughly a foot in diameter. Others use a kneeling bench or \"seiza\" that allows them to kneel over their legs.

If you want to meditate while sitting on the floor and do not have an appropriate cushion, you can fold and stack some blankets. Or if you initially find it more comfortable, you can sit on a hard chair that allows you to plant both feet firmly on the floor.

Select a corner in which to meditate away from distracting devices such as radios and telephones. Find a time when other people will not interrupt your practicing.

Before meditating, dress in loose clothing and be sure to remove your shoes.

Material taken from
http://www.zenspace.org/site/Zen_Practice.html