What is zen?
Zen is awakening to the dynamic reality of the present moment.
What is that present moment?
Is it this linear time?
It is this here and now and that now that we are referring to is the Eternal Now which
is boundless and timeless.
How do we arrive at this?
Through the practice of zen meditation, one can experience that point of stillness.
And there are three very simple elements of practice, which when followed correctly will
lead you to the three fruits of the practice.
These three elements are: posture, breathing and stilling the mind.
Our main focus here is sitting meditation or "zazen."
First of all, it is very important to be fully grounded on the floor, or on a mat, and this
can be done by sitting on a cushion with your back straight.
It is almost like the ear, shoulder and hip are aligned together
with the nose and navel in one line.
Or you can just imagine a string running from the head all the way to the abdomen.
A helpful way of coming to the center is by swaying back and front.
And then, sideways.
Why is there an emphasis of keeping the back straight?
It follows that when you are sitting straight, you can breathe rightly and then bring the
mind to stillness.
You may sit in the Full Lotus,
Half Lotus,
Quarter Lotus,
Burmese Position
Or sit on a bench,
Or simply kneel down on your cushion or two cushions
Or you can also turn you cushion in a different direction so you are on a more elevated position.
If these are not at all possible because of physical constraints, you can sit on a chair
by simply sitting midway.
And at resting at the back of the chair.
And make sure your feet are flat on the ground.
If you have found a comfortable posture, I will now show you what to do with your hands.
We put our hands in the following position.
Put your left hand on top of your right hand with the palms facing up, and the thumbs lightly
touching each other.
Tuck your chin in, slightly, without bowing.
Be sure to keep the head erect.
Now, what do we do with our eyes?
We keep our eyes half open, half closed.
That way, we do not imagine things. So in the practice of zen, there is a great emphasis
on keeping the eyes half open, half closed, so we see reality as it is.
Rest your tongue on the upper palette of the mouth, just at the back of the upper teeth.
This will help in avoiding to swallow your saliva when you are sitting.
Now we go to the second element of the practice, which is the breath.
What do you do with your breathing?
For beginners, we usually recommend simply the counting of the breath.
So you take a deep breath, or even just a normal one.
Breathing in...
And then from the breathing in to the breathing out, there is a pause there. So take a few
pause, probably for a second or two seconds.
And then as you breath out, silently count "one" to yourself.
And then again, from the breathing out to the breathing in, there is a pause.
Then breathe in, and as you breathe out
count "two" silently.
And so you go on until you reach number 10.
The counting is always on the out breath.
It can happen that, as you are counting, you can go beyond number 10. If you notice yourself
doing that, just simply go back to number one.
Another extreme is getting stuck at a certain number.
If you notice yourself counting, "Two, and two, and two..." Just go back again to number
one.
The third element, then, is
the stilling of the mind.
What happens when you are sitting is that even if you are counting the breath,
the mind never stops.
There is that expression of the "monkey mind."
So how does one still the mind?
Look at yourself as a mountain.
And a mountain is usually depicted with clouds hovering over the mountain.
Treat your thoughts like clouds.
Those clouds never stay there.
So you neither pursue the thought, nor reject the thought.
Just simply come back to the breath.
After 25 minutes of sitting, we have what we call "kinhin" or walking meditation.
Walking meditation is not a breakaway from zen meditation, or sitting meditation.
Rather it is a continuation of the sitting meditation.
It is very simple. Clasp your thumb with the four fingers, put it on your sternum, and
put the left hand on top of your right hand.
Start walking as naturally as you can.
And this time you have to keep your eyes open.
Walk with the pace of the person in front of you.
Do not look around and start wondering who is in the room with you.
Walk for five minutes. And then after five minutes, the clappers will be sounded, and
you will walk briskly back to your places.
It is very important to sit every day. Even for just a few minutes.
Find a comfortable place, and remember the three most important pointers for sitting
in zen meditation:
Posture, breathing and silencing the mind.