zazen

 Zazen

what is Zazen?

Zazen is doing nothing. We are however used to constantly doing something. “To do” something without goal or purpose seems an unnecessary waste of time to us. Activity gives us the feeling of continuity regardless of the actual sense or nonsense of our actions. Therefore we prefer to engage in thousands of other things rather than starting with Zazen. Most of our problems are rooted in the inability to sit silently. Particularly western people are very restless. We waste our live in endless activities. Our mind never quietens. We are carried away in an never ending cycle of events. Unaware of the deeper motives of our actions, we remain involved in an endless chain of cause and reaction.

What are you doing?

One day seeing Yakusan sitting in Zazen, Sekito asked him: “What are you doing?”

Yakusan answered: “I’m not doing anything at all.”
Sekito said: “In that case, you are sitting idly.”
Yakusan replied: “If I were sitting idly, the I would be doing something.”
Sekito asked: “You say you are not doing anything. What is this ‘not doing’?”
Yakusan replied: “Not even the ten thousand sages know.”

Zazen is stopping

Zazen is stopping. But usually we are ready to do this only if we find that our motives and actions do not lead to the desired success. We rather tend to project our thoughts and we do things to make impressions on others. We want to be seen in certain ways by others. But in this way we are constantly looking on others, loosing ourselves. As long as one does not know oneself, one wants to become something or is imagining to be something and is disappointed if one is not loved.

Zazen is to be here and now

Zazen is not goal-oriented, it is without purpose and without supportive devices. Zazen is observation and let go. Zazen is to be here and now. However, we experience the present moment only once our consciousness is free from the processes of thought and identification. It is not the achieving of a goal, but the state of being awake, which then has it’s own meaning.

 (Zazen Stories

The Zen teacher’s dog loved his evening romp with his master. The dog would bound ahead to fetch a stick, then run back, wag his tail, and wait for the next game. On this particular evening, the teacher invited one of his brightest students to join him – a boy so intelligent that he became troubled by the contradictions in Buddhist doctrine.

“You must understand,” said the teacher, “that words are only guideposts. Never let the words or symbols get in the way of truth. Here, I’ll show you.”

With that the teacher called his happy dog.

“Fetch me the moon,” he said to his dog and pointed to the full moon.

“Where is my dog looking?” asked the teacher of the bright pupil.

“He’s looking at your finger.”

“Exactly. Don’t be like my dog. Don’t confuse the pointing finger with the thing that is being pointed at. All our Buddhist words are only guideposts. Every man fights his way through other men’s words to find his own truth.”)

Awareness without anticipation

Zazen is direct seeing into the nature of one’s own being. There is no conception, no object, over which one meditates. Our brain forms and stores emotional, conceptual and graphical samples and interprets them. Zazen is awareness without anticipation. All interpretations are the attempt to derive the future from the past. This way we miss the direct perception of the world. To let go of accumulated knowledge seems dangerous to us, because it means the end of routine and security.

Zazen is silence, stability and openness. The body is like a mountain, the spirit is like the sky. If too many thoughts are clouding the perception, we not only loose contact with ourselves, we also loose compassion and humanity. But even when it is cloudy, the sun is shining behind the clouds. If thoughts and emotions are calming down, we start remembering the nature of ourselves. Like undisturbed water, our consciousness returns to it’s natural state.

Zazen is not an auto-hypnotic technique and has nothing to do with any kind of visualizations. The awareness is wide and open and not focused in any way. It is not pondering and wandering around terms or phantasies. Zazen means to become aware of the film which is playing on the screen of our mind, seeing thoughts come and go without judgment or fixation.

Zazen is not asceticism. Zazen is not a dry and serious affair. Zazen is a play, the highest play you can play, alone or with others.

Zazen is returning to the source, becoming intimate with oneself.

( Martial arts ..

There is the story of a young martial arts student who was under the tutelage of a famous master.

One day, the master was watching a practice session in the courtyard. He realized that the presence of the other students was interfering with the young man’s attempts to perfect his technique.

The master could sense the young man’s frustration. He went up to the young man and tapped him on his shoulder.

“What’s the problem?” he inquired.

“I don’t know”, said the youth, with a strained expression.

“No matter how much I try, I am unable to execute the moves properly”.

“Before you can master technique, you must understand harmony. Come with me, I will explain”, replied the master.

The teacher and student left the building and walked some distance into the woods until they came upon a stream. The master stood silently on the bank for several moments. Then he spoke.

“Look at the stream,” he said. “There are rocks in its way. Does it slam into them out of frustration? It simply flows over and around them and moves on! Be like the water and you will know what harmony is.”

The young man took the master’s advice to heart. Soon, he was barely noticing the other students around him. Nothing could come in his way of executing the most perfect moves.)

 The Practice of Zazen

Zazen can be practiced alone or in a group.

In a calm room, one chooses a place where one feels comfortable and can stay silent throughout the sitting. 

Before one begins to sit, it is good to relax by shaking, stretching or other body exercises. One’s clothes should be loose, in order to breathe freely. As a beginner, one should not struggle to sit for an uncomfortably long time. It is good to start off with half an hour and to gradually extend the time of sitting intuitively.

Usually one sits in the half lotus position on a cushion facing a neutral wall or looking ahead into an open space. A Zafu cushion filled with Kopak or buckwheat has the right hardness, so that one neither sinks nor sits unpleasantly hard. As a substitute, one can also use a folded blanket to sit on. A blanket or a soft carpet on the floor provides added comfort as well as protection against the cold. It is necessary to sit straight up with the knees touching the ground so that the spinal column stands comfortably in a vertical position. One sits on the front section of the cushion and crosses one’s legs.

In the full lotus position the left foot is placed on the right thigh and the right foot on the left thigh. Since however in the west we are not accustomed to sitting like this, the half lotus position is recommended as an easier alternative. This posture requires that only the right foot be placed on the left thigh.

If one sits properly upright, both knees should touch the ground. It is important to realize that it is not necessary to torture oneself in any way! The form just serves to enable one to sit freely. Asceticism or other ideals have nothing to do with Zen. If the half lotus position is impossible, one can cross one’s legs without putting one foot on the high of the other one. If even that is impossible, other alternatives are to sit on a meditation bench or to sit on a cushion in a kneeling position. Those who are unable to sit on the ground can sit in a chair while meditating.

Ultimately the search for the right way to sit should be guided by trusting our own senses. If the body is balanced it carries itself and one is able to sit quietly, and there is no reason to do anything, outwardly or inwardly. It is important not to lean upon anything and to find a relaxed and strain free attitude. The back is held naturally and the shoulders are relaxed. The arms fall easily and freely, a little away from the body. The head is held upright and the chin sits is relaxed and a little back. The hands rest underneath the navel,whereby the left hand rests in the right hand, so that the middle joints of the fingers lie on top of each other. The thumbs touch and the view is soft and directed about a meter before one towards the ground. One’s half-closed eyes do not look at anything in particular, even if one sees everything intuitively! The view goes inward. One’s mouth is closed.

The Breath

While sitting the breath is not manipulated. If one sits correctly, breathing occurs in a natural way by itself. After a short time a natural rhythm arises, the body’s center of gravity is shifted downward and the breath flows gently on it’s own. After exhaling deeply the inhalation follows completely naturally. Zazen means to see the reality of one’s existence,without interpreting it. The observer is not identified with the observed. The perception is direct. The mind is like a mirror. The internal processes are observed without judgment. Thoughts come and go like clouds. Neither does one try to hold thoughts, nor does one suppress them. They are guests, coming and going. Although they are present, one is free of them.

The Spirit

The spirit flows freely without holding on to anything. The journey is completely open. Eased and open one enters with the whole being, without spending energy. Our memory constantly projects new movies onto the internal canvas. If you find yourself lost in thoughts, just let go. As if before a mirror, everything passes by. Here there is no work to do, no right or wrong, no confusion. The awareness is total, without judgment. The heart and the mind are quiet. Without conceptions of space and time one is here now. Simply sitting, and that’s it. One is free and at the same time conditioned by everything.

The first step is to remember one’s own nature and get rooted therein. If one becomes capable of observing thoughts and feelings in one’s everyday life, one becomes independent of the form of sitting. Without hunting for things, one plays an active part in day to day life. Out of the polarity between silence and action contrasts and contradictions appear in a new light. From this arises an insight into the mutual interdependence of all appearances, compassion, an intelligence of the heart, and a great liberty.

Truth is a land without highways and there are no absolute claims. No organization, no believes, no dogmas, no priests, no philosophical knowledge and no psychological techniques can help us to know ourselves and to be ourselves. We have to realize truth through the mirror of our relationships and by watching the content of our mind. The uniqueness of mans life lies not in second hand knowledge which books, traditions or symbols supply, but in the total freedom of all of this.

Source: “Zazen,” from artedojo.com

[excerpted from the Treasury of Luminosity, also published in "The Art of Just Sitting: Essential Writings on the Zen Practice of Shikantaza" second edition, edited by John Daido Loori roshi, Wisdom Publications, 2004]

( A story ...

“Master, I wish to become your disciple,” said the man.

“Why?” replied the hermit.

The young man thought for a moment.

“Because I want to find God.”

The master jumped up, grabbed him by the scruff of his neck, dragged him into the river, and plunged his head under water.

After holding him there for a minute, with him kicking and struggling to free himself, the master finally pulled him up out of the river. The young man coughed up water and gasped to get his breath. When he eventually quieted down, the master spoke.

“Tell me, what did you want most of all when you were under water.”

“Air!” answered the man.

“Very well,” said the master.

“Go home and come back to me when you want God as much as you just wanted air.”)

Sitting is the way to clarify the ground of experiences and to rest at ease in your Actual Nature. This is called "the display of the Original Face" and "revealing the landscape of the basic ground".

Drop through this bodymind and you will be far beyond such forms as sitting or lying down. Beyond considerations of good or bad, transcend any divisions between usual people and sages, pass beyond the boundary between sentient beings and Buddha.

Putting aside all concerns, shed all attachments. Do nothing at all. Don't fabricate any things with the six senses.

Who is this? Its name is unknown; it cannot be called "body", it cannot be called "mind". Trying to think of it, the thought vanishes. Trying to speak of it, words die.

It is like a fool, an idiot. It is as high as a mountain, deep as the ocean. Without peak or depths, its brilliance is unthinkable, it shows itself silently. Between sky and earth, only this whole body is seen.

The mind is like the ocean waters, the body like the waves. There are no waves without water and no water without waves; water and waves are not separate, motion and stillness are not different. So it is said, "A person comes and goes, lives and dies, as the imperishable body of the four elements and five aggregates."

Zazen is going right into the Ocean of Awareness, manifesting the body of all Buddhas. The natural luminosity of mind suddenly reveals itself and the original light is everywhere. There is no increase or decrease in the ocean and the waves never turn back.

Thus Buddhas have arisen in this world for the one Great Matter of teaching people the wisdom and insight of Awakening and to give them true entry. For this there is the peaceful, pure practice of sitting. This is the complete practice of self-enjoyment of all the Buddhas. This is the sovereign of all samadhis. Entering this samadhi, the ground of mind is clarified at once. You should know that this is the true gate to the Way of the Buddhas.

"Zazen is like coming home and sitting at ease." 

Zazen is understanding your own nature. 

An old master said, "When confusion ceases, clarity arises; when clarity arises, wisdom appears; and when wisdom appears, Reality displays itself."

Do not become arrogant, conceited, or proud of your understanding of the Teachings; that is the way of those outside of the Way and of usual people. 

Do nothing at all. This is the way to study Zen.

Do not use the Dharma for your own profit. Do not use the Way to try to make yourself important. This is the most important point to remember.

Teaching is found in Zen but it is not the usual teaching. Rather, it is a direct pointing, just expressing the Way, speaking with the whole body. 

Although we speak of "practice", it is not a practice that you can do. 

Zazen is also not based upon discipline, practice, or wisdom. These three are all contained within it.

Wisdom is usually understood to be clear discernment. In zazen, all knowledge vanishes of itself. Mind and discrimination are forgotten forever. The wisdom-eye of this body has no discrimination but is clear seeing of the essence of Awakening. 

Drop mind, intellect and consciousness, leave memory, thinking, and observing alone. 

"Just-sitting is all you need."

Now think of what is without thought. How can you think of it? Be Before Thinking. This is the essence of zazen.