NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Zazen

Zazen (坐禅) is at the heart of Zen Buddhist practice. The aim of Zazen is just sitting opening the hand of thought. This is done either through koans, Rinzai's primary method, or whole-hearted sitting, the Soto sect's method. Once the mind is able to not be hindered by its many layers, it will then be able to realize its true Buddha nature. In Zen Buddhism, zazen (Japanese: literally "seated meditation") is a meditative discipline practitioners perform to calm the body and the mind and experience insight into the nature of existence. Kodo Sawaki sitting in zazen. ... Kodo Sawaki sitting in zazen. ... Kodo Sawaki practicing zazen Kodo Sawaki (Japanese: æ²¢æœ¨èˆˆé“, Sawaki KÅdÅ) (1880-1965) is considered by some to be the most important Japanese Zen master of the 20th century. ... Bodhidharma, woodblock print by Yoshitoshi, 1887. ... A replica of an ancient statue of Gautama Buddha, found from Sarnath, near Varanasi. ... Meditation is the practice of focusing the mind, often formalized into a specific routine. ... Samatha (PÄli; Sanskrit: Å›amatha), Tranquility or concentration meditation. ... VipassanÄ (Sanskrit: vipasyanÄ) is the practice of Insight Meditation. ...

During zazen, the hands are folded together into a simple mudra over the belly. In many practices, one breathes from the hara (the center of gravity in the belly) and the eyelids are half-lowered, the eyes being neither fully open nor shut so that the practioner is not distracted by outside objects but at the same time is kept awake. (The latter practice has its origins in a superstition where those who close their eyes during meditation are said to be in the hungry ghost cave of Black Mountain.) In Hinduism, a mudra (Sanskrit, literally seal) is a symbolic gesture made with the hand or fingers. ... Tanden (Japanese; 丹田; Chinese: Dāntián), which literally means red field, refers to the centre of gravity, located in the abdomen just below and behind the navel. ... The factual accuracy of this article is disputed. ... A common European superstition dictates that it is bad luck for a black cat to cross ones path. ... A hungry ghost is a kind of ghost associated with hunger common to many religions. ... Alternate meanings: Cave (disambiguation) This article is about natural caves; for artificial caves used as dwellings, such as those in north China, see yaodong. ...

History and Tradition

Long periods of zazen, usually performed in groups at a zendo (meditation hall), may alternate with periods of kinhin (walking meditation). The beginning of a zazen period is traditionally announced by ringing a bell three times (shijosho), and the end of a round by ringing the bell once (hozensho). Before and after sitting on the zafu, zen practitioners perform a gassho bow to the cushion, to fellow practitioners, and to the teacher. Zendo (禅堂, Chinese: Chántáng) is a Japanese term translating roughly as meditation hall. In Zen Buddhism, the zendo is a spiritual dojo where zazen (sitting meditation) is practiced. ... kinhin 經行 (jap. ...

In Japan, seated zazen is traditionally performed on a mat called a zabuton while sitting on a cushion called a zafu. The common positions used to sit on the zafu are: A zafu or zafubuton (jp. ...

In addition, it is not uncommon for modern practitioners to sit zazen in a chair, often with a wedge behind the lower back to help maintain the natural curve of the spine. A drawing of a girl sitting in the lotus position The Lotus Position (Sanskrit: Padmasanam -- lotus posture) is a cross-legged sitting posture which originated in representations and meditative practices of Hinduism. ...

Misconceptions about Zazen

To many in the West, zazen is an almost completely unfamiliar practice, which leaves an opportunity for many misconceptions to spring up. One common misconception is that zazen meditation entails the shutting out of all worldly stimuli in order to reach some special, superior state of mind. For example, in the film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, the character Li Mu Bai (李慕白) (played by Chow Yun Fat) describes reaching a frame of mind during meditation which is "pure light". While the zazen experience is inherently different for each practitioner, and such phenomena are not at all out of the question, such states of mind are not the goal of zazen. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Traditional: è‡¥è™Žè—é¾; Simplified: å§è™Žè—é¾™; Hanyu Pinyin: ) is a wuxia (martial arts and chivalry) film released in 2000. ... Chow Yun-Fat (周潤發, Jau1 Yeun6 Faat3, Pinyin: Zhōu Rùnfā) (born May 18, 1955 on Lamma Island, Hong Kong) is among a handful of internationally recognized screen actors that Hong Kong has ever produced, along with Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan. ...

However, to many who practice zazen there is a direct correlation between the cultivation of a focused state of mind and a relaxed body (Johanus Itten, Elements of Color) which is often achieved in martial art activities as well as Chinese, Japanese, and even Western practices of painting and calligraphy, for these are Fine Arts. In these arts the medium is unifying and technique must be "correct" therefore one has to begin with this "zanshin" state of being before executing the work of art, so that the work is executed with an almost certain action. This process takes "endless practice, and many mistakes that have to constantly be corrected in detail." Meditation to the zen practitioner does not take on a dogmatic theological pantheon of worship, but instead is considered the foundation of a rational and natural inquiry into the reality of nature. Enlightenment is theorized as a focused state of mind and a relaxed body that allows one to approximate certainty about the reality of nature. The arts in these cultures were often used as a way for perfecting this discipline, but were not meant to inflate the ego as a desire for greatness in the particular field that such practices occurred. Instead, it seems that they would use the practices to further their ability to meditate and reach a certain truth about nature. It is important to note that Zazen holds meditation as foundational and self evident and this has an interesting correlation to Western philosophy's a priori Rationalism, which stemmed from René Descartes' Meditations on First Philosophy. It is a particularly interesting position in human culture, but it does not necessarily resolve the problem of mind and solipsism in philosophy, however the practice is a cogent one and not to be misunderstood. Like western philosophy, it is a critical discipline. Rationalism, also known as the rationalist movement, is a philosophical doctrine that asserts that the truth can best be discovered by reason and factual analysis, rather than faith, dogma or religious teaching. ... For other things named Descartes, see Descartes (disambiguation). ... Meditations on First Philosophy (subtitled In which the existence of God and the real distinction of mind and body, are demonstrated), written by RenÃ© Descartes (1596 - 1650) and first published in 1641, expands upon Descartes philosophical system, which he first introduced in his Discourse on Method (1637). ... Solipsism (from the Latin ipse = self and solus = alone) is the epistemological belief that ones self is the only thing that can be known with certainty and verified (sometimes called egoism). ...

Contents

History and Tradition

Misconceptions about Zazen

See also

Further reading