Zazen

"When you do Zazen, find a quiet place where you can sit without disturbances. It should be neither too dark nor too bright, warm in the winter and cool in the summer. The sitting place should be neat and clean".

"If possible, a statue of Manjushri Bodhisattva should be enshrined in the room. If there is none available, any statue or painting of a Buddha or a Bodhisattva is fine. Also, when possible, place an offering of flowers on the altar and burn incense".

For those of you who are not Buddhist, you can make a small adjustment. If you are a Christian then you can have a picture of Christ, a small cross, or a picture of The Virgin Mary if you are Catholic. Pictures of words from the Koran or indeed the Koran would be suitable for a Muslim or the Torah if you are Jewish. If you have no religious affiliation then just a quiet room with no paraphernalia will suffice.

"First we should practise consistently and regularly on a daily basis. Everyone should form - and try to live by - an intention to do some formal practise every day, even if it is only ten or fifteen minutes of sitting. Regularity is very important, that is hard, hard training".

From, Don't know mind. The Spirit of Korean Zen. By Richard Shrobe

Beginners who might feel intimidated by the question, "How much should I practise," should pay attention to what Shrobe is saying. Do not feel as I did for so long, in that if I only practise for ten or fifteen minutes that it wasn't good enough. We all have busy lives and Zen is not to make your life more busy or to create more stress for you. Rather it is for you to learn how to best deal with life. One should be mindful that suffering is part of life. Sadly it is unavoidable and therefore we sold not take it personally or be shocked when suffering incures. Still it is not to say that by practising Zen that therefore stress is eliminated. For this would be impossible as life is suffering. What it can do is to help deal with stress whenever it arises. Like the Chinese philosophy of the bamboo, we should learn not to be stiff like stone, but blow with the wind and bend to survive. SO it is ok to feel stress but one must be mindful and not let it rule your life. One must be careful and not develop a victim mentality of, "why me?" Why not you? You are nothing special and just the same as everyone else. That is just like Zen and meditation practise. Nothing special. Attach nothing extra or special to your practise and be mindful of each moment.
What comes after the next moment. The next moment. That's all you have. That's all we know we have for sure.

Mindfullness is a by product of meditation. It is perhaps the most important thing that I have learned from Zen practice.




BEGINNERS FIRST EXERCISE

Even though the title suggests that this exercise is for beginners, experts can use this to and this may be the only technique you may ever use. That's ok. If we do Zazen (Zazen means sitting meditation)

Sit in a position that feels comfortable to you. For information on how to sit click HERE
You can sit on a chair, lie down or just sit on the Zafu (cushion) with your ankles crossed.

As for your POSTURE

First of all as you breathe in count to one. As you breathe out count to two
Breathe in three and breathe out four. You are not counting out loud but inwardly with your breathe. Continue counting in this manner until you reach ten. Whenever you loose count (trust me you will) please just start at one again and continue as before. If you have time I would like you all to do this for twenty minutes. If not then even five, ten or fifteen will be sufficient. Remember that it is important to be consistent and even ten minutes a day is considered hard training.

Click HERE for more important information on how to sit and regulate the breathe.

The above picture is a portrait of my favorite author on Zen called Shunryu Suzuki. He wrote a book called Zen mind beginners mind and you can purchase it by clicking HERE
Suzuki is perhaps my most influential Zen teacher and I recommend this book for it's clarity and insightfullness. Also it is very informal and therefore very accessible to everyone.
It is easy to begin with beginners mind. But very difficult to keep it. By keeping to the spirit of Beginners mind I believe it stops one from becoming arrogant. Please take the time to read this remarkable book. It is remarkable because it is so ordinary.

Charters for Beginners Mind, by Shunryu Suzuki




If you have any questions or please do not hesitate to post a comment. I would love to hear from you. If you would like me to post a link to your Zen group or website I would be delighted to.

Related Web links:

Soto Zen
Belfast Zen
Ballymena Zen
Rinzai Zen