INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE PRACTICE OF ZAZEN (SITTING MEDITATION)
This text was originally posted in alt.zen
This zazen FAQ is based (with modification) on the publication 'Shikantaza: An Introduction to Zazen' published by the Kyoto Soto-Zen Center. Some sectarian differences are noted under DIFFICULTIES AND EXPEDIENTS. The main text is minimalist in aiming to present what is most common in as many teaching lines as practicable. This is a working draft document. Comments are welcome for improving it.
TERMS
Gassho: (Korean: hapchang) see under HAND POSITIONS.
Hokkaijoin (Cosmic Mudra): see under HAND POSITIONS.
Isshu: see under HAND POSITIONS.
Kinhin: walking zazen.
Rinzai: a Japanese (Chinese: Lin-chi (Linji)) sect of Zen Buddhism.
Shashu: see under HAND POSITIONS.
Soto: a Japanese (Chinese: Tsao-tung (Caodong)) sect of Zen Buddhism.
Zafu: a small round cushion used as a seat in zazen.
Zabuton: see Zaniku.
Zaniku: a large reactangular flat cushion placed under the zafu which cushions the knees.
Zendo: a room or hall where zazen is practiced.
ZENDO MANNERS
In a zendo the altar is placed in the center of the room. Enter the zendo on the left side of the entry, left foot first. Gassho and bow to the altar. Walk forward across the room past the altar and go to a seat turning corners squarely (cross in front of the altar only during kinhin). Gassho and bow toward the seat, greeting the people to both sides. The people on both sides respond to greeting. Turn clockwise and face front. Gassho and bow to those directly across room, greeting them. They respond with a gassho-bow in greeting. Sit down on the zafu. Turn clockwise toward the wall. (If in a Soto style zendo, Rinzai style is to sit facing in from the wall.) Always turn or move clockwise as viewed from above the zendo.
HAND POSITIONS
Gassho is performed by placing the hands palm to palm slightly in front of the chest with the arms parallel to the floor.
Shashu is performed by placing the thumbtip of the left hand as close to the left palm as comfortable and making a fist around it. Place the fist in the center of the chest and cover it with the right hand. Keep the elbows away from the body with the forearms parallel to the floor.
Isshu is the same as shashu but with the left fist turned thumb side toward the chest. Left fist and thumb are parallel to the floor and not vertical as in shashu.
Hokkaijoin (Cosmic Mudra) is performed in the following manner. Place your right hand palm upward in your lap against the lower abdomen. Place the left hand palm upward on top of the right. The second joints of the middle fingers should be touching, and your fingers parallel. Raise the thumbs up opposite the fingers and touch the thumb tips lightly together; forming an oval between the thumbs and fingers. The thumb tips should join at the approximate level of the navel. In some Tibetan teaching lines the right hand is placed on top of the left.
SETTLING INTO THE POSTURE
Place a thick mat (zaniku or zabuton) in front of the wall and place a small round cushion (zafu) on it. Sit on it facing the wall. There are several positions for the legs. If not too cold sit with bare feet. Leave your wristwatch off.
The cross legged positions provide greatest stability. To sit in full lotus, place the right foot on the left thigh and then the left foot on the right thigh. To sit in half lotus place your left foot on your right thigh. Try to cross the legs firmly so that a stable tripod of support is provided by the knees and the base of the spine. The order of the crossing of the legs may be reversed. It is also possible to simply sit on the floor with on foreleg in front of the other or kneeling using a bench or a cushion. To sit in a chair, place the feet flat on the floor and use a cushion to elevate the seat so that the upper thighs fall away from the body and follow the rest of the applicable instructions.
Rest the knees firmly on the zaniku, straighten the lower back, push the buttocks outward and the hips forward, and straighten your spine. Pull in your chin and extend the neck as though to support the ceiling. The ears and shoulders should be in the same plane with the nose directly above the navel. Straighten the back and relax shoulders, back, and abdomen without changing posture.
Keep the mouth closed placing the tongue with the tip just behind the front teeth and the rest of the tongue as close to the roof of the mouth as comfortable. Keep the eyes at least slightly open cast downward at a 45 degree angle without focusing on anything. If closed you may slip into drowsiness or daydreaming.
Rest the hands palm up on the knees and take 2 or 3 deep abdominal breaths. Exhale smoothly and slowly with the mouth slightly open by pulling in on the abdominal wall until all air has been expelled and inhale by closing the mouth and breathing naturally. Hands still on the knees sway the upper half of the body left to right a few times without moving the hips. Sway forward and back. These swayings are at first larger and then smaller enabling you to find the point of balance of your posture.
Finally, place your right hand palm upward in your lap against the lower abdomen. Place the left hand palm upward on top of the right. The second joints of the middle fingers should be touching, and your fingers parallel. Raise the thumbs up opposite the fingers and touch the thumb tips lightly together; forming an oval between the thumbs and fingers. The thumb tips should join at the approximate level of the navel. Keep this shape carefully and gently, without tension. This hand position is called Hokkaijoin (Cosmic Mudra).
BREATH
Observe breathing during zazen, but do not try to manipulate the rhythm or depth of the breath. Breathe gently and silently through the nose without attempting to control or manipulate the breathing. Let the breath come and go naturally so that you forget all about it. Simply let long breaths be long and short ones short. On inhalation the abdomen expands naturally like a ballon inflating, while on exhalation simply let it deflate. There are some additional remarks about breathing under DIFFICULTIES AND EXPEDIENTS.
In some Rinzai and Tibetan teaching lines it is recommended that one feel a sense of strength in the abdomen in breathing, that the exhalation be done in a very slow smooth and gradual way or a very slight contraction of the anus on exhalation (this should be so slight it may be more felt as an intention than as a physical contraction) be performed. While these recom- mendations have their origin in energy yogas (Kundalini and Qigong) some Tibetan and Rinzai teachers recommend their use. Theravada and Soto teachers in general do not recommend this approach. Soto especially emphasizes just observing the breath as it is without trying to improve it in any way.
AWARENESS
Do not concentrate on any particular object or attempt to control thoughts, emotions, or any modification of consciousness. By simply maintaining proper posture and breathing the mind settles by itself without fabrication. When thoughts, feelings, etc. arise, do not get caught up by them or fight them. Simply permit any object of mind to come and go freely. The essential point is to always strive to wake up from distraction (thoughts, emotions, images, etc.) or dullness and drowsiness. Letting go of any thought is itself thinking non thinking.
ARISING FROM ZAZEN
Bow in gassho. Place hands on the knees and sway the body slightly and then more so. Take a few deep breaths and unfold the legs. Arise slowly especially if the legs are asleep and do not stand abruptly. Return your sitting place to its original condition. (Plump up the zafu and brush it off with your hand.)
KINHIN - WALKING ZAZEN
Place the hands in shashu (or isshu). Walk clockwise around the room so that your right shoulder is toward the altar in the center of the zendo. The posture from waist up is the same as in zazen. Walk taking a half step for each full breath, slowly, smoothly, and noiselessly, without dragging the feet. Always walk straight ahead and turn to the right.
Rinzai kinhin is often much faster and the pace may vary. Match your pace to that of the group.
DIFFICULTIES AND EXPEDIENTS
The art of right awareness may seem difficult and the description given above is idealized. If you are finding difficulties invent your own way. In zazen we each must find our own way. If you find you are struggling and need a suggestion as to what to do, it is possible to follow or count the breath among other things.
Counting the breath may be done on inhalations, exhalations or both depending on what you find useful. Count from one to ten and then simply start over again at one. Be aware of the count and the breath and try to maintain continuous awareness of both. If you find that you are constantly losing the count, try counting to five.
Following the breath is done by watching the rise with inhalation and fall with exhalation of the abdomen with each breath. The abdominal wall is viewed as a leaf slowly waving in response to the in and out breaths. Maintain awareness of the entire posture as much as possible and watch the breath reach and leave the lower abdomen.
Please note that opposite breathing (abdomen in on exhalation, out on inhalation) is a Taoist Qigong (energy yoga) method and is not appropriate to do with zazen since it has a specific, health related purpose.
Keizan Zenji recommends settling awareness in the abdomen if bothered by distracting thoughts and above the eyebrows or at the hairline if bothered by drowsiness. Others recommend watching contact of the air with the nostrils or upper lip if drowsy. Dogen Zenji mentions only the palm of the left hand as a point of concentration in difficulties. These are mentioned here only as examples of the expedient devices that have been adopted by others. Remember these are only for use in difficulty, the norm of awareness for zazen is to be awake without preference to everything in the universe regardless of whether it is inside or outside the body. Be awake to everything over and over again that is the essential art of zazen.
A SHORT ZEN GLOSSARY
Unless otherwise noted or obvious the Japanese form is given first. Note: the Pinyin romanization of Chinese will be used.
Ch = Chinese
J = Japanese
K = Korean
P = Pali
Skt = Sanskrit
Ango: (J) A period of practice and training typically 1-3 months long.
Arhat: (Skt) One free from the ten fetters to freedom.
Avidya: (Skt, P: Avijja) Ignorance, manifested as attachment to greed, anger, and delusion.
Bodhisattva: (Skt) a Buddha to be who may be delaying his/her own enlightenment to continue a practice benefitting all beings.
Buddha: (Skt) an enlightened one.
Gassho: (K: hapchang) a hand position in which palms are placed together vertically in front of the body. (See HAND POSITIONS in zazen FAQ.)
Hokkaijoin: Cosmic Mudra the oval hand position used in zazen.
Hondo: a formal hall for rituals and ceremonies. The altar is against a wall in a hondo.
Isshu: similar to shashu but with a horizontal fist. (See HAND POSITIONS in zazen FAQ.)
Karma: (Skt; Kamma P) The law of cause and effect. Actions have forseeable and unforseeable consequences.
Kensho: an experience of seeing into one's own nature.
Kinhin: walking zazen.
Koan: (Ch: kungan) literally, 'public record'. A record of pointing to enlightenment in an interaction in a Zen teaching context.
Short Example:
A monk asked Joshu, 'Does a dog have Buddha nature?' Joshu replied: 'Mu.' (literally: without or lacking) Nirvana: (Skt, P: Nibbana, J: Nehan) An aspect of the world expressed as omeness, stillness, and exhaustion of desires.
Rinzai: a Japanese (Ch: Linji) sect of Zen Buddhism.
Samsara: (Skt & P) An aspect of world expressed as differentiation, change, becoming, impermanence and desires.
Satori: an experience of enlightenment.
Sesshin: Literally to inspect the heart-mind, a period of intense practice, typically approximately a week.
Shashu: a hand position with the left fist vertically against the chest and covered with the right. (See HAND POSITIONS in zazen FAQ.)
Sodo: a formal hall for meditation, meals, and sleeping.
The altar is in the center of a sodo.
Soto: a Japanese (Ch: Caodong) sect of Zen Buddhism.
Sutra: (Skt; P: Sutta) The teaching discourses of the Buddhist canon, most are presented as the words of the historic Buddha.
Tathata: (Skt) Thusness, the as-it-is-ness of the world.
Tathagatha: (Skt) The thus-come-thus-gone one, an epithet of the Buddha.
Ten Fetters: (Skt: Samyojanas) Illusion of an ego, skepticism, belief in magic as solving the problem of life, sensory delusion, ill-will, desire for formed existence, desire for formless existence, arrogance, restlessness, and ignorance of the true nature of reality.
Wato: (K: Hwadu, Ch: Huatou) the head word of a koan, in the example under koan 'Mu'.
Yongmaeng Chongjin: (K) intensive retreat (more literally, "fearless practice").
Zafu: a small round cushion used as a seat in zazen.
Zabuton: see Zaniku.
Zaniku: a large reactangular flat cushion placed under the zafu which cushions the knees.
Zazen: (Ch: Zuochan) Sitting meditation. Zen: (K: Son; Ch: Chan) Meditation.
Zendo: (K: Sonbang) an informal hall for zazen is practice, which may combine the function and layout of a sodo and hondo