Zazen

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Zazen

Zazen (??; pinyin

Pinyin

Pinyin, more formally Hanyu pinyin, is the most commonly used Romanization system for Standard Mandarin. Hanyu is the Chinese Language, and pinyin means "phonetics", or more literally, "spelling sound" or "spelled sound"....
or tso-chan Wade-Giles

Wade-Giles

Wade-Giles , sometimes abbreviated Wade, is a Romanization system for the Mandarin Chinese language used in Beijing. It developed from a system produced by Thomas Francis Wade in the mid-19th century, and reached settled form with Herbert Giles' Chinese language-English language dictionary of 1892....
) is at the heart of Zen

Zen

Zen is a school of Mahayana Buddhism, referred to in Chinese as Ch?n. Ch?n is itself derived from the Sanskrit Dhyana, which means "meditation" ....
Buddhist

Buddhism

Buddhism is a family of beliefs and practices considered by most to be a religionand is based on the teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as "The Buddha" , who was born in what is today Nepal....
practice. The aim of zazen is just sitting, "opening the hand of thought". This is done either through koan

Koan

A koan is a narrative, dialogue, question, or statement in the history and lore of Ch?n Buddhism, generally containing aspects that are inaccessible to rationality understanding, yet may be accessible to intuition ....
s, Rinzai's primary method, or whole-hearted sitting (shikantaza

Shikantaza

is a Japanese language term for zazen introduced by Dogen Zenji and associated most with the Soto school of Zen Buddhism, but which also is "the base of all Zen disciplines." The term is believed to have been first used by Dogen's teacher Tiantong Rujing, and it literally means, "nothing but precisely sitting ." In other words Dogen means by th...
), the Soto

Soto

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Zazen (??; pinyin

Pinyin

Wade-Giles

Zen

Zen is a school of Mahayana Buddhism, referred to in Chinese as Ch?n. Ch?n is itself derived from the Sanskrit Dhyana, which means "meditation" ....
Buddhist

Buddhism

Koan

Shikantaza

Soto

Linji

L?nj? Y?xu?n was the founder of the Rinzai school of Ch?n Buddhism during Tang Dynasty China. Linji was born into a family named Xing in Caozhou , which he left at a young age to study Buddhism in many places....
and Caodong

Caodong

C?od?ng is a China Zen Buddhism sect founded by Tung-shan and his Dharma-heirs in the 9th century. Some attribute the name "C?od?ng" as a union of "Dongshan" and "Caoshan" from one of his Dharma-heirs, Caoshan Benji; however, the "Cao" much more likely came from C?oxi , the "mountain-name" of Huineng, the Sixth Ancestor of Chan, as Caosh...
schools, respectively.) Once the mind is able to be unhindered by its many layers, one will then be able to realize one's true Buddha nature. In Zen Buddhism, zazen (literally "seated meditation

Meditation

Meditation is a mental discipline by which one attempts to get beyond the reflexive, "thinking" mind into a deeper state of relaxation or awareness....
") is a meditative discipline practitioners perform to calm

Samatha

Vipassana

Vipassana or vipasyana in the Buddhist tradition means insight into the nature of reality. A regular practitioner of Vipassana is known as a Vipassi ....
into the nature of existence

Shunyata

Sunyata, ??????? , Su??ata , stong pa nyid , K?ng/Ku, ? , Gong-seong, ?? , qo?usun meaning "Emptiness" or "Voidness", is a characteristic of phenomena arising from the fact that the impermanent nature of form means that nothing possesses essential, enduring identity ....
and thereby gain enlightenment (satori

Satori

is a Japanese Buddhist term for enlightenment . The word literally means "understanding". Satori translates into a flash of sudden awareness, or individual Enlightenment....
).

The posture of zazen is seated, with folded legs and hands, and an erect but settled spine. The legs are folded in one of the standard sitting styles (see below). The hands are folded together into a simple mudra

Mudra

A mudra is a symbolic or ritual gesture in Hinduism and Buddhism. While some mudras involve the entire body, most are performed with the hands and fingers....
over the belly. In many practices, one breathes from the hara
Dantian

Dantian, Dan Tien or Tan t'ien literally means "cinnabar or red field" and is loosely translated as "elixir field". It is described as an important focal point for internal meditative techniques and refers specifically to the physical center of gravity located in the abdomen three finger widths below and two finger widths behind...
(the center of gravity in the belly) and the eyelids are half-lowered, the eyes being neither fully open nor shut so that the practitioner is not distracted by outside objects but at the same time is kept awake.

History and tradition

Long periods of zazen, usually performed in groups at a zendo
Zendo

Zendo , or Sembutsuj?, is a Japanese language term translating roughly as "meditation hall". In Zen Buddhism, the zendo is a spiritual dojo where zazen is practiced....
(meditation hall), may alternate with periods of kinhin

Kinhin

Kinhin , in Zen, is the walking meditation that is practiced between long periods of the sitting meditation known as zazen.Practitioners walk clockwise around a room while holding their hands in shashu ....
(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, Zen practitioners perform a gassho bow to their seat, to fellow practitioners and to the teacher.

In Japan, seated zazen is traditionally performed on a mat called a zabuton
Zabuton

A zabuton is a Japanese cushion for sitting. The kanji characters ??? literally translated are "seat-cloth-sphere". The zabuton is the everyday cushion found in homes and used for eating, watching television, reading at the kotatsu, and other daily activities....
while sitting on a cushion called a zafu
Zafu

A zafu is a round cushion, about 35 cm in diameter, and often about 20 cm high, when fluffed. Although in U.S. English, zafu is often translated as "sewn seat", that is not the meaning of the Japanese kanji....
. The common positions used to sit on the zafu are:

Kekkafuza (full-lotus
Lotus position

The lotus position is a cross-legged sitting posture originating in meditative practices of ancient India, in which the feet are placed on the opposing thighs....
)
Hankafuza (half-lotus)
Burmese (a cross-legged posture in which the ankles are placed together in front of the sitter)
Seiza
Seiza

Seiza is the Japanese term for the traditional formal way of sitting in Japan....
(a kneeling posture using a bench or zafu
Zafu

A zafu is a round cushion, about 35 cm in diameter, and often about 20 cm high, when fluffed. Although in U.S. English, zafu is often translated as "sewn seat", that is not the meaning of the Japanese kanji....
)

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.

Methods

Very generally speaking, zazen practice is taught in one of three ways.

Concentration
Koan
Koan

A koan is a narrative, dialogue, question, or statement in the history and lore of Ch?n Buddhism, generally containing aspects that are inaccessible to rationality understanding, yet may be accessible to intuition ....
Introspection
Shikantaza
Shikantaza

is a Japanese language term for zazen introduced by Dogen Zenji and associated most with the Soto school of Zen Buddhism, but which also is "the base of all Zen disciplines." The term is believed to have been first used by Dogen's teacher Tiantong Rujing, and it literally means, "nothing but precisely sitting ." In other words Dogen means by th...
(just sitting)

Shikantaza is usually associated with the Soto

Soto

Soto Zen , or as it is known in Japan, is one of three sects of Zen in Japanese Buddhism. The other two are Rinzai school and Obaku sects. The sect was first established as the Caodong sect during the Tang Dynasty in China by Dongshan Liangjie in the 9th century, which Dogen Zenji then brought to Japan in the 13th century....
school, and koan practice with the Rinzai school. In reality many Zen communities use both methods depending on the teacher and students.

Concentration

The initial stages of training in zazen will usually emphasize concentration. By focusing on the breath at the hara
Dantian

Dantian, Dan Tien or Tan t'ien literally means "cinnabar or red field" and is loosely translated as "elixir field". It is described as an important focal point for internal meditative techniques and refers specifically to the physical center of gravity located in the abdomen three finger widths below and two finger widths behind...
, often aided by counting, one builds up the power of concentration, or joriki. At some Zen centers, the practice of mentally repeating a mantra

Mantra

A mantra can be defined as a sound, syllable, word, or group of words that are considered capable of creating transformation. Their use and type varies according to the school and philosophy associated with the mantra....
with the breath is used in place of counting breaths for beginners. In some communities, or sangha

Sangha

Sangha is a word in Pali or Sanskrit that can be translated roughly as "association" or "assembly," "company" or "community" with common goal, vision or purpose....
s, the practice is continued in this way until there is some initial experience of samadhi
Samadhi (Buddhism)

In Buddhism, samadhi is mental concentration or composing the mind.In the Pali literature, samadhi is found in the following contexts:* In the Noble Eightfold Path, "right concentration" is the eighth path factor....
or "one-pointedness" of mind. At this point the practitioner moves to one of the other two methods of zazen.

Koan Introspection

Having developed the power of concentration, the practitioner can now focus his or her attention on a koan as an object of meditation. Since koans are not solvable by intellectual reasoning, koan introspection is designed to shortcut the intellectual process leading to direct realization.

Shikantaza (just sitting)

Shikantaza is objectless meditation, in which the practitioner does not use any specific object of meditation, but uses the power developed in concentration to remain completely aware of all phenomena that arise and pass in the present moment.

Comparison with other practices in Buddhism

Concentration practice in Zen is likened to the practice of samatha

Samatha

Samatha , samatha or orthographically romanized to shamatha and is often translated as 'Calm Abiding' , comprises a suite, type or style of Buddhist meditation or concentration practices designed to enhance sustained voluntary attention, and culminates in an attention that can be sustained effortlessly and for hours on end....
(concentration) in other schools of Buddhism. One apparent difference is that the eyes remain open in zazen, whereas in the Theravada tradition they do not. Tibetan Buddhist practitioners keep their eyes open during samatha practice.

Concentration is foundational to most other forms of meditation in Buddhism. In actuality, all meditative practices, Buddhist and non-Buddhist, take concentration to execute, and therefore are concentration practices in and of themselves. Some teachers do not teach concentration as a separate practice, believing that it is developed through other practices.

Koan introspection and shikantaza are more likened to the vipashyana

Vipassana

Vipassana or vipasyana in the Buddhist tradition means insight into the nature of reality. A regular practitioner of Vipassana is known as a Vipassi ....
(insight) practice in Theravada

Theravada

Theravada...
, but are sometimes considered to be a condensation of vipashyana and samatha into a single practice. For this reason, shikantaza can also be referred to as samatha-vipashyana. Similarly, koan introspection, while leading to insight, requires an immense amount of concentration on the object of meditation (the koan).

Zazen

History and tradition

Methods

Comparison with other practices in Buddhism

See also

Further reading

External links