Just so you know ahead of time, this discusses a number of Buddhist concepts because Buddhism and mediation are very strongly connected. Anyways, enjoy.
Japanese Meditation Methods
by maximus242
Zazen Meditation
When the mind rests on nothing, true mind appears �€” Diamond Sutra
Zen is the practice of increasing awareness. Zen is about being here and now and being aware of what that is, Zen is about focusing the self on the present and using that focus to
better your life. Zazen meditation is the primary method of increase your focus and attention of what is happening here and now.
If one's body is straight, one's mind is easily straightened too. If one sits keeping one's body upright, one's mind does not become dull. One must be aware when one's mind runs around in distraction, or when one's body leans or sways, and allow body and mind to return to sitting upright �€” Dogen Zenji
There are four sitting postures in Zazen
* Kekkafuza (full-lotus)
* Hankafuza (half-lotus)
* Burmese (a cross-legged posture in which the ankles are placed together in front of the sitter)
* Seiza (a kneeling posture using a bench or zafu)
The regular sitting posture is full-lotus, which involves sitting on the floor with each foot resting on the opposite thigh, this is normally quite difficult to do unless you have practiced for a fairly long time, so most people do half-lotus instead.
This is essentially sitting with one foot on the opposite thigh and the other foot resting on the floor. Sitting on the floor can be rather uncomfortable in half or full lotus position, so many people use cushions instead. In Japan, circular cushions called zafus are used.
However its far easier to just sit on a cushion with your legs crossed and your knees resting on the floor in front of you. To get your spine in the correct posture, thrust your diaphragm forward and at the same time, pull your head back and tuck in your chin.
This will cause a slight S curve in your back and gently stretch your spine. If you do not have a cushion, a blanket will work just fine as well.
Allow your arms and shoulders to become completely relaxed, allow your arms to fall into your lap, your palms should be facing up. Have one palm on top of the other with the thumbs touching to make an ellipse.
Your shoulders must be completely relaxed, if your hands are placed to far then the shoulders will become tense, find the spot where your shoulders are most relaxed (diffrent arm lengths can mean one persons hands may be placed further or closer than someone elses).
Have your tongue touch the roof of your mouth. Allow your eyes to relax, keep them half open and have a de-focused view, don't focus on anything. Now breath through your nose, you want breath from the bottom of your lungs, your chest should not raise while breathing.
Allow your belly to expand as your breath in and depress as you breath out - this will begin to happen naturally when you are breathing from the bottom of your chest.
If you want to practice breathing, a good exercise is counting your breaths to 100, this will allow you to stay focused on your breathing and develop good internal breathing methods. In Zazen we allow thoughts to enter our mind rather than simply focusing on one, rather than trying to force thoughts, allow them to happen naturally.
Become aware of your thoughts, pay attention to them and view them impartially. Allow your thoughts and feelings to come and go without influencing or emphasising any particular thoughts.
Zazen is not "step-by-step meditation". Rather it is simply the easy and pleasant practice of a Buddha, the realization of the Buddha's Wisdom. The Truth appears, there being no delusion. If you understand this, you are completely free, like a dragon that has obtained water or a tiger that reclines on a mountain. The supreme law will then appear of itself, and you will be free of weariness and confusion. -Dogen Zenji
Kinhin
Walking meditation allows for you to stretch your legs and rest from doing seated meditation.
The positions of the limbs in walking meditation are the same as in seated meditation. Walking is done with slow and continuous steps, in a unending motion. Your breath in on one step and out on the next.
You can vary the amount of time spent doing Kinhin, when practicing alone - a good rule is to go as far as comfortable and then a little bit more when you become uncomfortable. A good time period is to do 30 minutes of Kehnin meditation.
Zen is the practice of building awareness of oneself and awareness of your daily life.
To study the way is to study the self
To study the self is to forget the self
To forget the self is to be enlightened
by all things of the universe.
To be enlightened by all things is to transcend
the distinction of self and other
and to go on in ceaseless enlightenment forever. -Dogen Zenji
You can practice by yourself or with others, repetitive practice is important in Zen meditation in order to increase your awareness.
Shikantaza
Shikantaza means just sitting, it was perfected by Dogen Zenji where the meditation itself is perfection. Shikantaza is a form of meditation with no specific goal or thought in mind. By just sitting, we allow the misconceptions to float away and allow our Buddah nature to be realized.
Skikantaza is based off the belief that mindfulness leads to insight.
Cultivation is not diffrent from authentication. So if we are practicing shikantaza correctly, we are practicing enlightenment itself.
Koans
Koans are often seen a sources of wisdom, something which can be used to gain insight. Koan is a insight, story, dialogue, question or statement in the history of Zen buddhism. Koans usually involve what legendary figures and sages say or do, Koans are seen as reflections from the enlightened state of a person.
Koans are based off of the meditation concept that concentration leads to absorption.
Some Zen meditation relies on focusing on a Koan in order to gain insights from it, Zen teachers may also use Koans to test the level of insight of their students.
Its important to note than in Zen, Koans are not considered meaningless or unanswerable, teachers expect a real answer from their students when asking about a Koan. Answers to a Koan can vary from teacher to teacher.
Although some Koan have one answer that is generally accepted, however no fixed answer to a Koan is accepted by all. The teacher is not looking for a specific answer per-se, rather they are looking for evidence that their disciple is grasping the use of the Koans in every day life.
Koan Practice
It is common for monks to concentrate on Koans in meditation and other activities as well. Their a particular emphasis on Koan practice in the Rinzai sect of Zen. You can gain insights into the meanings and practicality of a Koan from meditation on it.
Zen Master Joshu
無門曰、參禪須透祖師關、妙悟要窮心路絶。
In order to master Zen, you must pass the barrier of the patriarchs. To attain this subtle realization, you must completely cut off the way of thinking.
祖關不透心路不絶、盡是依草附木精靈。
If you do not pass the barrier, and do not cut off the way of thinking, then you will be like a ghost clinging to the bushes and weeds.
且道、如何是祖師關。
Now, I want to ask you, what is the barrier of the patriarchs?
只者一箇無字、乃宗門一關也。
Why, it is this single word “Mu.” That is the front gate to Zen.
遂目之曰禪宗無門關。
Therefore it is called the “Mumonkan of Zen.”
透得過者、非但親見趙州、便可與歴代祖師把手共行、眉毛厮結同一
眼見、同一耳聞。
If you pass through it, you will not only see Jõshû face to face, but you will also go hand in hand with the successive patriarchs, entangling your eyebrows with theirs, seeing with the same eyes, hearing with the same ears.
豈不慶快。
Isn’t that a delightful prospect?
莫有要透關底麼。
Wouldn’t you like to pass this barrier?
將三百六十骨節、八萬四千毫竅、通身起箇疑團參箇無字。
Arouse your entire body with its three hundred and sixty bones and joints and its eighty-four thousand pores of the skin; summon up a spirit of great doubt and concentrate on this word “Mu.”
晝夜提撕、莫作虚無會、莫作有無會。
Carry it continuously day and night. Do not form a nihilistic conception of vacancy, or a relative conception of “has” or “has not.”
如呑了箇熱鐵丸相似、吐又吐不出。
It will be just as if you swallow a red-hot iron ball, which you cannot spit out even if you try.
蕩盡從 前惡知惡覚、久久純熟自然内外打成—片、如唖子得夢、只
許自知。
All the illusory ideas and delusive thoughts accumulated up to the present will be exterminated, and when the time comes, internal and external will be spontaneously united. You will know this, but for yourself only, like a dumb man who has had a dream.
驀然打發、驚天 動地。
Then all of a sudden an explosive conversion will occur, and you will astonish the heavens and shake the earth.
如奪得關將軍大刀入手、逢佛殺佛、逢祖殺祖、於生死岸頭得大自在
、向六道四生中遊戲三昧。
It will be as if you snatch away the great sword of the valiant general Kan’u and hold it in your hand. When you meet the Buddha, you kill him; when you meet the patriarchs, you kill them. On the brink of life and death, you command perfect freedom; among the sixfold worlds and four modes of existence, you enjoy a merry and playful samadhi.
且作麼生提撕。
Now, I want to ask you again, “How will you carry it out?”
盡平生氣力擧箇無字。
Employ every ounce of your energy to work on this “Mu.”
若不間斷、好似法燭一點便著。
If you hold on without interruption, behold: a single spark, and the holy candle is lit!
Mumon’s Verse 頌曰
狗子佛性 The dog, the Buddha Nature,
全提正令 The pronouncement, perfect and final.
纔渉有無 Before you say it has or has not,
喪身失命 You are a dead man on the spot.
Wash Your Bowl 七 趙州洗鉢
趙州、因僧問、其甲乍入叢林。
A monk said to Jõshû, “I have just entered this monastery.
乞師指示。
Please teach me.”
州云、喫粥了也未。
“Have you eaten your rice porridge?” asked Jõshû.
僧云、喫粥了也。
“Yes, I have,” replied the monk.
州云、洗鉢盂去。
“Then you had better wash your bowl,” said Jõshû.
其僧有省。
With this the monk gained insight.
Mumon’s Comment
無門曰、趙州開口見膽、露出心肝。
When he opens his mouth, Jõshû shows his gallbladder. He displays his heart and liver.
者僧聽事不眞、喚鐘作甕。
I wonder if this monk really did hear the truth. I hope he did not mistake the bell for a jar.
Mumon’s Verse 頌曰
只爲分明極 Endeavoring to interpret clearly,
翻令所得遲 You retard your attainment.
早知燈是火 Don’t you know that flame is fire?
飯熟已多時 Your rice has long been cooked.
Jõshû Sees the Hermits 十一 州勘庵主
趙州、到一庵主處問、有麼有麼。
Jõshû went to a hermit’s cottage and asked, “Is the master in? Is the master in?”
主、堅起拳頭。
The hermit raised his fist.
州云、水淺不是泊舡處。 便行。
Jõshû said, “The water is too shallow to anchor here,” and he went away.
又到一庵主處云、有麼有麼。
Coming to another hermit’s cottage, he asked again, “Is the master in? Is the master in?”
主亦堅起拳頭。
This hermit, too, raised his fist.
州云、能縱能奪、能殺能活。便作禮。
Jõshû said, “Free to give, free to take, free to kill, free to save,” and he made a deep bow.
Mumon’s Comment
無門曰、一般堅起拳頭、爲甚麼肯一箇、不肯一箇。
Both raised their fists; why was the one accepted and the other rejected?
且道、□訛在甚處。
Tell me, what is the difficulty here?
若向者裏下得一轉語、便見趙州舌頭無骨、扶起放倒、得大自在。
If you can give a turning word to clarify this problem, you will realize that Jõshû’s tongue has no bone in it, now helping others up, now knocking them down, with perfect freedom.
雖然如是爭奈、趙州却被二庵主勘破。
However, I must remind you: the two hermits could also see through Jõshû.
若道二庵主有優劣、未具參學眼。
If you say there is anything to choose between the two hermits, you have no eye of realization.
若道無優劣、亦未具參 學眼。
If you say there is no choice between the two, you have no eye of realization.
Mumon’s Verse 頌曰
眼流星 The eye like a shooting star,
機掣電 The spirit like a lighting;
殺人刀 A death-dealing blade,
活人劍 A life-giving sword.
Case 11 Nansen Cuts the Cat in Two 十四 南泉斬猫
南泉和尚因東西堂爭猫兒。
Nansen Oshõ saw monks of the Eastern and Western halls quarreling over a cat.
泉乃提起云、大衆道得即救、道不得即斬却也。
He held up the cat and said, “If you can give an answer, you will save the cat. If not, I will kill it.”
衆無對。泉遂斬之。
No one could answer, and Nansen cut the cat in two.
晩趙州外歸。 泉擧似州。
That evening Jõshû returned, and Nansen told him of the incident.
州乃脱履安頭上而出。
Jõshû took off his sandal, placed it on his head, and walked out.
泉云、子若在即救得猫兒。
“If you had been there, you would have saved the cat,” Nansen remarked.
Mumon’s Comment
無門曰、且道、趙州頂草鞋意作麼生。
Tell me, what did Jõshû mean when he put the sandal on his head?
若向者裏下得一轉語、便見南泉令不虚行。
If you can give a turning word on this, you will see that Nansen’s decree was carried out with good reason.
其或未然險。
If not, “Danger!”
Mumon’s Verse 頌曰
趙州若在 Had Jõshû been there,
倒行此令 He would have done the opposite;
奪却刀子 When the sword is snatched away,
南泉乞命 Even Nansen begs for his life.
Ordinary Mind Is the Way 十九 平常是道
南泉、因趙州問、如何是道。
Jõshû asked Nansen, “What is the Way?”
泉云、平常心是道。
“Ordinary mind is the Way,” Nansen replied.
州云、還可趣向否。
“Shall I try to seek after it?” Jõshû asked.
泉云、擬向即乖。
“If you try for it, you will become separated from it,” responded Nansen.
州云、不擬爭知是道。
“How can I know the Way unless I try for it?” persisted Jõshû.
泉云、道不屬知、不屬不知。
Nansen said, “The Way is not a matter of knowing or not knowing.
知是妄覺、不知是無記。
Knowing is delusion; not knowing is confusion.
若眞達不擬之道、猶如太虚廓然洞豁。
When you have really reached the true Way beyond doubt, you will find it as vast and boundless as outer space.
豈可強是非也。
How can it be talked about on the level of right and wrong?”
州於言下頓悟。
With these words, Jõshû came to a sudden realization.
Mumon’s Comment
無門曰、南泉被趙州發問、直得瓦解氷消、分疎不下。
Nansen dissolved and melted away before Jõshû’s question, and could not offer a plausible explanation.
趙州縱饒悟去、更參三十年始得。
Even though Jõshû comes to a realization, he must delve into it for another thirty years before he can fully understand it.
Mumon’s Verse 頌曰
春有百花秋有月 The spring flowers, the autumn moon;
夏有涼風冬有雪 Summer breezes, winter snow.
若無閑事挂心頭 If useless things do not clutter your mind,
更是人間好時節 You have the best days of your life.
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Jõshû Investigates an Old Woman 三十一 趙州勘婆
趙州、因僧問婆子、臺山路向甚處去。
A monk asked an old woman, “What is the way to Taisan?”
婆云、驀直去。
The old woman said, “Go straight on.”
僧纔行三五歩。 婆云、好箇師僧、又恁麼去。
When the monk had proceeded a few steps, she said, “A good, respectable monk, but he too goes that way.”
後有僧擧似州。
Afterward someone told Jõshû about this.
州云、待我去與你勘過這婆子。
Jõshû said, “Wait a bit, I will go and investigate the old woman for you.”
明日便去亦如是問。 婆亦如是答。
The next day he went and asked the same question, and the old woman gave the same answer.
州歸謂衆曰、臺山婆子、我與□勘破了也。
On returning, Jõshû said to his disciples, “I have investigated the old woman of Taisan for you.”
Mumon’s Comment
無門曰、婆子只解坐籌帷幄、要且著賊不知。
The old woman only knew how to sit still in her tent and plan the campaign; she did not know when she was shadowed by a spy.
趙州老人、善用偸營劫塞乃機、又且無大人相。
Though old Jõshû showed himself clever enough to take a camp and overwhelm a fortress, he displayed no trace of being a great commander.
撿點將來、二倶有過。
If we look at them, they both have their faults.
且道、那裏是趙州、勘破婆子處。
But tell me, what did Jõshû see in the old woman?
Mumon’s Verse 頌曰
問既一般 The question was like the others,
答亦相似 The answer was the same.
飯裏有砂 Sand in the rice,
泥中有刺 Thorns in the mud.
Jõshû’s Oak Tree 三十七 庭前栢樹
趙州、因僧問、如何是祖師西來意。
A monk asked Jõshû, “What is the meaning of Bodhidharma’s coming to China?”
州云、庭前栢樹子。
Jõshû said, “The oak tree in the garden.”
Mumon’s Comment
無門曰、若向趙州答處見得親切、前無釋迦後無彌勒。
If you understand Jõshû’s answer intimately, there is no Shakya before you, no Maitreya to come.
Mumon’s Verse 頌曰
言無展事 Words cannot express things;
語不投機 Speech does not convey the spirit.
承言者喪 Swayed by words, one is lost;
滯句者迷 Blocked by phrases, one is belwildered.
Four Koans
Everything Is Best
When Banzan was walking through a market he overheard a conversation between a butcher and his customer.
“Give me the best piece of meat you have,” said the customer.
“Everything in my shop is the best,” replied the butcher. “You cannot find here any piece of meat that is not the best.”
At these words Banzan became enlightened.
Judgments are mirrors of ourselves
The Moon Cannot Be Stolen
Ryokan, a Zen master, lived the simplest kind of life in a little hut at the foot of a mountain. One evening a thief visited the hut only to discover there was nothing to steal.
Ryokan returned and caught him. “You have come a long way to visit me,” he told the prowler, “and you should not return empty-handed. Please take my clothes as a gift.”
The thief was bewildered. He took the clothes and slunk away.
Ryoken sat naked, watching the moon. “Poor fellow,” he mused, “I wish I could have given him this beautiful moon.”
Private property is worthless illusion. Takes your time. Steals your awareness. Kills you.
One Note of Zen
After Kakua visited the emperor he disappeared and no one knew what became of him. He was the first Japanese to study Zen in China, but since he showed nothing of it, save one note, he is not remembered for having brought Zen into his country.
Kakua visited China and accepted the true teaching. He did not travel while he was there. Meditating constantly, he lived on a remote part of a mountain. Whenever people found him and asked him to preach he would say a few words and then move to another part of the mountain where he could be found less easily.
The emperor heard about Kakua when he returned to Japan and asked him to preach Zen for his edification and that of his subjects.
Kakua stood before the emperor in silence. He then produced a flute from the folds of his robe, and blew one short note. Bowing politely, he disappeared.
Words and systems of meaning are meaningless. How do you teach silence with noisy words? Words clutters your mind. Words are blind roads leading nowhere.
The Gates of Paradise
A soldier named Nobushige came to Hakuin, and asked: “Is there really a paradise and a hell?”
“Who are you?” inquired Hakuin.
“I am a samurai,” the warrior replied.
“You, a soldier!” exclaimed Hakuin. “What kind of ruler would have you as his guard? Your face looks like that of a beggar.”
Nobushige became so angry that he began to draw his sword, but Hakuin continued: “So you have a sword! Your weapon is probably much too dull to cut off my head.”
As Nobushige drew his sword Hakuin remarked: “Here open the gates of hell!”
At these words the samurai, perceiving the master’s discipline, sheathed his sword and bowed.
“Here open the gates of paradise,” said Hakuin.
We, only we create hell and paradise. You are free to chose.
No-Mind
What is Zen?
The Monk Mayo asked this question of the Sixth patriarch:
“What is Zen?” the Patriarch replied that, “when your mind
is not dwelling on the dualism of good and evil, what is
your original face before you were born?”
Zen cannot be understood. Words create dualism. Be or not to be, born, unborn. Only experience can tell you what Zen is and then you will know how your face looked like before you were born. Your true face.
Dont move your mind
Two monks were arguing about the temple flag waving in the wind.
One said, “The flag moves.”
The other said, “The wind moves.”
They argued back and forth but could not agree.
Hui-neng, the sixth patriarch, said: “Gentlemen! It is not
the flag that moves. It is not the wind that moves. It is
your mind that moves.”
The two monks were struck with awe.
Don’t split what you see. See things the way they are. Don’t see with you mind. A mind does not have eyes. Only the eyes can see. See don’t think. When seeing you understand immediately when thinking you will never grasp. Cut the bridge between your eyes and your mind and be aware.
Don’t act like a trained dog
Zen Master Unmon said: “The world is vast and wide. Why do
you put on your robes at the sound of a bell?”
Break your habits and be awake. Don’t act like a trained dog. Don’t follow any rules, be free in the world.
Conventional knowledge is violence
Elder Ting asked Lin-chi,
“Master, what is the great meaning of Buddha’s teachings?”
Lin-chi came down from his seat, slapped Ting and pushed him away.
Ting was stunned and stood motionless.
A monk nearby said, “Ting, why do you not bow?”
At that moment Ting attained great enlightenment.
Slap meaning in its face. There is no meaning, there only is. Meaning is violence and disrespect towards truth.
Buddha is everywhere
One day as Manjusri stood outside the gate, the Buddha
called to him, “Manjusri, Manjusri, why do you not enter?”
Manjusri replied, “I do not see myself as outside. Why enter?”
Become your own Buddha, not a Buddha-replica. Find the truth in yourself
and you’ll find Buddha everywhere.
Zen is freedom
As the roof was leaking, a zen Master told two monks to
bring something to catch the water. One brought a tub, the
other a basket. The first was severely reprimanded, the
second highly praised.
Be open, spontaneous, slipping, moving, not closed and captivated. Let nature go don’t tame it. Zen is basket and water. Tub and water is trivial meaning.
Everyday life is Zen
A monk asked Zhao Zhou to teach him.
Zhao Zhou asked, “Have you eaten your meal?”
The monk replied, “Yes, I have.”
“Then go wash your bowl,” said Zhao Zhou.
At that moment, the monk was enlightened.
There is nothing to teach or learn. Nobody can teach the truth and nobody can learn the truth. Truth is beyond words. Truth comes. Suddenly in silence.
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