Zen Buddhism and Zazen; and Believing in Nothing

Zen Buddhism can be defined as many, many different things, but it is most widely accepted as a form of finding the truest form of yourself and living the fullest, most open life possible. One of the main practices of Zen is “zazen.” Zazen is the form of meditation used in Zen and is widely recognized as the method to seek “insight into the nature of existence.” It involves several points that are laid out in Shunryu Suzuki’s book, Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind. This book was literally written as an intro to Zen Buddhism and its practices for Americans. The book is broken down into several sections. All of the chapters break down a specific aspect of Zazen. The two I will be focusing on in my presentation as well as this post is “posture” and “breathing.”

Posture

The position associated with Zazen meditation is called “full lotus.” Most people have seen this as it is the stereotypical thought of meditation. It is where each foot is resting on the opposite thigh and your hands are loosely folded together in the middle. The reason for this is so that when you look at your legs, they are sitting in a way that makes it difficult to tell which is which. This is a reminder of how one should think of the mind and body. That they are both separate, yet both together at the same time. That they can both act independently such as thinking without moving or your instincts doing something without your mind necessarily thinking about it. It is a reminder of these two parts coming together to make up who you are and how they can make you live in this world to your truest form.

Breathing

When it comes to breathing, not much is discussed about actual techniques. Instead, the focus is on what the breathing helps with and the moment surrounding your breaths. Suzuki describes our bodies as “swinging doors” in which we take in breath and we exhale. This allows for the mind to look through this door (through controlled breathing) and focus on the moment and looking into yourself to see what is to be discovered. 

Time

One of the most interesting aspects is the lack of the concept of time. Zen believes that time is just a measure of what the universe is doing with or without you. It is believed that the only time that really matters is the present. Looking back or forward in time makes you miss the present. So when people hear stories meditating for hours or even more than a day, while this could be true, it is almost never measured because that would mean keeping up with time, which few monks do. Now, granted most people that meditate aren’t monks that live on top of mountains, but even for at home meditation for anyone, it is recommended to not put a time restriction on it because it could limit the experience, as your mind would frequently wander wondering what time it was.

1)     What is the form of meditation most used in Zen Buddhism called?

2)     What is the name of the “best” position of meditation?

3)     Zazen is insight into the nature of what?

4)     Your body, when it comes to breathing, is a what?

·        Is looking only in the present really a good philosophy?

·        Should one really only look into him or her self without thinking of others?

·        Is your mind really most useful to you if rooted in the present?

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Final

Believing In Nothing

By William Dedmon

In Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind, Shunryu Suzuki defines “nothing” as, “ something that exists before all forms and colors appear.” This definition lets us realize that the idea of nothing came before everything. When you believe that a vast nothingness came before all of the “somethings” then from an infinite nothing can be an infinite something. In Zen Buddhism, this concept is used in several core ideals. One of the main purposes is to be prepared and ready to accept whatever comes into your life. A large part of Buddhism is being able to live in each moment of the day to appreciate it to its fullest. When you adapt the concept of believing in nothing, you become much more accepting to all the possibilities that could make there way into your life.

Suzuki gives an example of how to apply this,

“While you are practicing zazen, you may hear the rain dropping from the roof in the dark. Later, the wonderful mist will be coming through the big trees, and still later when people start to work, they will see the beautiful mountains. But some people will be annoyed if they hear the rain when they are lying in their beds in the morning, because they do not know that later they will see the beautiful sun rising from the east. If our mind is concentrated on ourselves we will have this kind of worry. But if we accept ourselves as the embodiment of the truth, or Buddha nature, we will have no worry. We will think, "Now it is raining, but we don't know what will happen in the next moment. By the time we go out it may be a beautiful day, or a stormy day. Since we don't know, let's appreciate the sound of the rain now." This kind of attitude is the right attitude. If you understand yourself as a temporal embodiment of the truth, you will have no difficulty whatsoever. You will appreciate your surroundings, and you will appreciate yourself as a wonderful part of Buddha's great activity, even in the midst of difficulties. This is our way of life.”

In this example, we see how to make the best of the moment. We could sit and think of all the negative ways that the rain could affect us later, or we can appreciate the beautiful something that came from the vast nothingness and take it as it is. This can be used for everything that comes our way, allowing us to ensure the most positive and healthy outlook on life.