Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Email
Answers.com

zazen

 
('zĕn') pronunciation
n.
Meditation as practiced in Zen Buddhism.

[Japanese : za, to sit down (from Middle Chinese dzua) + zen, silent meditation; see Zen.]


Search unanswered questions...
Enter a question here...
Search: All sources Community Q&A Reference topics

Sitting meditation as practiced in Zen Buddhism. The disciple sits in a quiet room, breathing rhythmically and easily, with legs fully or half crossed, spine and head erect, hands folded one palm above the other, and eyes open. Logical, analytic thinking is suspended, as are all desires, attachments, and judgments, leaving the mind in a state of relaxed attention. The practice was brought to prominence by Dogen, who considered it not only to be a method of moving toward enlightenment but also, if properly experienced, to constitute enlightenment itself. See also koan.

For more information on zazen, visit Britannica.com.

Japanese term meaning literally, ‘to sit in zen’. In Japanese Zen, this refers to the practice of seated meditation.

Zazen is the Zen Buddhist (see Zen Buddhism) method of meditation. It represents the door to Enlightenment, involving the concentrated attempt to empty the mind of superfluous questions; even those of good and evil or the meaning of scripture or teaching. Zazen traditionally takes place in the zendo, the meditation hall of Zen monasteries in Japan.

Term used in Zen Buddhism to indicate the sitting position for meditation, which usually takes place in the Zen-do or meditation hall in Zen monasteries. The meditation position is known as dhyanasana. It resembles the "lotus" position of hatha yoga known as padmasana, but the hands have a precise positioning integral to the very different method and goal of Zen meditation.

Random House Word Menu:

categories related to 'zazen'

Top
Random House Word Menu by Stephen Glazier
For a list of words related to zazen, see:

Part of a series on
Zen
禪-ouyang.png
The Five Houses
Caodong / Sōtō
Linji / Rinzai
Fayan / Hōgen
Guiyang / Igyō
Yunmen / Unmon
Doctrine and practice
Buddha-nature
Dharma transmission
Emptiness
Enlightenment
Group meditation
Kōan practice
Samādhi
Sitting meditation
Principal texts
Diamond Sūtra
Heart Sūtra
Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra
Platform Sūtra
Śūraṅgama Sūtra
(Kōan collections)
Mahāyāna Buddhism
Outline of Buddhism
(Category)

EnsoZen.png

In Zen Buddhism, zazen (literally "seated meditation"; 坐禅; Chinese; zuò chán pinyin or tso-chan Wade-Giles) is a meditative discipline practitioners perform to calm the body and the mind, and be able to concentrate enough to experience insight into the nature of existence and thereby gain enlightenment (satori).

Zazen in Rinzai school.
Contents

Significance

Zazen is considered the heart of Zen Buddhist practice. The aim of zazen is just sitting, "opening the hand of thought",[1] that is, suspending all judgmental thinking and letting words, ideas, images and thoughts pass by without getting involved in them.

Methods

Setting

In Zen temples and monasteries, practitioners traditionally sit zazen as a group in a meditation hall, usually referred to as the zendo. The practitioner sits on a cushion called a zafu, which itself is usually placed on top of a low, flat mat called a zabuton.

Before taking one's seat, and after rising at the end of the period of zazen, Zen practitioners perform a gassho bow to their seat, and a second bow to fellow practitioners.

The beginning of a period of zazen is traditionally announced by ringing a bell three times (shijosho), and the end of a round by ringing the bell either once or twice (hozensho).

Long periods of zazen may alternate with periods of kinhin (walking meditation).

Posture

The posture of zazen is seated, with folded legs and hands, and an erect but settled spine. The hands are folded together into a simple mudra over the belly. In many practices, the practitioner breathes from the hara (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 neither distracted by, nor turning away from, external stimuli.

The legs are folded in one of the standard sitting styles:

  • 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)

In addition, it is not uncommon for modern practitioners to sit zazen in a chair, often with a wedge/cushion on top of the chair seat so that one is sitting on an incline, or by placing a wedge behind the lower back to help maintain the natural curve of the spine. While each of these styles are commonly taught today, Master Dogen recommended only Kekkafuza and Hankafuza.

Instruction

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

  1. Concentration
  2. Koan Introspection
  3. Shikantaza (just sitting)

Koan practice is usually associated with the Rinzai school and Shikantaza with the Sōtō 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, often aided by counting. This counting meditation is called susokukan, and has several variations. Through this practice one builds up the power of concentration, or joriki. At some Zen centers, the practice of mentally repeating a mantra with the breath is used in place of counting breaths for beginners. In some communities, or sanghas, the practice is continued in this way until there is some initial experience of samadhi or "one-pointedness" of mind. At this point the practitioner moves to one of the other two methods of zazen.

Koan Introspection

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

Shikantaza (just sitting)

Shikantaza is a form of meditation, in which the practitioner does not use any specific object of meditation; rather, practitioners remain as much as possible in the present moment, aware of and observing what passes through their minds and around them. Dogen says, in his Shobogenzo, "Sitting fixedly, think of not thinking. How do you think of not thinking? Nonthinking. This is the art of zazen."[2]

See also

Further reading

  • Austin, James H. Zen and the Brain: Toward an Understanding of Meditation and Consciousness. The MIT Press, 1999. ISBN 0262011646.
  • Buksbazen, John Daishin. Zen Meditation in Plain English. Wisdom Publications, 2002. ISBN 0861713168. (Foreword by Peter Matthiessen.)
  • Dogen. Beyond Thinking: A Guide to Zen Meditation. Shambhala, 2004. ISBN 1590300246.
  • Harada, Sekkei. The Essence of Zen: Dharma Talks Given in Europe and America. Kodansha, 1998. ISBN 4770021992.
  • Humphreys, Christmas. Concentration and Meditation: A Manual of Mind Development. Element Books, 1991. ISBN 1852300086.
  • Kapleau, Philip (1989). The Three pillars of Zen: teaching, practice, and enlightenment. New York: Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-26093-8. 
  • Loori, John Daido. Finding the Still Point: A Beginner's Guide to Zen Meditation. Shambhala, 2007. ISBN 1590304799.
  • Loori, John Daido and Taigen Daniel Leighton. The art of just sitting: Essential writings of the Zen practice of shikantanza. Wisdom Publications, 2004. ISBN 086171394X
  • Maezumi, Hakuyu Taizan, and Bernard Glassman. On Zen Practice: Body, Breath, Mind. Wisdom Publications, 2002. ISBN 086171315X.
  • Warner, Brad. Hardcore Zen: Punk Rock, Monster Movies, & the Truth about Reality. Wisdom Publications, 2003. ISBN 086171380X.

External links

References

  1. ^ Opening the Hand of Thought: Foundations of Zen Buddhist Practice, Kosho Uchiyama, Tom Wright, Jishō Cary Warner, Shohaku Okumura; Translated by Jishō Cary Warner, Shohaku Okumura; Contributor Tom Wright, Jishō Cary Warner, Shohaku Okumura, Wisdom Publications, 2004 ISBN 0861713575
  2. ^ translation of "Principles of Zazen" from Shobogenzo available at Stanford online here: http://hcbss.stanford.edu/research/projects/sztp/translations/shobogenzo/translations/zazengi/zazengi.translation.html

 
 
Related topics:
zendō
On Zazen (1980 Spirituality & Philosophy Film)
hakushi

Related answers:
Should zazen be practised in complete silence? Read answer...
How to keep your body still in zazen while still relaxing? Read answer...

Post a question - any question - to the WikiAnswers community:

 

Copyrights:

American Heritage Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 1994-2012 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Oxford Dictionary of Buddhism. A Dictionary of Buddhism. Copyright © 2003, 2004 by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.  Read more
Oxford Dictionary of Asian Mythology. A Dictionary of Asian Mythology. Copyright © 2001, 2002 by David Leeming. All rights reserved.  Read more
$copyright.smallImage.alttext Gale Encyclopedia of Occultism & Parapsychology. Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology. Copyright © 2001 by The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Random House Word Menu. © 2010 Write Brothers Inc. Word Menu is a registered trademark of the Estate of Stephen Glazier. Write Brothers Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
 Rhymes. Oxford University Press. © 2006, 2007 All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia on Answers.com. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Zazen Read more

Follow us
Facebook Twitter
YouTube

Mentioned in

» More» More