Zen Meditation

Zen meditation is said to be developed by Master Dogen Zenji, a Japanese Buddhist priest, writer, poet, and philosopher. Nearly a millennium ago, in the year 1240, this meditation is also called Zazen, which means "nothing but precisely sitting". This is also known as ‘ a kind of sitting meditation in which the meditator sits in a state of brightly alert attention that is free of thoughts, directed to no object, and attached to no particular content.
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Dogen said, "There is no gap between practice and enlightenment or Zazen and daily life.”

There are two ways you can sit in the practice of Zen meditation or Zazen.

In the first stage of Zen meditation, the sitting position is different and in the second stage of meditation, it is different. Both the sitting positions are specified below - sitting positions has been given importance in Zen Meditation. Depending on your flexibility and experience- the half lotus position or full lotus is best suited. The half lotus style is generally best suited for beginners. Remember that the most important part of Zazen, whether it is done in the half lotus or full lotus position, is to hold your spine and neck bones straight up, pulling vertically upward. Your posture must be strong and vertical.

The position of the hands during Zazen is the same for both the half lotus and the full lotus positions. After you have placed your legs in the half lotus or full lotus position, place your right hand palm-up close to your belly. Next, place your left hand palm-up on your right palm so that the fingers of the left hand cover the fingers of the right hand. Slightly curve your hands so that your thumbs touch each other and form a straight line, with your thumbs on top and your fingers on the bottom.

The  Back  and  Neck

During Zazen, you should make sure that your back and neck bones stay as erect as possible. Pull your chin back a little so that your head and back are in one straight line. Do not be too tense or too relaxed while you do this. Try to find balance in your posture.

Zen meditation lasts 40 minutes and has three stages; each stage ends with a gong sound. Watching yourself is to be carried out in all the three stages. Keep your eyes closed in all the stages. You can open your eyes when each stage ends and enter into the next stage with your eyes closed. Watch yourself, keep witnessing remain in your consciousness.

First Stage

Sit silently - make sure that your back and neck bones stay as erect as possible. Pull your chin back a little so that your head and back are in one straight line. Place your fingers locked with each other; with your thumb touching each other making the fingers form an oval shape. Then take a few deep breaths, watch your breathing, breathe through your nose or your mouth, suit yourself. The better and clearer you will be breath, the better will be your watchfulness. But breathe normally do not do heavy breathing. Flow with the music, just remain watchful of the thoughts that come to your mind, just witness them. Try to remain still, once you come into the comfortable position, then slowly move your body from the stomach, forward and backward, witness it. Then move it slowly as if you are dancing from above the hip in a rotating manner, but if you lose the position, do not bother; simply remain your watchfulness. Do not be too tense or too relaxed while you do this. Remember nothing is necessary in meditation. Meditation has no rules, watching is most important than any positions, or movements.

Duration of the first stage is 15 minutes.

Second Stage

Sit in any comfortable position, lotus or half lotus. Bring the palms together, join your hands, palms up, keep your hands below your stomach and just above the abdomen as if sitting in prayer, and gently shift your body from left to right two or three times. Bend your entire body forward a few seconds, try to remain upright. Keep the backbone straight. Feel the pressure on the base of the spinal cord. Once you have composed yourself in this position, be still in this position, then slowly after a few minutes, flow with the music. Slowly move your shoulders, slowly move your head, dance with the music above your hip, and flow with it. Remain in consciousness, watch your thoughts, your actions. If you lose the sitting position, do not bother; simply remain your watchfulness. Do not be too tense or too relaxed while you do this. Remember nothing is necessary in meditation. Meditation has no rules, watching is the most important in meditation, and nothing else really matters.

Duration of the second  stage is  10 minutes.

Third Stage

Sit silently in any position, be completely relaxed. Forget if your back is upright or not, place your one palm over another. Stop all your body movements , just sit in complete silence. Remain in watching,  remain in witnessing, watch each and every thought. Be in your complete watchfulness and consciousness, go deeper and deeper into silence of the within. Hold the very silence, hold the watchfulness , just be with it. Maintain the watchfulness that you have experienced in the second stage – just watch your self .

Duration of the third stage is  15 minutes

People may say that meditation techniques seem like nothing but a wild dance. Let them say – only from the wild you can come into being civilized. The wild dance technique is designed to make you let go – to make you accept all that is within you – acceptance is the key to meditation.

During meditation, you may have thought to scratch your body, to move your body, or adjust your sitting position, let all this happen. Do not stop any thought, just flow with it, watch it – during the last stage of sitting in silence, you may suddenly get reminded that today you may have missed an important meeting or you have missed an important due date – do not get up to make a phone call- you may feel some uneasiness because of all the dancing and jumping, simply watch your thoughts. You will realize those old thoughts go and new thoughts take their place – the very technique of meditation is to make you aware that thoughts come and go –you have been giving unnecessary importance to every thought – your realization will make way for the inner silence- it will slowly take you into acceptance.

Become a watcher and not the doer- experience that you and your body are separate.

Watching yourself during meditation practice cannot and should mean to refrain you from taking actions- actions are also part of your thought process- watch your actions too.

People with medical trouble should restrict their deliberate vigorous breathing, dancing, and jumping to a limit which your body permits – do not try to do what others are doing – do not copy anyone - there is no one to give you marks – simply be yourself - the very idea of meditation is not to force but to liberate yourself from the force itself.

Do not watch your pain to an extent that you stop the intake of medical help. Meditation should be added to your life it is not a substitute for any medical help. Meditation should not be done with a hungry stomach, the comfort of the body is equally important.

The music, the dancing, breathing, body movements, and body positions are devices designed and mixed together to bring you into meditativeness. Watchfulness and witnessing is the key to meditation. Without coming into watching yourself and witnessing - all the techniques will be just like a dance practice or body exercises. Watching yourself and your thoughts is meditation.