Zazen Meditation

Before addressing what Zazen Meditation is, or how to do it, it's important to examine why one would want to do this in the first place.

There are four main reasons why people try Zazen Meditation. The first reason is just simple curiosity. Humans, being naturally inquisitive creatures, will try it just because they are curious about what it will be like and what it may be able to do for them, or how it will feel.

The second reason to do Zazen Meditation is for health reasons. When meditating, one's blood pressure is lowered, and it is an excellent stress reducer as well. Since stress can eventually lead to various health problems, for these reasons Zazen is a very healthy thing to do for oneself.

The third reason people use Zazen meditation is to improve concentration. Professional and amateur athletes use it, and it has been proven effective to increase athletic concentration, which then improves performance. The discipline required for Zazen also translates into the athletic arena, and so it has been used by Olympic and athletic trainers in coaching. It is also great for those who just wish t

Regulating the breath is very simple: just breathe naturally. Do not try to control your breathing. The breath is used as a way to focus or concentrate the mind. The basic method is to count one's breath in a repeating cycle of ten. Through concentration on the simple act of counting, the mind is less vulnerable to wandering thoughts. Do not count on the inhalation, only the exhalation. When random thoughts occur while counting, ignore them and keep on counting.

Though the full or half lotus are the preferred zazen postures, they may be too difficult for some people. One alternative is called the Burmese position. It is similar to the half lotus, except that one foot is crossed over onto the calf, rather than the thigh, of the other leg. Another acceptable position is kneeling, legs together and back erect. In this position, the buttocks can rest on the heels, on a cushion placed between the feet, or on a specially designed bench. If physical problems prevent sitting in any of the above positions, then sitting on a chair is possible as a last resort.

The method of silent illumination may be traced back at least as far as Bodhidharma. Shih-shuang Ch'ing-chu (805-888) lived on a mountain called Shih-shuang for twenty years. His disciples just sat continually, even sleeping in this upright position. In their stillness they looked like so many dead tree stumps, and they were called "the dry-wood Sangha." Shih-shuang had two famous phrases of advice. One was: Fix your mind on one thought for ten thousand years." The other was: "Become like cold ashes or dry wood."

Zazen most precisely refers to the means developed by the Ch'an masters to attain enlightenment. The two principal paths of Ch'an are the method of "silent illumination" and the method of the koan.

o improve their athletic abilities merely for personal fitness or recreation rather than competition.

The hands are placed in front of the abdomen, resting on the legs. The open right palm is underneath, and the open left palm rests in the right palm. The thumbs lightly touch to form a closed circle or oval.

A koan is an account of an incident between a master and one or more disciples which involves an understanding or experience of enlightened mind. A koan usually, but not always, involves dialogue. When the ori

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