Zazen
“Your body-mind of itself will drop away and your original face will appear.”
– Dogen, Recommending Zazen to All People
Traditionally, individual Zen practice is a guided process between roshi (almost always a teacher who has been certified in a particular lineage) and student, who periodically have meetings (dokusan) to discuss issues of progress. Each student’s progression toward enlightenment is thus unique, based on the observations and recommendations of their guide. A roshi can be thought of a master who uses a variety of tools – formal teaching, zazen, and individual guidance – to lead their students toward enlightenment. The fundamental tool in the roshi’s toolkit is instruction in zazen – sitting meditation.
Zazen
In initial zazen practice, modern students are most often instructed to sit in a traditional meditation posture (usually the “full-lotus” or “half-lotus,” coupled with distinctly Zen hand and spinal positions) and bring their attention to the breath. When the mind inevitably wanders, students are simply instructed to return their attention to the breath. An alternative, sometimes considered an initial aide to this type of meditation, is to have a student “count breaths” from 1-10. Maintaining attention on the breath is the most basic form of zazen, but is often considered an effective method of bringing a student to realization, in and of itself. Many roshis instruct their students to remain with a simple breath meditation for the entirety of their journey.
Although Zen teachers often emphasize that any interpretations or conceptualizations of zazen are “going beyond zazen itself,” maintaining attention on the breath is often conceptualized as a way of bringing the mind to stillness and thereby directly realizing one’s True or Original Nature.
Another, less common, form of zazen involves the use of a koan. In koan practice, a student is given a paradoxical saying or phrase designed to snap the mind out of its ingrained way of operating and into a direct experience of True/Original/Buddha Nature. One way of thinking about a koan is as a saying which only makes complete sense from the perspective of Original Nature. After being given a koan, a student seeks to “penetrate” or solve the paradox, both in periods of official sitting zazen and during daily activities. Traditional koans include, “What is your original face before your parents were born?,” and “What is Mu (emptiness)?” Koan practice is associated with the Rinzai sect of Zen Buddhism.
Finally, sometimes considered the highest or final form of zazen, is shikantaza – ”just sitting.” Shikantaza involves neither explicit attention on the breath, nor the use of a koan, but simply sitting in correct zazen posture with the faith that enlightenment will unfold naturally of itself. Practitioners of shikantaza typically draw their understandings from Dogen, who describes posture, moving “beyond thinking,” the “dropping away of body and mind,” and the natural unfolding of enlightenment:
“In an appropriate place for sitting, set out a thick mat and put a round cushion on top of it. Sit either in full- or half-lotus posture. For the full-lotus posture, first place the right foot on the left thigh, then the left foot on the right thigh. For the half-lotus posture, place the left foot on the right thigh. Loosen the robes and belts and arrange them in an orderly way. Then place the right hand palm up on the left foot, and the left hand on the right hand, with the ends of the thumbs lightly touching each other.
Sit straight up without leaning to the right or left and without bending forward or backward. The ears should be in line with the shoulders and the nose in line with the navel. Rest the tongue against the roof of the mouth, with lips and teeth closed. Keep the eyes open and breathe gently through the nose. Having adjusted your body in this manner, take a breath and exhale fully, then sway your body to left and right.
Now sit steadfastly and think not thinking. How do you think not thinking? Beyond thinking. This is the essential art of zazen. The zazen I speak of is not learning meditation. It is simply the dharma gate of enjoyment and ease. It is the practice-realization of complete enlightenment. Realize the fundamental point free from the binding of nets and baskets. Once you experience it, you are like a dragon swimming in the water or a tiger reposing in the mountains. Know that the true dharma emerges of itself, clearing away hindrances and distractions.”
“Your body-mind of itself will drop away and your original face will appear. If you want to attain just this, immediately practice just this.”
“This broad awakening comes back to you and a path opens up to help you invisibly. Thus, in zazen you invariably drop away body and mind, cut through fragmented concepts and thoughts from the past, and realize essential buddha-dharma.”
“Now sit steadfastly and think not thinking. How do you think not thinking? Beyond thinking. This is the essential art of zazen.”
Philip Kapleau, a modern Zen teacher, adds the following description of shikantaza:
“The very foundation of shikan-taza is an unshakable faith that sitting as the Buddha sat, with the mind void of all conceptions, of all beliefs and points of view, is the actualization or unfoldment of the inherently enlightened Bodhi-mind with which all are endowed. At the same time this sitting is entered into in the faith that it will one day culminate in the sudden and direct perception of the true nature of this Mind – in other words, enlightenment.”
Students, both lay and monastic, are nearly always encouraged to engage in daily sitting zazen, often coupled with periods of more intensive group practice at sesshin.
Active Zen
In addition to sitting zazen, Zen teachers often emphasize “practicing Zen” in daily life by maintaining full attention on the task at hand. In a traditional breath meditation, when one realizes they are lost in thought, attention is returned to the breath. In active Zen, when one realizes they are lost in thought, attention is returned to the task at hand. Thus, a pattern of daily action while practicing active Zen may look as follows:
Notice the thought,
return to cooking,
notice the thought,
return to cooking,
notice the thought…
Notice the thought,
return to sweeping,
notice the thought,
return to sweeping,
notice the thought…
Notice the thought, return to ______.
When performed at sesshin, this type of active Zen is often practiced using the act of walking as the focus of attention, and is there referred to as kinhin.
Interpretations
True Nature and Identification With “Mind Beyond mind”
A wide array of language is used to describe the effects of zazen meditation, all of which seems to point to the experience of identification with “Mind beyond mind.” This identification is sometimes spoken of as the experience of Pure Existence in stillness of mind (similar to descriptions of meditative practice from the Christian, Vedanta, and Yoga traditions), but more often emphasis is put on descriptions of Mind as it actively observes interior and exterior phenomena from its broader, unifying perspective. This “Mind Beyond mind” – variously referred to as True Nature, Essential Nature, Buddha Nature, Bodhi Mind, Big Mind, Original Nature, Original Face, the “Non-dual” Mind, Emptiness, Suchness – is posited by the Zen Tradition as the inheritance of all sentient beings, in fact already existing as the ground of each individual consciousness, if they can only learn to see it. Correlations could conceivably be drawn between this concept and those of Atman, Purusha, the Seat of Consciousness, the Indwelling Spirit of God, etc. from other traditions.
Satori / Kensho
Direct experience of One’s True Nature and/or the Nature of Existence is sometimes spoken of as happening in a flash, in one moment which drastically and unmistakably changes one’s outlook on the world. This experience of “sudden enlightenment” is referred to in the Zen Tradition as Satori or Kensho.
“Satori may be defined as an intuitive looking into the nature of things in contradistinction to the analytical or logical understanding of it. Practically, it means the unfolding of a new world hitherto unperceived in the confusion of the dualistically-trained mind. Or we may say that with satori our entire surroundings are viewed from quite an unexpected angle of perception. Whatever this is, the world for those who have gained a satori is no more the old world as it used to be; even with all its flowering streams and burning fires, it is never the same once again. Logically stated, all its opposites and contradictions are united and harmonized into a consistent organic whole...Its semblance or analogy in a more or less feeble and fragmented way is gained when a difficult mathematical problem is solved, or when a great discovery is made, or when a sudden means of escape is realized in the midst of most desperate complications; in short, when one exclaims ‘Eureka! Eureka!’”
“But this refers only to the intellectual aspect of satori, which is therefore necessarily partial and incomplete and does not touch the very foundations of life considered one indivisible whole. Satori as the Zen experience must be concerned with the entirety of life. For what Zen proposes to do is the revolution, and the revaluation as well, of oneself as a spiritual unity. The solving of a mathematical problem ends with the solution, it does not affect one’s whole life. So with all other particular questions, practical or scientific, they do not enter the basic life-tone of the individual concerned. But the opening of satori is the remaking of life itself. When it is genuine – for there are many simulacra of it – its effects on one’s moral and spiritual life are revolutionary…”
“This is a mystery and a miracle, but according to the Zen masters such is being performed every day. Satori can thus be had only through our once personally experiencing it.”
There are tensions in the Zen tradition both between sudden vs. gradual enlightenment and a “one time experience” which permanently changes one’s being vs. the need for ongoing meditative practice, with various teachers putting more or less emphasis on one aspect or the other.
Absolute Samadhi
Although many descriptions of the effects of zazen focus on the change in the way consciousness operates “while active in the world,” there are also accounts which describe the experience of absolute consciousness in stillness of mind – pure consciousness aware only of the Ground of Being Itself. This experience is referred to variously as Absolute Samadhi, Pure-Existence, Nothingness, Emptiness, or as “contact with the Void.”
“...we concentrate inwardly and there develops a samadhi in which a certain self-ruling spiritual power dominates the mind. This spiritual power is the ultimate thing that we can reach in the innermost part of our existence. We do not introspect it, because subjectivity does not reflect itself, just as the eye does not see itself, but we are this ultimate thing itself. It contains in itself all sources of emotion and reasoning power, and it is a fact we directly realize in ourselves.”
“Now, when one is in absolute samadhi in its most profound phase, no reflecting action of consciousness appears… In a more shallow phase of samadhi, a reflecting consciousness occasionally breaks in and makes us aware of our samadhi. Such reflection comes and goes momentarily, and each time momentarily interrupts the samadhi to a slight degree. The deeper the samadhi becomes, the less frequent becomes the appearance of the reflecting action of consciousness. Ultimately the time comes when no reflection appears at all. One comes to notice nothing, feel nothing, hear nothing, see nothing. This state of mind is called ‘nothing.’ But it is not vacant emptiness. Rather is it the purest condition of our existence.”
“In this state the activity of consciousness is stopped and we cease to be aware of time, space, and causation. The mode of existence which thus makes its appearance may at first sight seem to be nothing more than mere being, or existence. However, if you really attain this state you will find it to be a remarkable thing. At the extremity of having denied all and having nothing left to deny, we reach a state in which absolute silence and stillness reign, bathed in a pure, serene light. Buddhists of former times called this state annihilation, or Nirvana…”
“... if we were to try to describe it [absolute samadhi], it would be as an extraordinary mental stillness. In this stillness, or emptiness, the source of all kinds of activity is latent. It is this state that we call pure existence. This, perhaps, is the most simplified form of human existence.”
“...with enlightenment, zazen brings the realization that the substratum of existence is a Voidness out of which all things ceaselessly arise and into which they endlessly return, that this Emptiness is positive and alive and in fact not other than the vividness of a sunset or the harmonies of a great symphony. This bursting into consciousness of the effulgent Buddha-nature is the ‘swallowing up’ of the universe, the obliteration of every feeling of opposition and separateness. In this state of unconditioned subjectivity I, selfless I, am supreme.”
Ox-Herding
Many contemplative traditions have one or more well-known “maps of spiritual development,” which detail the path a soul must take on its journey. In the Zen Tradition, the stages of spiritual development are classically represented by the “Zen Ox-Herding Pictures,” sometimes referred to as In Search of the Missing Ox. In this series of drawings, a man sets out to find and tame an Ox – the Ox most often interpreted as representing one’s True Nature. In the final stage of development, the man “returns to the marketplace,” now living authentically and naturally from True Nature, simply seeking to help his fellow man. The Zen Ox-Herding pictures are themselves open to multiple interpretations and are popular objects of commentary in the tradition.
Historic Descriptions of Zen
Direct Pointing at the Soul of Man
“A special transmission outside the scriptures;
No dependence upon words and letters;
Direct pointing at the soul of man;
Seeing into one’s nature and the attainment of Buddhahood.”
– Unattributed Summary of the Teaching of Bodhidharma
Inherent Nature Originally Complete
“...he [Hung-Jen, then current Grand Master] explained the Diamond Sutra to me. When he came to the point where it says ‘You should activate your mind without dwelling on anything,’ at these words I had the overwhelming realization that all things are not apart from inherent nature. I then said to the Grand Master, ‘Who would have expected inherent nature to be intrinsically pure? Who would have expected that inherent nature is originally unborn and undying? Who would have expected that inherent nature is originally complete in itself?’...”
– Sutra of Hui-Neng
Original Face
“Stop searching for phrases and chasing after words. Take the backward step and turn the light inward. Your body-mind of itself will drop away and your original face will appear. If you want to attain just this, immediately practice just this.”
– Dogen, Recommeding Zazen to All People
Beyond Thinking, The True Dharma Emerges of Itself
“In an appropriate place for sitting, set out a thick mat and put a round cushion on top of it. Sit either in full- or half-lotus posture. For the full-lotus posture, first place the right foot on the left thigh, then the left foot on the right thigh. For the half-lotus posture, place the left foot on the right thigh. Loosen the robes and belts and arrange them in an orderly way. Then place the right hand palm up on the left foot, and the left hand on the right hand, with the ends of the thumbs lightly touching each other.
Sit straight up without leaning to the right or left and without bending forward or backward. The ears should be in line with the shoulders and the nose in line with the navel. Rest the tongue against the roof of the mouth, with lips and teeth closed. Keep the eyes open and breathe gently through the nose. Having adjusted your body in this manner, take a breath and exhale fully, then sway your body to left and right.
Now sit steadfastly and think not thinking. How do you think not thinking? Beyond thinking. This is the essential art of zazen. The zazen I speak of is not learning meditation. It is simply the dharma gate of enjoyment and ease. It is the practice-realization of complete enlightenment. Realize the fundamental point free from the binding of nets and baskets. Once you experience it, you are like a dragon swimming in the water or a tiger reposing in the mountains. Know that the true dharma emerges of itself, clearing away hindrances and distractions.”
– Dogen, Recommeding Zazen to All People
Full Rapport With Life, Sitting and Mobile Zazen
“For the ordinary man or woman, whose mind is a checkerboard of crisscrossing reflections, opinions, and prejudices, bare attention is virtually impossible; one’s life is thus centered not in reality itself but in one’s ideas of it. By focusing the mind wholly on each object and every action, zazen strips it of extraneous thoughts and allows us to enter into a full rapport with life. Sitting zazen and mobile zazen are two functions equally dynamic and mutually reinforcing. Those who sit devotedly in zazen every day, their minds free of discriminating thoughts, find it easier to related themselves wholeheartedly to their daily tasks, and those who perform every act with total attention and clear awareness find it less difficult to achieve emptiness of mind during sitting periods.”
– Philip Kapleau, The Three Pillars of Zen
Emptiness
“The uniqueness of zazen lies in this: that the mind is freed from bondage to all thought-forms, visions, objects, and imaginings, however sacred or elevating, and brought to a state of absolute emptiness, from which alone it may one day perceive its own true nature...”
– Philip Kapleau, The Three Pillars of Zen
Working In The Mill
“I said to him, ‘My own mind always produces wisdom. Not being alienated from one’s own essential nature is itself a field of blessings. What work would you have me do?’ The Grand Master said, ‘This aborigine is very sharp! Don’t say any more. Go work in the mill.’ So I retired to a back building, where a worker had me splitting firewood and pounding rice. I spent over eight months at this…”
– Sutra of Hui-Neng
Extinguishing Self-Centered Ego, Pure-Existence as One’s Being
“In Zen training we seek to extinguish the self-centered, individual ego, but we do not try to do this merely by thinking about it. It is with our own body and mind that we actually experience what we call ‘pure existence.’
The basic kind of Zen practice is called zazen (sitting Zen), and in zazen we attain samadhi. In this state the activity of consciousness is stopped and we cease to be aware of time, space, and causation. The mode of existence which thus makes its appearance may at first sight seem to be nothing more than mere being, or existence. However, if you really attain this state you will find it to be a remarkable thing. At the extremity of having denied all and having nothing left to deny, we reach a state in which absolute silence and stillness reign, bathed in a pure, serene light. Buddhists of former times called this state annihilation, or Nirvana...
In ordinary daily life our consciousness works ceaselessly to protect and maintain our interests. It has acquired the habit of utilitarian thinking, looking upon the things of the world as so many tools – in Heidegger’s phrase, it treats them ‘in the context of equipment.’ It looks at objects in the light of how they can be made use of. We call this attitude the habitual way of consciousness. This way of looking at things is the origin of man’s distorted view of the world… Zen aims at overthrowing this distorted view of the world, and zazen is the means of doing it.
On coming out of samadhi it can happen that one becomes fully aware of one’s being in its pure form; that is, one experiences pure existence. This experience of the pure existence of one’s being, associated with the recovery of pure consciousness in samadhi, leads us to the recognition of pure existence in the external world too. Discussion of these topics inevitably leads us into epistemological tangles, but let us proceed for the moment, granting that such recognition of pure existence is possible. To look at oneself and the objects of the external world in the context of pure existence is kensho, or realization.
This experience, as we have stressed, is attained by the training of body and mind. Reason comes later and illuminates the experience, and thus the two wheels of the cart of cognition are completed.”
– Katsuki Sekida, Zen Training
Zen instruction and/or sitting groups can be found in the United States through the American Zen Teachers Association (see their list of Centers and Instructors here) among other avenues.
Resources
D.T. Suzuki, Essays in Zen Buddhism. New York: Rider & Company, 1949.
Bodhidharma (attr., Red Pine, trans.), The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma. New York: North Point Press, 1987.
Hui-Neng (attr., Thomas Cleary, trans.), The Sutra of Hui-Neng. Boston: Shambhala, 1998.
Dogen (Kazuaki Tanahashi, ed.), Beyond Thinking. London: Shambhala, 2004.
Philip Kapleau, The Three Pillars of Zen. New York: Random House, 2000.
Katsuki Sekida, Zen Training: Methods and Philosophy. Boston: Shambhala, 2012.
Shunryu Suzuki, Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind. Boston: Shambhala, 2011.
Thomas Merton, Zen and the Birds of Appetite. New York: New Directions, 1968.
William Johnston, The Still Point. New York: Fordham, 1989.
Kim Boykin, Zen for Christians. San Fransisco: Ixica, 2018.
Audio/Video
Introduction to Zazen by “Hazy Moon”
Orientation to Zen Buddhist Practice: Victoria Zen Center
Zen Buddhism Basics
The Void and Satori: Alan Watts
