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Zazen, the zen meditation
Shikantaza: simply sitting
To practise zazen, silent meditation, sit in the centre of a zafu (a thick, round cushion). Cross your legs in any position you like: lotus, half-lotus or crossed so that your knees rest on the floor. Push the sky with your head and touch the earth with your knees.
Depending on your abilities, other postures are also possible, such as seiza (straddling the cushion) or sitting on a chair.
Stand up straight, tilt the pelvis forward from the fifth lumbar vertebra and stretch the spine upwards.
The chin is tucked in, the neck is stretched, the nose is in line with the navel. The mouth is closed, the tip of the tongue is against the palate and the jaw muscles are relaxed. The eyes are half closed.
The back of the left hand rests on the palm of the right hand, the thumbs are in contact in line with each other with slight pressure, and the edge of both hands is in contact with the lower abdomen.
The shoulders drop naturally, the body relaxes while maintaining the position.
Then, as Master Deshimaru always said: ‘Don't move!’.
Deep breathing
Little by little, the breathing becomes calm, long and deep. At the beginning, the attention can be focused on the exhalation by exerting a slight downward push of the belly. The inhalation then comes naturally, without effort or concentration. Afterwards, it is simply a matter of observing the breathing as it is, without modifying it, by being fully present.
The art of concentration
The omnipresence of screens (televisions, tablets, smartphones, etc.) leads to a dispersion of attention. The uninterrupted succession of brief sequences of fleeting attention influences the way of thinking, disturbs the mind and prevents any encounter with oneself and any discovery of the true nature of reality beyond any conceptual definition.
Zen concentration consists of focusing your attention exclusively and for a long time on an activity without allowing yourself to be distracted or becoming tense: letting your thoughts pass you by, relaxing and letting go, breathing, walking, doing a manual activity of any kind can be forms of meditation if they are carried out with full awareness.
‘Our presence in the world is reflected in our attention to forms, to all the forms that come our way in the course of our lives. To dismiss attention to forms is to dismiss authentic life, the life of Buddha.’ Master Taiun Faure
Regular practice of concentration develops attention to ordinary actions and cultivates the ability to be fully present in every moment of one's life. The richness, depth and power of existence are then revealed.
Letting thoughts pass by
Contrary to what is sometimes claimed, practising zazen does not lead to the cessation of thoughts. The state of mind during zazen is defined as hishiryo consciousness: beyond thought, beyond non-thought.
Specifically, two mental attitudes are to be adopted:
- Observation of your thoughts without blocking them, without entering them, without holding them back. You observe your thoughts as they glide across your consciousness like clouds across the sky. In this way, the mind tends not to attach itself to anything.
- Concentration on your posture, on the right amount of muscle tension, on your breathing.
The more you practise zazen, the more you understand through the body that thoughts are devoid of any real substance, that they come and go. You can then discover that there is an intuitive, original and universal consciousness, radically different from the usual consciousness of the little self.
If you maintain the correct posture and allow yourself to breathe deeply, widely and peacefully, your mind itself becomes deep, wide and peaceful. The functioning of the brain naturally clears up. This state is not that of a particular consciousness but the simple return to the normal condition of the mind. One opens oneself totally to the reality of the here and now. The ego's dualistic way of thinking disappears and our original unity with all existence is realised.
Intuitive consciousness, hishiryo, thinking without deliberately thinking, then appears naturally.
However, to become attached to this state, just as to want to appropriate Awakening, is to go against the practice of mushotoku: without aim or spirit of profit. It is a waste of time.
