Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Dōgen often stressed the critical importance of zazen, or sitting meditation as the central practice of Buddhism. He considered zazen to be identical to studying Zen. This is pointed out clearly in the first sentence of the 1243 instruction manual "Zazen-gi" (坐禪儀; "Principles of Zazen"): "Studying Zen ... is zazen". [24]
Zazen is a meditative discipline that is typically the primary practice of the Zen Buddhist tradition. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] The generalized Japanese term for meditation is 瞑想 ( meisō ); however, zazen has been used informally to include all forms of seated Buddhist meditation.
Suzuki arrived during a 100-day practice period at the temple and was the youngest student there. Zoun-in was a larger temple than Shōgan-ji. At 4:00 each morning he arose for zazen. Next he would chant sutras and begin cleaning the temple with the others. They would work throughout the day and then, in the evenings, they all would resume zazen.
The sesshin schedule typically allows for four to five hours of sleep per night, though practitioners occasionally will spend much of the next-to-last night of a five- or seven-day sesshin in zazen. This is called yaza and is much revered as a particularly effective time to meditate when the thinking mind and ego lack the energy to derail practice.
Nishijima was the author of several books in Japanese and English. He was also a notable translator of Buddhist texts : working with student and Dharma heir Mike Chodo Cross, Nishijima compiled one of three complete English versions of Dōgen 's ninety-five-fascicle Kana Shobogenzo ; he also translated Dogen's Shinji Shōbōgenzō .
Zazen in a dojo. Zen emphasizes zazen, meditation c.q. dhyana in a sitting position. In Soto, the emphasis is on shikantaza, 'just sitting', while Rinzai also uses koans to train the mind. In alternation with zazen, there is walking meditation, kinhin, in which one walks with full attention. To facilitate insight, a Zen teacher can assign a kōan.
Fukan zazengi (Japanese: 普勸坐禪儀), also known by its English translation Universal Recommendation for Zazen, is an essay describing and promoting the practice of zazen written by the 13th century Japanese Zen monk Eihei Dōgen. The date of its composition is unclear, and the text evolved significantly over the author's lifetime.
Regarding practice, Dogen counseled a distinctly nonattached or nonclinging kind of action, that is, an activity completely unconcerned with benefits or the accomplishment of ulterior goals: the activity of 'just sitting' or 'nothing-but-sitting' (shikantaza) whereby self-seeking is set aside in a manner resembling a resolute 'dropping off of ...