How to practice Zen meditation (zazen). Zen Meditation Techniques for Beginners

There is no spoon. Do you remember the phrase from the movie "The Matrix" spoken by a Buddhist monk?

Is there really a spoon? In Zen there is a kind of practice called koans. Koans are riddles that the master asks the student to check the extent of his progress on the path of Zen. In relation to Zen, it is more correct to say insight than understanding. "There is no spoon" is also a riddle, a koan...

What makes Zen different from other spiritual practices?
The main distinguishing feature of Zen is the rejection of canonical texts, of treatises. In the Zen system, of course, there are treatises, but they do not play a key role.

Zen differs from other Buddhist schools in its directness, simplicity, practicality and immediacy, inextricably linked with ordinary life. Zen is the only teaching where there is room for laughter.

What is Zen anyway?
Zen is a branch of Buddhism.
In the broadest sense, Zen is a school of mystical contemplation or the doctrine of enlightenment that emerged on the basis of Buddhist mysticism.

The Zen teaching came from India to China, where Boddhidharma brought it, and was further spread to Far East(China, Japan, Vietnam, Korea).

The word Zen comes from the Sanskrit word dhyana, which means deep concentration.

Zen directs us to experience reality directly, instead of looking at the world through mental concepts. The philosophy of Zen is very close to the philosophy of Advaita. Both there and there the goal is to overcome the duality of perception.

The duality of perception is the division of the world into friends and foes, good and bad, white and black, right and wrong. What we like - attracts us, and what we don't like - repels us. This is how karma is created.

How is the duality of perception formed?
We live in object space. In order to operate with objects, we give objects specific names, that is, we designate objects with symbols. And at a certain moment, it turns out that we stop living in true reality and find ourselves completely immersed in the reality of symbols.

At the same time, the reality of symbols is inside us and often has little in common with true reality.

In perception there is one who perceives the subject and the object of perception. There is also the process of perception. If we overcome the duality of perception, what will become of these three? This is also a koan! ?

A network of relationships is created in the human mind, how we relate ourselves to other objects. From this, our ego is formed and, accordingly, our attachments. There is nothing wrong with this, if only it did not cause suffering in us.

For example, here is the director of the enterprise. Suddenly, the business collapses. This causes great suffering for the director.

In Zen, it is proposed to replace such dual perception with "Pure perception", perception without evaluation, when the subject and object merge and the person feels his inseparable connection with the whole world. This is the same as in yoga "come to the source", to find the source that is inside, but does not belong to us.

Such a person feels that we are all One, One from the very beginning. The angle of perception changes very drastically. And now the director of the enterprise will not suffer too much about the collapse of the enterprise, since a direct perception of the situation will allow him to choose the most appropriate way to respond.

It seems to me that women are much closer to the perception of Zen than men. Because Zen is intuitive and spontaneous.
Although in Japan there was a division into two polar schools, Sotto (rational) and Rinzai (irrational) on behalf of the founding masters.

I found a particularly vivid manifestation of Zen in creativity and martial arts. In creativity, with the help of Zen, the artist becomes able to express his true inner self.

In martial arts, in a fight with another samurai, there is no time for reflection, here the main role is played by the speed of perception and decision making. Although the samurai who practiced Zen in Japan had an expression that the one who did not draw the sword at all wins. This speaks of the ability to resolve the situation without the use of force, without violence.

Being in a dual state of perception, we create the fetters of the ego for ourselves, and therefore continue to create karma for ourselves. The transition to "Pure Perception" helps us resolve this issue once and for all.

2. Meditation in Zen

Meditation in Zen gives paramount importance. In general, melitation is almost the main and only practice in Zen. Meditation in Zen is called zazen, which means sitting meditation.

In Zen, meditation is the main and highest practice. It is believed that in order to achieve the task of enlightenment or gaining "Pure perception", it is enough just to practice zazen diligently.

3. Sitting meditation

Meditation is working with your own mind.

The main advantage is awareness training. Mindfulness is applicable to use in any other activity. When a basketball player trains, he trains the skill of throwing the ball into the basket. And this skill is applicable only in basketball.

Mindfulness is a universal skill. It will also serve you when you communicate with another person, play basketball or fly an airliner.

The method of sitting meditation is very simple. But the effect you get is proportional to your concentration in practice. That is, how much you invest in practice, so much you get.

4. Meditation technique

For meditation you will need:

Flat surface area and mat;
- a period of time of 15-20 minutes, during which no one will definitely disturb you;
- you need a mood for meditation, and calmness - internal and external.

The rug is suitable not too thin and not too thick, with a side size of 60-80 cm.

For meditation, 4 main postures are most commonly used: coachman posture, lotus posture, half lotus posture and Burmese posture. You can start practicing from the coachman's pose (the usual cross-legged sitting posture).

Another very important note! During meditation, the spine should be straight. More precisely, the head and spine should be located in one straight line. Imagine that you are being pulled by the top of your head, and the spine is like pearl string attached to her.

You should maintain an intermediate state between relaxation and minimal tension in the body in order to maintain a straight back. To do this, sit on a rug, put a pillow or another similar rug under your buttocks, folded in half, so that you sit on an elevation of 6-10 cm. This will allow you to more evenly distribute the load on your knees and buttocks, and therefore be in meditation for a long time without experiencing any discomfort. From meditation to meditation, alternate the position of the legs! - this is a prerequisite that will protect you from possible curvature of the spine.

Place your hands palms up on your knees. Can use jnani mudra, for this, connect a large and index fingers. This mudra adjusts to perception.

A common question is whether to use music for meditation? As you wish - then you can easily different meditations. And you yourself will feel - they have a different taste.

Don't meditate on a full stomach. As you progress in your practice, you will find that a certain diet, as well as avoiding nicotine and alcohol, make great progress in your practice.

Keep your eyes closed or half closed. The head is positioned as if you are looking at a point on the floor at a distance of 1.5 meters from you, while the gaze is slightly defocused.

Concentrating on your breath will make it easier for you to achieve a meditative state, because breathing is connected with the whole physiology of the body, and so on ... Let your breathing become more and more calm and measured during meditation, then the body relaxes, and then thoughts that disturb you dissolve.

Breathing should be soft. If you feel yourself sinking into a drowsiness, you can make the inhalation a little longer and stronger, and the exhalation a little shorter and weaker. Usually such breathing is practiced at the beginning of meditation in order to fill oneself with energy and freshness. As you relax, the emphasis shifts to exhalation. The exhalation is longer and smoother than the inhalation. This will help you relax more.

Think of thoughts as clouds that come and go. They just come and go. They come and go. The stronger the state of meditation, the fewer thoughts will become. It's just a matter of practice.

During meditation, we use two focuses of concentration: the breath and the dan tien center (two fingers below the navel). We first concentrate on breathing for a while (2-4 minutes). Then we concentrate on the Dan Tien (2-4 minutes). Then we need to combine these two tricks. We simply imagine that we are breathing through the Dan Tien center. On inhalation, the flow of energy enters from the back and fills the Dan Tien. As you exhale, the flow of energy comes forward from the navel. This is how we maintain simultaneous concentration on these two focuses - breathing and dan tien.

There are two types of energy in the body - the energy of fire (yang) and the energy of water (yin). When meditating, the heat should descend to the dan t'ien (navel) area. Coolness remains in the head because the heat has sunk down. When in the head yin from the salivary glands begins to stand out transparent liquid saliva. This shows that you are doing everything right. But if during meditation the heat rises to the head, it is advisable to stop meditation and turn to a mentor for help with meditation techniques.

There are two main forms of meditation:
- meditation on an object or concept;
- meditation without foundation (without thoughts).

In the first step, while meditating on an object, you train your Mind to keep its attention on one object for a long time. Teach him to be one-pointed, calm. First you concentrate on your breathing. Then you can do meditation on a candle flame, on a waterfall. Then you can try your hand at meditation on concepts: love, light, etc.

When you are sufficiently established in the first form of meditation, you can move on to trying to meditate without thoughts.

These are the main points of the technique of meditation and the essence of meditation.

The main thing is that the technique of meditation is simple and effective. If you are really interested in self-knowledge, then this is a powerful method. The main thing is the practice itself and attentiveness to your condition.

Your meditation increases inner harmony? - Then you're doing everything right!
“... The spirit is awakened in calm, and calm in wakefulness. This is the natural state."

5. Obstacles during meditation

If you feel pain in your legs, change position. With practice, leg pain and numbness go away. The network of capillaries expands. Yoga is recommended.

If thoughts disturb. Thoughts are illusory. Recognize it!

If the face itches, capillaries are activated due to improved blood circulation. It usually resolves on its own without intervention.

If you feel phenomena of superperception or start seeing some pictures - it's nothing, go deeper and further. Your task is to achieve complete peace of mind.

6. Stages of Meditation

Overcoming physical trials;
- control of drowsiness;
- control of energy and breathing;
- control of obsessive thoughts and control of fleeting thoughts;
- state of arrival;
- condition when they arrived;
- the state when they forgot about the arrival;
- emptiness;
- action and non-action become one and the same.

If you are seriously interested in meditation, we recommend that you get acquainted with the method of sitting meditation from the practice of Zen, described in detail in the book "Kwan Yun-Lee. Won Buddhism. Commentary on the method of sitting meditation in Zen." This wonderful book - a practical guide - is enough to start mastering meditation on your own.

And once again I would like to remind you of the main principle in zazen - success can only be achieved by regular practice!

Buddhist practice differs from other techniques in the absence of unique techniques, because some of the classes are borrowed from Hindu schools of philosophy.

Zen meditation, i.e. contemplation, at first seems simple, although it is based on a hundred concepts and therefore requires both practical and theoretical training. In the primary state, the mind, according to Buddhists, is not able to concentrate on specific objects and study the deeper layers of consciousness.

What is Zen meditation for?

Meditation, from the point of view of the Buddhist tradition, is necessary to turn one's own gaze inward. At the same time, the task of a person is to discipline the mind, which cannot clearly recognize things and linger on a separate subject due to being agitated by emotions or past experience. It is meditation that can abstract the mind and show how full of unnecessary thoughts or illusions the head is.

Buddhists believe that the modern mind of man is impure. It is created by internal illusions, i.e. ignorance for life. One can overcome such a problem either by gaining wisdom (Prajna), or by understanding in the process of achieving Samadhi (concentrated mind).

It is possible to gain a mind already concentrated only with a moral way of life, in which it is necessary to include relaxation and observation of the world. Therefore, meditation is so necessary for every person who seeks to realize the truth and the highest essence. Relaxation practices open the veil of the inner nature of the personality, develop intuition.

Focused mind is the result right meditation based on the ability to analyze and peace of mind.

From a scientific point of view, it can also be said that Zen practices contribute to the correct tuning of the human brain. Such meditations can increase the number of alpha waves, which opens up access to the subconscious. The stable performance of Buddhist exercises establishes a strong connection between the soul and the body, which increases a person's ability to self-heal. But main benefit Zen meditations remain, of course, all-round peace and a sense of harmony.

Preparation for practices

Meditation in Buddhism consists of three stages:

• Shruti - study. Here, understanding of the fundamentals of the practice is achieved by listening to senior masters and reading relevant literature.
• Vichara - thinking. It is necessary to discuss the information received, to reflect on the correctness and suitability of the practice for your situation.
• Bhavana- Meditation itself.

Even after the first two stages are mastered, one must keep in mind that Buddhists put forward a number of conditions for each meditator.

A person should have a safe and peaceful home that is not isolated from social environment, but provides many hours of contemplation without mental stress.

Also, the individual must give up his constant desire for luxury, so it is better for beginner practitioners not to engage in things with an external orientation (shopping, going to cinemas, etc.).

To discipline the body in Buddhist meditations, special asanas are used. It is necessary to be able to control your physical shell in order to control the movements of the mind later. The choice of a specific position of the body is individual, but important principles must be observed:

• The back should always be straight;
• For beginners, it is better to avoid strenuous exercise during meditation;
• Breathing should not be constrained or squeezed.

You can meditate while sitting on a pillow with crossed legs or on a hard chair with parallel feet, and you can also practice the activity while walking slowly. It is also worth paying attention to the position of the hands. Can be put right palm over the left hand, hidden under the clothes. In this case, the inside of the hands looks up, and the thumbs slightly touch. It is also permitted to place the right hand on top, palm down, expressing humility. Another option is to keep the hands on their respective knees.

Buddhist meditation does not involve closing the eyes, because this does not increase the concentration of the mind. You can lower your eyelids a little, darkening the room, and also look down, capturing the tip of your nose with your eyes. The mouth is kept closed during practice, but the teeth should not be clenched. Breathing is carried out slowly through the nose.

What to meditate on

If the practice is planned for a long time, it is impossible to approach the issue of choosing an object of contemplation superficially, because the whole lesson can go wrong because of this. Buddhists divide meditation objects into two categories:

• Things that affect the nature of the inner body. Such objects may include the breath itself or the human mind. Meditation on the nature of the mind is considered the highest goal by many practitioners. As for concentration on inhalation-exhalation, it easily keeps the attention of the mind at one point, if you synchronize the movement of breath with movements inside the head. Sometimes you can concentrate on raising and lowering the chest in the process of breathing.
• Things that affect the outer shell. This includes sound objects and objects of specific forms. In the first case, there is concentration on some mantra, and in the second, a mental image of something is created, for example, a point of light or a divine silhouette. Many Buddhists use a portrait or figurine of the Buddha for meditation, but it should be remembered that after the choice has been made, the object of practice cannot be abruptly changed.

Try not to indulge yourself when choosing an object. If there is a tendency to create attachments, one should choose ugly things that do not cause passion. With strong anger, it is better to create soothing mental pictures of landscapes. Natural preferences, like the choice of color, are best taken into account.

Zen meditation techniques are not sleep, because drowsiness interferes with the clarity and alertness of consciousness.

Concentration on things must be accompanied by awareness and active power of the mind, otherwise all energy will dissipate, and will not go in a specific direction. Consider also that, while building a mental image of an object, a person must move away from thoughts and words. Just keep the picture in mind and that's it.

Classification of meditations

1. Conscious breathing is the practical best approach to achieve Samadhi. Meditative exercises of this type include some manipulation of inhalations and exhalations. It is customary to divide this type of practice into 4 stages. The simplest ones are sequential counting of inhalations first, and then exhalations without unnecessary thoughts, as well as a general observation of breathing, i.e. continuous focus on it. Final stage- concentration on individual experiences, sensations from the process of air circulation inside the body. Then you can learn separate, complicated practices to stop or hold your breath.
2. Concentration of the mind on a point. This is a difficult meditation that involves focusing on both the physical sheath and outside world. Keeping your attention on objects is safe, but not very effective. But if you focus on individual chakras in the body, you can achieve physical sensations.
3. Working with visual representations. It is very difficult to visualize pictures with the mind's eye, because the images do not want to be static or remain intact for a long time. First, it is worth introducing static objects, then moving on to moving and rotating ones. It is also believed that complex detailed paintings are easier to see for beginners, while advanced practitioners are engaged in simple pictures and big visions in small spaces.
4. Mantra yoga- meditation with mystical words and spells. In Buddhism, this direction is given less attention, but it is a very easy and safe form of practice. It is recommended to read while relaxing prayers, bijas, the name of the Buddha
5. Meditation in motion- soft exercises to achieve Samadhi or simple control of Prana, harmonization of the body. From the Buddhist point of view, movement is an additional form of practice that does not give the primary results of contemplative meditation.
6. Immersion of the mind in pious thoughts/good will. This is a very important meditation for Buddhist yogis. One of the teachings says that the main virtues are compassion, friendliness, evenness of mind and good joy. It is necessary to focus on these broadcasts in order to prepare for other practices and reduce barriers between the inner and outer worlds.
7. Identification of the essence of the mind or Zen Buddhism-Effortless Meditation. This is the same pointless and arbitrary practice that is the essence of most Eastern teachings. To know the nature of the mind, to realize it for complete immersion at the request of a person is the main task of Zen sessions. After mastering such meditation, any kind of activity becomes a useful relaxation practice that does not require work on thoughts or purpose.

There is also a more truncated typology of Buddhist techniques, which includes mindfulness of breathing, development of universal goodness, simple sitting practice (i.e. Zen meditation), visualization (focusing only on the images of the Buddha or Bodhisattva in combination with mantra recitation), recall of 6 elements and remembrance of the nidan chain.

Considering the Buddha's teaching on the 5 psychic poisons, one can also imagine the classification of the main meditations as antidotes:

• breathing saves from absent-mindedness,
• doubts and wandering thoughts,
• metta bhavana (concentration on love and kindness) - from hatred or anger,
• six elements method - from arrogance,
• and remembering the chain of nidanas is from ignorance.

The last type of antidote practice is less common. This is the so-called corpse meditation (remembrance of death), which helps in the fight against cravings and attachments. Thus, getting rid of 5 human poisons accelerates the movement towards Enlightenment.

Some of the reclassified meditations are clear as they were explained earlier, but many practices require clarification:

• Metta bhavana or the development of feelings of love, kindness and care. This is about the same as immersing the mind in pious thoughts. The methodology is divided into five stages. First, one develops good feelings for oneself, then for a close living friend who is of the same gender and age as the practitioner. Then one must learn to maintain warmth for a neutral familiar individual, and then for an enemy or hater. The last stage - development is equal to love in general for all people. Ideally, one should extend one's feelings to any geographical or emotional remoteness of subjects, thinking not only about people or animals, but also about gods, angels, spiritual gurus, inhabitants of other planets.
• Practice 6 elements. It is the mindfulness of earth, water, air, fire, consciousness and space (ether). The purpose of such meditation is to break the worldly individuality. The essence of the technique lies in the return of all the elements that contain us, the Universe.
• The mindfulness of the chain of nidanas is a person's reflection on the 12 links of a certain conditioned co-emergence within the boundaries of human existence. In other words, we are talking about specific fragments of life: birth, ignorance, will, consciousness, sense organs, body and mind, passion, sensations, death, etc.

Interestingly, each of the practices can be combined with others as part of the overall process of spiritual relaxation. So, there is an opinion that any meditation is divided into 4 great stages:

• Integration stage. It uses breathing techniques, mindfulness and self-awareness practices.
• A period of positive emotion. After the inner Self has achieved integrity at the previous stage, you need to move on to raising it to the level of purity and power. Metta bhavana is suitable here, as well as other mettas aimed at developing various positive feelings.
• stage of spiritual death. The purified Self becomes transparent, so a person experiences a state of emptiness. Of the methods, the technique of 6 elements, remembrance of death, is used.
• The final stage is spiritual rebirth. Here, exercises on visualization (including abstract visualization), singing mantras will be useful.

Zen Meditation for Beginners: Features

So, Zen practice is a kind of Buddhist techniques for achieving higher forms of consciousness, which is subject to general rules traditions and at the same time has its own nuances. The very word "Zen" in Sanskrit just means meditation.

You can literally describe the technique in a couple of words: sit and do nothing. This seems like a simple instruction, but constant practice can cause drowsiness, take you into the world of dreams, i.e. the mind will lead a person away from the true purpose of his occupation. If you follow some tricks, you can avoid unnecessary thoughts and achieve the results of practice faster:

1. You can sit anywhere, but the object for contemplation should not distract or excite you. It is best to look at the trees, the sky, the walls - any static and unchanging things.
2. Don't look too closely at objects. A diffuse gaze is much more relaxing than a long focus.
3. When meditation has already begun, there is no need to change the breath. Let it flow naturally.
4. Once again, you should not move the body. The movement of the torso invariably entails shifts in the mind, because the basis is one energy.

Zen practice can be combined with other types of meditation, i.e. with mindfulness of the breath, contemplation of the 6 elements, with metta bhavana, etc.

In this case, one can only conditionally speak of doing nothing, since a person still makes some efforts of a conscious type. But in order for these efforts not to be volitional, from time to time it is necessary to engage in the practice of simple sitting, i.e. enter a period of receptivity and passivity. Ordinary sitting requires maintaining some kind of mobilization, focused awareness. A person watches what is happening in his head, but the thoughts themselves do not captivate him.

The correct practice of simple Zen is not accompanied by visions or visual sensations that indicate unnecessary tension. Zen meditation is like taking a purifying shower in a state of inner peace and outer equanimity. It is important to note that this kind of meditation is an end in itself, and not a tool to achieve something.

In some Buddhist schools it is customary to separate two types of meditation in the spirit of Zen or Zazen. The standard focused awareness has already been mentioned, but there is also meditation on the koan. A koan is a question or problem that cannot be solved by logic and simple thoughts. In fact, we are talking about the practice of going beyond the standard boundaries of the mind and establishing contact with the enlightened consciousness of a deeper level.

As a rule, koans concern certain aspects of the understanding of Buddhism; they are paradoxical. In the process of such meditation, one does not need to think intellectually, one should be aware of one's own ignorance and go in search of truth within oneself. There are also personal koans - riddles Everyday life no final decisions. In this case, the task of a person is to change his personality, his point of view on the issue.

When a person masters the basic techniques of Zen meditation, he can move on to a synthesis of daily activities and relaxing settings. You can learn not to give in to emotions and thoughts in a quiet sitting, but then you need to develop the ability to transfer this feeling to external actions.

Physical labor in the garden or in the kitchen is quite convenient to combine with Zen meditation for a whole hour, or even longer.

No less effective is the practice of Zen while walking, for example, in combination with a walk along the pond. Breathing should be adjusted to the steps, and then gradually increase the exhalation by one step. Dynamic meditation goes well with the breath counting exercise.

Possible problems

Newcomers to Buddhist practice tend to encounter two kinds of difficulties.

1. The mind is distracted. Loss of attention is a protest of the human mind, which by nature must be scattered in a multitude of thoughts.
2. The mind loses transparency and energy. This problem is connected with the drowning of the mind in the object of concentration, i.e. With Nimagnata. Such an obstacle is difficult to recognize because it resembles real meditation. When it seems to a person that the mind is gaining stability, the likelihood of drowning increases. Immersion of the mind in an object causes pleasant sensations, but alertness fades. In such a state, it is dangerous to continue the practice, because it leads to the development of laziness.

In the process of meditation, a person goes through several stages: at first it seems to him that there are a lot of thoughts, then he notices long breaks in thinking, and finally, anxiety decreases and concentration increases.

In order to avoid the shortcomings of practice in time, one needs to attract the power of mindfulness in time, which immediately warns a person about the appearance of thoughts, and remain in vigilant awareness of worries.

You can get rid of distracted attention by lowering the object for concentration, as well as by darkening the room. If the mind is drowning in the subject, it is necessary to do the opposite: illuminate the room, and raise the thing higher.

Such measures, however, help in the first three stages of meditation, and when anxiety is already at zero and concentration is stable, one must look for other effective factors. At stages 4-5, meditation will be more useful to reduce alertness and vigilance, periodically check the strength and transparency of concentration. You need to be as patient as possible to achieve genuine results. If the concentration higher levels is disturbed, you need to pay attention to your own health, diet, daily routine.

If Zen meditation is done without gross miscalculations, success is almost guaranteed. First, a person notices changes in the body, because Vital energy is taken under control. The feeling of lightness is accompanied by the strongest experience of happiness. The harmony of the mind and the physical shell is the most important result of Buddhist practices.

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Zen is one of the central schools of East Asian Buddhism. It is based on the doctrine of enlightenment and mystical contemplation, the heart of which is a meditative practice - zazen. Initially, this technique was inherent in the largest Japanese school of soto. But thanks to the inexhaustible potential, today it is used by other schools. Zen meditation is a special state of a person. With skillful practice, consciousness is completely turned off, all mental and physiological processes in the body stop. The harmful effects of stress on the psyche are neutralized, both physical and spiritual well-being improves.

The essence of Zen meditation

The human brain is constantly in one of 4 modes of operation.

• Delta - deep sleep, being in a completely unconscious state.
• Theta is the level of sleep accompanied by dreams. A person gains access to intuition and his extrasensory abilities.
• Alpha is the freezing of consciousness between dream and reality, the complete absence of internal dialogue. Perception of the world as a whole.
• Beta - the involvement of all the senses, the mind working hard and uncontrollably. A state characteristic of representatives of modern society.

Finding the optimal state is the essence of zazen practice. It is the alpha frequency that opens the gates of both the mind and the subconscious to a person at the same time. Doing Zen regularly makes alpha frequency habitual and indispensable every minute. The life flowing in this regime establishes contact between the soul and the body. The body acquires the ability to self-heal without the help of any chemicals. External and inner worlds come to an overall balance. The first results of Zen meditation are a sense of harmony, and all-round peace.

Zazen technique

Zen meditation is done in a still sitting position. It can last from a few moments to 40 minutes. A stopwatch or incense sticks help you not to think about time and count it yourself. Clothing must be loose. It is better for the practitioner to sit on one or two cushions to feel comfortable.

• It is allowed to perform zazen in . The main thing is to create a triangle formed by two knees and buttocks. This position of the legs provides stability throughout the time.
• The hands are placed on the legs, palms up. The left hand usually rests on the right hand. The thumbs are raised up and touch each other, forming an oval.
• The trunk is at right angles to the floor. The spine should be straight, ears - strictly above the shoulders.
• When doing zazen, the eyes always remain half open. The task of Zen meditation is not to touch new sensations, but to turn to your inner self.
• The ideal position of the head is considered to be its slight downward tilt - a kind of imitation of the images of the Buddha. Despite the fact that in this position the gaze is fixed on the ground, the meditator is facing the wall. This expresses his desire to abstract not only from the surrounding world, but ultimately from his own.

Video on execution technique

Features of zazen

All meditative practices are focused on achieving insight through concentration on a single object and penetration into its essence. A distinctive feature of zazen is the maximum calming of the mind and body, existence outside of time and space. Zen is meant to be the most effective of all techniques. Many Japanese art masters before creative process perform zazen to enter a state of balanced intelligence.

However, in the early stages of zazen practice, in some cases the opposite effect occurs. Consciousness subjected to suppression, on the contrary, reacts with an even more intense outburst of emotions. An active struggle with the onset of an emotional storm is meaningless. On the contrary, you need to give her the opportunity to exhaust herself. It will disappear if you do not pay attention to it. Then you can continue the path to the final liberation of consciousness.

During a long Zen practice, even walking is allowed. It may or may not be fast. In this case, you should cover your fist with your palm. There are different opinions about which hand should be on top. Breaking the static is not an interruption of zazen. Alternations of stillness and movement are undertaken to achieve an identical degree of concentration in either position. Unlike other techniques, Zen is not interested in the process of inhalation and exhalation. She searches for the secrets of the universe in the elusive moments between them. This is the incomprehensible secret of zazen.

Benefits of Zazen Meditation

Zazen is the most common meditation technique in the world. Having plunged into it, a person acquires a high concentration and purposefulness. It reveals ample opportunities for self-improvement, thereby activating additional forces in oneself. Along with peace of mind, joy and compassion, it improves health and strengthens the will. Memory finds and uses all hidden resources. Non-single evidence of weight normalization due to harmonious coexistence with the environment has been registered.

Starting with muscle relaxation, the practitioner focuses on breathing and his mental activity. At the same time, he does not try to influence them, taking the position of an outside observer. Gradually, the inner “I” loses its framework and its deep cleansing begins. The mastery of zazen comes naturally to those who practice it carefully and consistently. Gives life filled with light, energy and love.

CHAPTER 2 ZAZEN POSTURE

During the practice of zazen, the student usually sits on the floor, facing the wall, on a cushion or on a folded blanket. The area of ​​the pillow or bedding is about three square feet. Another pad is placed under the buttocks - smaller and thicker (Fig. 5). It is important that this pad be thick enough, otherwise it will be difficult for the student to assume a correct, stable posture, as will be described below. The pillow should be placed only under the buttocks, it does not reach the hips.

In zazen, several different postures can be used, and the practitioner must experiment to find which one suits him best. Some postures are easier than others and can be used at different levels of practice. If the student is able to maintain a stable, immobile body position without feeling uncomfortable for twenty to thirty minutes, it does not really matter what posture he adopts. If it is not possible to sit comfortably on the floor, one can try to sit on a chair or on a stool, while as far as possible all the essential features of the postures described below are reproduced. Clothing should be loose, not constrain any parts of the body. Sitting well can take a lot of patient practice and experimentation.

Figure 1 shows "kekka fuza" or the so-called "full lotus" posture. She is symmetrical; the right foot rests on the left thigh, and the left on the right; you can also accept the reverse position of the legs. In this position, as in all others, both knees lie firmly on the pillow. The hands rest on the legs; usually the right hand is under the left, and the palms are facing up. The thumbs can touch the tips of each other, forming a ring, or can be placed parallel to each other. Another position of the hands is to hold the thumb of one hand with the palm of the other, as shown in figure 2. For most people who begin the practice, "kekka fuza" is a rather difficult posture. However, it is the fully balanced, independent posture that is most conducive to good practice.

The hanka fuza or half lotus pose is easier (Fig. 2). The right foot is under the left thigh, and the left foot is on the right thigh (again, the opposite is also possible). The hands are positioned in the same way as in the “full lotus” position. Hanka fuza is an asymmetrical posture and tends to deviate the spine from a straight line, with one shoulder appearing to be elevated. These deviations can be corrected with the help of a mirror or the promptings of another person, however, it must be recognized that other defects in the position of the body are sometimes the results of this posture, especially some slight curvature of its upper part. We do not particularly recommend this pose. But you could also put the edge of one foot on the shin of the other leg, and then the landing style will approach the pattern shown in figure 3, which is quite suitable for practice.

The last pose depicts a modified Burmese style of sitting with both feet flat on a cushion. Try not to find yourself in a cross-legged tailor's position, in which the lower back is lowered and tilted back. During zazen, the lower back should always be pushed forward, as will be described below. This posture is quite symmetrical and promotes relaxation of the upper body.

A completely different posture is shown in figure 4, in which the practitioner sits on a cushion with the legs spread apart; body weight is distributed on the pillow and on the knees. This style of sitting is very effective, especially for beginners who want to learn how to properly tighten the lower abdomen. If you assume this posture and push your waist forward, the tension will naturally spread to your lower abdomen, as we will describe below.

In all these postures, the stable base of the body is a triangle formed by the buttocks and two knees. From this it is clear how important it is to find a posture in which the knees lie firmly on the pillow and bear the weight of the body. The pelvis is firmly held immobile, the body is located at a right angle to it without tilting in any direction. It is kept straight by the waist muscles. The latter play a very important role in the position of the body. They are located throughout the body, and some of them penetrate into its deeper sections, and their upper fibers reach from above to the cervical vertebrae. In all poses, it is these muscles that keep the torso straight, and they alone are especially tense. It is important that the whole body, as far as possible, be held perfectly straight when viewed from above or from the front. The position of the body should be adopted in which the vertical line goes through the center of the forehead, nose, chin, throat and navel, and finally descends to the coccyx, as seen in Fig.6. Any deviation from these marks along the vertical line must be corrected with great care, not only during zazen, but also in normal posture.

Having taken one of the postures described, we take the next step: we need to make sure that the waist and lower abdomen are located correctly. In this case, the essential point will be the extension of the waist forward. And this, in turn, will cause a protrusion of the lower abdomen and at the same time push the buttocks back. Such a movement will be performed quite effectively if you try to slightly tilt the upper part of the pelvis forward. It has long been pointed out how important it is to protrude the abdominal wall during zazen. When you keep your torso upright, the weight of the body is sure to be concentrated in the lower abdomen, and that area a few inches above the navel will be at the center of tension. This area is called "tanden" (Fig.7); note: in a more general sense, this term is applied to the entire lower abdomen. We will have much more to say about the tanden later on (see especially chapter 7), but here it can simply be noted that when the weight of the whole body is concentrated in the tanden, the most stable position of the body and the most calm state of mind are achieved. In the practice of zazen, the lower abdomen should naturally protrude forward due to the fact that, simultaneously with the forward movement of the waist, the internal organs, as it were, are drawn into this area by force of gravity.

When we look at the spinal column from the side, it is not a straight line, but appears to be somewhat curved, as illustrated in figure 7. The position of the neck and head is quite important in this. It is not bad if the face is slightly turned down, as some images of the Buddha look; then the forehead slightly protrudes forward, and the chin is slightly retracted. A slight tilt of the neck forward with a completely motionless body contributes to the entry into a state of samadhi; you may actually find yourself assuming this posture involuntarily as your practice develops and you approach samadhi. But if the student wishes - due to his physical characteristics - he can simply straighten his head and neck.

It is necessary to keep the whole body so that it does not move in any way, since this is an indispensable condition for entering into samadhi.

Finally, you need to lower your chest and shoulders. In doing so, we relieve tension in the shoulders, neck and gastric fossa. Then place your hands on your knees with your fingers down and take a deep breath. This position of the arms is not a formal position in zazen, however, with this technique you will quickly get a feel for how the chest and shoulders should be lowered; and then it will become habitual. Pushing the buttocks back also pulls down on some of the shoulder muscles and helps relieve tension in the chest and shoulders.

Wrong postures. We may perhaps come to a better understanding of the essential features of correct posture by looking at some common landing errors. For example: in figure 8, the torso is not at right angles to the pelvis. Point A must be moved to the right, and then the shoulders will be at the same level. If, instead, only the position of the shoulders is corrected, the result will be an even more crooked landing (Fig. 12). When the student is sitting in clothes, it is not easy to detect such a mistake. Therefore, you should sit in front of a mirror with your body naked to the waist and carefully check your posture, moving the body in different provisions to find which part of it should be relaxed and which should be brought into a state of tension. Small and subtle manipulations of the muscles and skeleton cannot be learned from others; they are best learned through patient self-observation. However, even when using a mirror, the student is often unable to independently detect his mistakes unless they are explained to him in detail, since he has not developed the ability to see his own posture and judge it. I emphasize this fact because I myself failed for a long time to notice my own mistakes. Many of the landing errors that I describe were once mine, so that personal negative experience now allows me to quickly notice other people's mistakes and feel concerned about them. For example, after sitting for a long time, I often felt a dull pain in one buttock; I considered it inevitable and never questioned the reason. The thing was that my body was slightly tilted and its weight pressed on one side more than on the other. It took me a long time to understand such a simple thing. It's a fact that most of us know very little about our posture; we keep completely wrong habits both in zazen and in ordinary activities. When you assume the correct posture, you will find that not only the shoulders, but also the muscles of the back, sides and other parts of the body that you did not think about at all, are released from tension.

Figure 9 shows the upper body leaning to one side. The head tilted to the opposite in order to maintain balance. In this position, the person will feel tension in the right side of the neck, in the lower part of the left side, and in the upper right side of the whole body.

Figure 10 shows a hunched posture similar to that of an old man. This position usually arises from the inability to correctly do "protrusion of the abdomen and pushing the buttocks back." A person often complains of pain in the back of the neck due to the tension that exists here. It can be seen that the spinal column is too bent in the neck. The practitioner will also experience back and shoulder pain. When you assume the correct posture with your buttocks pulled back and your belly protruding, the muscles of the back of your shoulders (trapezius, etc.) will be pulled down, your shoulders will drop and their tension will weaken. At the same time, the chest will naturally lower, and the solar plexus will be released from tension. And then you will feel comfortable.

Stiff shoulders and cramps in the gastric fossa are the result of a nervous pulling back of the buttocks. A pillow that is too thin can also cause a round back, low hips and a depressed abdomen. The knees do not touch the bottom cushion and the whole posture becomes unstable. A thicker pad will help push your waist forward. Admittedly, many people find this body position with a round back comfortable, at least when they are sitting in a chair. When you sit deeply in a chair and lean back with your stomach and waist relaxed, you feel comfortable, however, if you take the same posture for zazen, you will soon find that it is uncomfortable, because you will have to make an effort to maintain a bent bodies with a round back.

As explained above, when the practitioner assumes the correct posture, the entire body is centered directly in the tanden. This creates a strong inner tension, and, as we will see later, this is important for controlling the mind and entering the state of samadhi. The experienced Zen student need only sit down and almost immediately enter into samadhi. This is a consequence of his correct posture. On the other hand, with a twisted torso, a bent back, and other deviations, the practitioner will not only feel uncomfortable, but also the weight of his body does not fall exactly into the tanden; which means it will be difficult for him to achieve samadhi.

If a practitioner holds the wrong posture for some time, he will inevitably begin to feel difficulty. When trying to ease the feeling of discomfort, other parts of the body will be tense. The shoulders are especially quick to respond in this respect, so complaints of pain in the shoulders during zazen are not uncommon. Further, when we tense the shoulders, this creates tension in the upper parts of the body. This tension upsets the balance internal organs which in turn upsets the concentration of the mind. Thus, tension in the shoulders inevitably leads to physical and mental restlessness. We often see this not only in zazen practice, but in other situations as well. For example, when a pitcher suddenly loses his temper during a baseball game, it is often due to unusual tension in the shoulders due to excitement. When we practice zazen, we should be as careful as when we practice athletics or gymnastics.

Figures 11 and 13 illustrate other fit errors and require only a few explanations. In figure 14, the face is turned to the side; and in this case, the shoulders and chest are often pushed forward on one side more than on the other, and this leads to twisting of the body. The same mistake can be made by some students if they sit too casually without making sure that their body is facing directly to the wall, and if then the face is turned directly to the wall, this will necessarily cause twisting of the torso.

Figure 15 shows a posture with a protruding chin, as a result of which the back of the head is squeezed. The result will be an unnatural constriction of the nerves passing through the neck, and this will prevent the practitioner from entering samadhi.

A noteworthy example is figure 16; it shows the result of the deviation of the sternum from the line passing through the nose and navel. The torso is skewed and the shoulders are uneven, and the neck is pulled to one side to maintain the balance of the pose. If this person tries to assume the "correct" posture while maintaining such an erroneous physical position; tension will spread to the neck, shoulders, even to the face and head. In addition, there will be some soreness in the right side of the chest above the navel. It is possible that the curvature of the sternum in such a case will be almost incorrigible. For a person with such seating defects, the posture to which he is accustomed may become natural and should be maintained. This is just one of many examples; careful observation will reveal others. Partial curvature of the spine is found in many people, and some ways to correct it with proper posture fail. Stable features of the body structure, congenital or acquired in a very early childhood, should be considered half constant. Therefore, the desire to always take the "correct" posture can be erroneous. The practitioner may be quite comfortable in his usual posture, in which case he can successfully continue to use it. A slight deviation from the standard posture will not necessarily prevent entry into samadhi.

I have spoken in this chapter only of general principles. I will give only one example to illustrate their possible application in practice, based on individual characteristics. specific person. An English correspondent recently addressed me with a letter. He wrote: “When the last five-day sesshin ended, I lost feeling in my legs. This goes on for almost two weeks. The doctor I went to said that my fifth intervertebral cartilage was destroyed in a car accident a few years ago, and only a tenth of it remained in its place. Thus, when the buttocks were pushed back, the area between the fifth and fourth lumbar vertebrae turned out to be strongly curved, and this could be the cause of the disease. I advised him not to push his buttocks back, for it is quite a reliable fact that one can enter into a state of samadhi even while sitting in comfortable chair, and the pose is completely random; many examples are known when sick people, bedridden, reached maturity in Zen. However, for most of us, it is possible to follow more closely what I have described here. general principles correct posture will be of great help. Incidentally, the same correspondent subsequently wrote to me that some time later he stopped losing sensation in his legs, even while sitting with his buttocks pulled back. One doctor told me that, in all likelihood, the calcification around these vertebrae had soldered them into a single, immovable bone.