Zazen is the fundamental practice of Zen. No zazen, no understanding of Zen. That's it.
Although zazen is often referred to as Zen meditation, it differs from meditation in that there is no specific goal or aim attached to zazen. In zazen there is no special state to be achieved, and no specific object of attention. One takes the posture and sits with an awareness of what the present moment brings. Long breath. Short breath. Sound of a dog. Car horn. Washing machine. Itchy nose. Long breath.
You
You should be in good health and fairly flexible.
Posture
The importance of posture in zazen can't really be overstated. If your sitting posture is good, pretty much everything else will work itself out. This is why we're covering the posture first, rather than talking about what your mind does during zazen.
Cushions
At Tokuun-in you've got the works. A big flat zabuton on the bottom. A small rectangular cushion (often all you'll need if you're very flexible or sitting in the lotus position) is on top of that. Outside the door of the Hondo (the main hall on the 3rd floor, where we sit) you should find some round zafu cushions (these are good if you're tall). You have to use the zabuton, but otherwise choose your own combination of cushions to give yourself the kind of height that works best for your own body.
Clothing
Wear relaxed clothing and darker tones. You should not be wearing socks or stockings in the Hondo. If you bring your zazen clothes with you, there are plenty of rooms available for changing into them. Just ask anyone where to go.
We've had no cases of valuables going missing during the zazenkai, but it's probably prudent to bring your wallet or other valuables with you into the Hondo.
Legs
There are any number of ways of crossing your legs. The main thing is to try and have your knees on the floor, so you create a very stable triangle of your two knees and your butt. If necessary, get some extra cushions to make sure your knees are resting on something.
Full lotus is each foot on the opposite thigh. The most stable position by far.
Half lotus is left foot on right thigh, right foot tucked under.
Burmese is legs crossed flat on the floor in front of you.
Tailor style is the way most Westerners sit if we're asked to sit on the floor. Ankles crossed in front of us. This is a very unstable position for zazen, as your knees are floating up in the air and your crossed ankles can get very uncomfortable after a short while. Try for Burmese with some supporting cushions if you can instead of this.
Seiza is a kneeling position using only the zabuton. Sorry, Tokuun-in does not have any seiza benches! If you have one of your own, feel free to bring it along.
Abdomen, Back and Shoulders
Belly forward, butt back, providing a stable base for the upper body, and a gentle curve to the lower spine. The back should be erect, but not ramrod straight. Shoulders back, in line with the ears. The idea is that nothing is being forced unnaturally.
Head, Eyes and Mouth
Imagine a string attached to the back of your head and extending upwards through the ceiling. Imagine the string pulling upwards stretching your neck and spine upwards. Tuck you chin in a bit. Tilt your head so that you are able to look straight ahead when you open your eyes. Now close your eyes halfway and relax your vision.
The mouth is held closed. Put the tip of your tongue lightly on the roof of your mouth. Why? This seems to help slow the production of saliva for some reason, which is nice in reducing the number of times you might have to swallow.
Hands
Two hand positions are acceptable. In the "cosmic mudra" the right hand is placed palm up under the bellybutton, and the left hand is rested on top. The tips of the thumbs meet creating a relaxed oval shape. Alternatively just lightly grasp your right palm with your left hand and rest your hands in your lap.
Breathing
The manner of breathing is very important in zazen. Inhale through the nose, expanding the lower abdomen and pushing down the diaphragm. When exhaling let the abdomen and diaphragm relax. Don't force yourself to breathe more deeply or slowly than normal, just breathe. Over time your breathing will tend to deepen and slow, but let than happen completely naturally.
But What Do I Do?
Ok, good question. Ultimately, if you continue to practice, you'll be doing nothing but sitting, and being aware of the sitting and the other things that are going on around you. This is much more difficult than you might think, however, and it's not a bad idea to begin using certain traditional techniques for developing one's concentration over time.
On your first visit I'd recommend counting your breaths (silently). Breathe in (one), out (two), in (three), out (four) and so on until ten, then start again at one. Again, sounds easy but usually around three you'll start thinking about the place you went for dinner, and the cute couple at the other table, and the annoying barrista at the Starbucks back home, and the
Oh yeah, we were supposed to be counting. Start again at one.
Ok, this time we didn't even make it to two, because you're thinking about the barrista again, and the time he asked you if you really wanted him to remake the coffee because you said non-foam and he made non-fat and you asked him to remake it and you wonder if he did anything to it
Pfft. One.
Two.
Don't beat yourself up about it. You have a mind, and you are going to think. When you lose track, just go back to one. Don't make promises to get to ten in the next count, just start and one, then two, then three and so on.
Zazen takes incredible patience, and it's best to be kind to yourself in the interim. The kind of zazen you're doing now is perfect zazen. The losing track, and the coming back, and the losing track, and the coming back, are all just part of the process.
In time, as you sit more often your mind will calm down somewhat and you'll find yourself getting to ten most of the time. Once you're good with this start counting only inhalations or exhalations.
Why all the counting?
It's an easy and very obvious way to let you know when you've lost the plot. Getting better at the counting means your concentration is improving. As your concentration improves, and your mind calms down you'll find yourself noticing things you didn't before.
I'm seeing spots, and one of the spots is my brother. But he's also a spider. And he owes me money, but I'm thinking that if he stopped spending so much money on Thai foot massages I would have been paid back ages ago and I 'm confused because I don't even have a brother.
This can happen. It happens often enough in everyday life, actually, but you just haven't noticed it before. One of the central insights of zazen is that most people, most of the time, are walking around seeing spots and thinking strange things rather than experiencing life directly as it is. Regrets, hopes, the re-playing of a past disagreement with a co-worker again and again (as if you'll finally be able to win it this time) are part of the delusion we're locked in.
Ultimately the part of our mind that thinks, while very useful, can lead us in awkward or just plain wrong directions. We create concepts and then we proceed as if those concepts were reality rather than simply constructions of our mind. In doing this we lose touch with the reality that we are a living, breathing part of.
"For the ordinary man, whose mind is a checkerboard of crisscrossing reflections, opinions and prejudices, bare attention is virtually impossible; his life is thus centered not on reality itself but in his 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." - The Three Pillars of Zen
So, now that you've noticed yourself losing track, just go back to one.
Ok, so the counting is going pretty well now. What's next?
When that's okay just focus your attention on your breathing. Don't count, just notice what's happening. In. Out. In. Out.
When that's okay (give it a while), just SIT.
The bell rang. It's over. My knees were killing me! What now?
Can you stand up with total attention? Can you leave the temple with total attention? Can you walk back to the station with total attention? Yeah, the bell rang, but practice has just begun!
