December 25, 2007
Inducing Stillness Of Mind Through Zen Buddhism Meditation
The idea of Zen Buddhism meditation is stopping the mind from wandering and getting rid of unwanted thoughts. This technique of relaxing the mind has been given supreme importance in almost all religions. Some religions do not make use of the word “meditation”, but the effect and purpose is the same – stillness of the mind.
Zen Buddhists are repelled by “duality” and thus, they meditate by considering the mind and body as one entity. When we define meditation in general terms, it’s a technique that controls your mind in order to make it calm and stable, thus, making the meditator focused and aware of one’s self.
There are many ways to practice Zen Buddhism meditation. These methods have been practiced since ages and have shown amazing results. Zen Buddhists meditate either in groups or alone. Zen Buddhism meditation in a group is done in “sesshin” or “zendo” or in meditation room. This reminds the meditators that they are part of the Buddhist community, which, in turn, is a part of a bigger community of human species.
Zazen
This is the chief practice of Zen. Here, you need to sit in a comfortable position and meditate in such a way that you get in touch with reality completely. There are various schools of Zen that perform Zazen in various ways. Soto meditators sit facing a wall while Rinzai meditators form a circle and sit facing each other.
You need not always sit cross-legged to practice meditation. You can sit in any stable posture. The only condition is that your spine should be straight. Meditation on a chair is also fine.
Zen Buddhism meditation is usually done sitting in Lotus position, which is their typical posture. Here one sits cross-legged with the right foot over the left thigh and left foot placed on the right thigh. Beginners find this posture uncomfortable. For them, there are other postures such as half lotus in which you place only one foot over your opposite thigh. You can also sit in a simple cross-legged posture or bend your legs on a cushion with your lower leg placed under your upper leg.
Methods Of Concentration
The typical way to meditate is to become aware of your breathing. You just need to sit in a comfortable posture and concentrate on the inhale and exhale process. Do not worry whether you are breathing right or wrong; in fact, do not even think about the process of breathing. When you do so, you separate yourself from the breathing process. Sit and simply be aware of the process.
Although it sounds simple, it’s easy to get distracted. One of the ways to concentrate is count your breaths. In case you get distracted, start again. Practice until you can count without break. Some people chant mantra like “Om” to induce concentration. Some prefer to focus on an object such as a painting on the wall or candle flame.
Zen Buddhism does not believe that meditation has to involve sitting without motion. They also make use of repetitive movements of hands such as using beads or prayer wheels. A popular Zen Buddhism meditation method is walking meditation.
