Zazen - A Guide to Sitting.

[Bob Hubbard]

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[Vulcan]

Though it is not covered in the video (which is quite good, btw...thanks), one can also sit in seiza (feet under you, with knees in front as if you are kneeling, but with tops of feet flat on the zabuton or floor and legs slightly spread. Right big toe can cross over is needed).


I zazen in seiza as it is a good crossover dicipline for my Muso Shinden Ryu.


One can also sit in a chair, with the back straight (not leaning on the chair back), hips rolled forward, and hands resting in the lap. A lot of people not used to lotus or seiza need a chair, or for medical reasons a chair is better.


Even though zazen is literally translated as "sitting meditation", this is not what is meant in Zen Buddhist teaching, which uses a broader definition. Zazen is a state of mushin (no-mind or empty mind) present awareness and mindfulness. It is a practice that continues off the cushion. Zazen is sitting, it is walking (kinhin), it is standing, it is laying down.

A separate term is used to describe "just sitting", which is shinkentaza. This is for the more advanced practitioner where one does not have a koan or theme, or visualization at all. There is only sitting and breathing. The mind and body drops away and there is nothing left but an empty state. This state is very valuable for the martial artist, who has the potential to become unfettered by obsessive thought and analyzable, and free to act according to the flow of the situation.