Introduction to Zen - Class 01

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Wednesday Zazenkai

01 Welcome to Zen

 

Opening Meditation – Guided

 

Welcome to “Introduction to Zen.” This class is free and does not require you to be a member of Pilgrimage of the Heart Yoga. Most of you are not new to Zen or this class; however, some are, so we’ll start right from the beginning as if everyone were new. If you have questions, I encourage you to ask them. You can ask in or after class or email me if you prefer. 

 

What is Zen?

 

The word “Zen” is commonly misappropriated and can mean anything hip, cool, or desirable according to current attitudes or beliefs. Almost any product or service may have the word “Zen” attached to it. But what is Zen really? 

 

The word “Zen” derives from the Sanskrit word dhyana, or “inward contemplation,” later to be equated with formal “meditation.” However, dhyana means more than the act of sitting and meditating. It refers to a constant inward awareness of the movements of consciousness, whether formally meditating or not. Dhyana also includes mindfulness. Mindfulness is just dhyana off the meditation cushion and on the move.

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When the practice of dhyana made its way from India to China (which already had a similar culture and practice), it began to be pronounced as chana or chan. In China, the word chan began to be associated with formal meditation practices, and in particular, that of sitting in meditation without a mental or visual object of contemplation—being in a state of pure inward silence. Chan evolved into a philosophical school of Buddhism in China and assumed certain distinctive practices that had a religious tone. However, the acquisition of religious rituals and dogma was, and is, considered a digression from the actual practice of Chan. When Chan was brought to Japan by Dogen Zenji in the 13th Century, the Japanese pronounced it “Zhan.” Today, we have “Zen.”

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Enlightenment – Fully Awakening to Life

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Zen has, at times, been subsumed into various religious practices, but it is in no way dependent upon them. As human beings, we live in a kind of fog. This fog is our limited awareness. The capacity for a wider awareness is always present, but a variety of hindrances prevent us from developing this awareness. In The Buddha’s lifetime, there was a kind of religious awe that followed him, and people made a religion out of what he taught. That is why he repeatedly had to deny being a special or divine being. Even today, many of the devotional lay practices of Buddhism are similar to Christianity. Very few follow the practice of Zen authentically, though many claim the word.

 

The origin of Zen is expressed in this story: One day, the followers of The Buddha gathered around him, expecting to hear a dharma talk. However, The Buddha remained silent. Instead of speaking, he held forth a flower, which miraculously bloomed in the palm of his hand. All were amazed but quite puzzled. What did it mean? The Buddha did not explain the strange occurrence. Only one disciple understood the meaning. He smiled, and The Buddha smiled back at him. In that exchange of smiles, the dharma of Zen was transmitted from The Buddha to this disciple, a man named Mahakasapa. He is considered the first Patriarch of Zen.

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 Ever since that day, Zen has been a silent transmission—sometimes between teacher and student, but more often between the True Self and the physical self, that is, from our innermost awareness to the external awareness of the body and brain. The wisdom and compassion of your deep silent awareness is the real Zen master of your life. To learn from this master, you must give up your reliance on your own ideas, emotional agitations of the body, and the mental noise of your mind. You must dutifully sit at the feet of your own inner silence. There to learn in silence from silence.

 

Then, in your outer life, you must live faithfully what you have learned and allow yourself to be transformed by that wisdom. The true practice of Zen is fidelity to your deepest silence. It requires practice to experience your deepest silence, much less live in accord with it. So, you see why Zen is practiced by so few people. Far beyond the noise of mental ideas and religious beliefs, beyond the bodily desires and agitations that command our daily attention, lies this deep wisdom. It is subtle and silent, easily forgotten.  

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Why Do We Need to Practice Zen?

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If Zen is so natural and spontaneous, why do we need a practice of Zen? Why not just live and let live? Why not forget about Zen? The answer is two-fold: First, if you don’t feel a need, there is no need to practice Zen. Carry on as you are. If you do feel a need, then don’t ignore or suppress it—fulfill your need. Secondly, don’t be lulled by sloppy thinking into believing that carelessness and negligence equal ‘natural and spontaneous.’ ‘Alert and aware’ is what makes a natural and spontaneous life possible, fruitful, and fulfilling. A careless attitude of neglect leads to a different outcome—heightened suffering.      

 

Living within the limited awareness of the physical body and mind is not a ‘natural life.’ It is a life cut off from our deepest nature. A fully natural life can only occur if we have a completely awakened and enlightened awareness.

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The Components of Zen Practice

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Zen is not just sitting in silent meditation. Formal silent meditation is the keystone in the ‘arch’ of Zen practice, but it is not the whole of it. Formal sitting is called ‘Zazen,’ and the ‘za’ indicates the essence of the practice. However, one cannot sit Zazen all day. There is a life to be lived. If one wishes to be strong, one might start lifting weights, but one doesn’t lift weights all day. Strength requires some recovery time from the stress of strength training.

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 Enlightenment requires that we assimilate the deeper insights and impressions of Zazen throughout the day in all our various activities. There is this idea that if one could sit all day and night, it would quickly lead to enlightenment. More likely, it would lead to a dulling of intelligence and perhaps even mental illness. Health and well-being are a result of deep insights being integrated into a variety of life experiences. Enlightenment is the ultimate and deepest expression of health and well-being.

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The principal components of a Zen lifestyle and practice are:

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1 – Zazen. Sitting meditation. Your meditation need not always be in perfect silence or with a perfectly upright and alert posture. You’re allowed to relax, but try to relax with full awareness. Good posture in sitting is to facilitate alert awareness.

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2 – Mindfulness. What is mindfulness? Mindfulness is maintaining your meditative awareness during your outer activities. 

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3 – Service to others. Service to others is the practice of forgetting your small ego-centric self and entering into your Greater Self, that of humanity. Service to others opens both the heart and the mind to a higher, more expansive, and deeper light.

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4 – A healthy lifestyle. This does not mean slavishly observing every kind of health restriction. It means living sensibly in moderation without self-indulgence or self-neglect. This is called “the Middle Path,” a balanced lifestyle and attitude, a deliberate but poised approach to self-discipline and practice.

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5—Aspiration. What is aspiration? It is the desire to evolve, an attitude of psychic (spiritual) self-improvement, and an eagerness to overcome the stagnation of our present limited awareness. It is an energized awareness of discovering, realizing, and manifesting your True Self to live your authentic life of inner enlightenment.   

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This is the first in our series of classes on Zen. In future weeks, we will cover a variety of topics in the hope that you will be able to develop a practice that matches your aspirations and intent. We’ll dive deeply into a variety of topics and practice some traditional techniques in class. You can then choose which methods and techniques best suit you. My hope is that each of you will find something of value that you can take with you on your journey through life.

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End Meditation – Zazen