Intro

by Rob Roman (Jan 1, 2016)

Meditation

Here we can learn a new way to relax and concentrate our attention and energy inward. Zen meditation has many forms. There is moving meditation, such as yoga or tai chi, there’s chanting meditation, such as nam-myoho-renge-kyo or chanting the Prajna Heart Sutra, and there’s seated meditation.

Right now, we are talking about seated meditation. This is the simple act of sitting quietly, and concentrating on breathing and thinking on what you are thinking. Normally, people will begin by counting their breaths. You will either count your inhale as 1 and your exhale as 2, or count one complete inhale and exhale cycle as 1.

Intro to Zen Meditation is something of a misnomer. You do not have to be a beginner to find something of value in this blog. You can be very advanced or you can know almost nothing about the subject. It’s okay either way.

Position

You have probably seen or heard of people sitting in the full Lotus position, but there is no need for that. One can sit in the half lotus position, or variations of that, one can kneel, or one can sit on a chair, it’s all good.

This guy is in the kneeling position turns the sitting cushion, or zafu, on it’s end. He gets an “Ä” for posture.

This person is in the half lotus position, although her top foot should be up on the opposite thigh. If she meant to sit like that and it’s comfortable for her, then that’s great. I just downloaded this photo from a quick Google search. What this person is wearing tells me she has formally entered a Sangha or family of Zen practitioners. I can also tell that she’s somewhat of a beginner. Her posture is less than optimum and she not concentrating 100%, only about 60%. How do I know that? We will explain later, but she’s doing a great job.

Sitting in a full-lotus position, takes some practice and can be uncomfortable at first, but is very stable. This guy is kicking *ss and taking names, imho, in terms of both posture and concentration. 🙂

These are not things to be concerned with if you are a beginner, but having a stable position that is somewhat comfortable for you will become important the longer you stick with it. You might be surprised to hear me say that as you progress in seated meditation practice, you will be better able to know and adjust your posture. Why? Because as your concentration and awareness improves, getting in and maintaining the proper posture for longer and longer times becomes easier and easier.

chair meditation — Meditation seated in a chair.

Not sure what the deal is here, but you can sit in a chair, that’s fine. Do what works for you. most people will sit at the edge of the chair, but that’s not required. Generally, you would not rest against the back of the chair.

The kneeling position is easier for beginners, and great for the advanced practitioners as well, giving them a break evrery so often from the lotus positions.

“Nam-myoho-renge-kyo”

Is a Buddhist chanting technique that we will talk about later.

Although seated meditation was the Buddhas original contemplation technique and seated and other forms of meditation are central to the Buddhist religion, there is no need to include Buddhism or any religion in seated meditation and concentrated breathing. On the other hand, many people become interested in meditation after reading up on the Buddhist religion, and others may turn to a religion as a result of meditation.

Time

“Okay, I’m very busy with all sorts of things and how long is this going to take?”

Many practitioners do sitting meditation two hours or more per day. Many practitioners do seated meditation for 1/2 hour in the morning and 1/2 hour in the evening. Some practitioners go to what is called a sesshin, where they might meditate for 8 hours a day, every day for one week. I did this and believe it or not, after it was over I continued for up to a few hours each day and then on the last night of the sesshin, I stayed up all night doing seated meditation.

Why did I do that? I have no idea. How could someone meditate for 8 to 10 hours a day? Some people who meditate regularly like to spend some time every three or so months and do extra meditation. Actually Sesshin involves a sort of concentrated meditation from when you wake up in the morning, until you go to sleep at night. Eating is meditation, walking is meditation, putting on your clothes is meditation. working in the garden is meditation. But none of that should concern you at all.

Actually, ten minutes is enough to start with. It’s optimum to try to do 10 minutes in the morning and 10 minutes in the evening, before you go to bed. Even if it’s ten minutes, once per day, you can derive some benefit.

Even bugs sit quietly without moving for some time each day. Cats do, birds do, lizards do, too. Especially in today’s modern-type world, we need to put everything away and turn everything off, and turn our minds inwards for a little time each day. Sitting in concentrated meditation can be a benefit for you, when you take that relaxed and concentrated mind out into your day and back.

Equipment

What kind of fancy equipment do I need? Well, you don’t need much at all. Some people like to ring a bell or chant before, in between, or after meditation settings. People like to burn incense, as it puts one in the right frame of mind and is strangely soothing. This is highly recommended, to burn a candle ans burn incense prior to a meditation session. There is also some formalized bowing and kneeling done in conjunction with seated meditation that sets a mood and an atmosphere of formality.

Why can’t we be casual about seated meditation? Being Casual is antithetical to seated meditation sessions. Even with some bowing, kneeling and chanting, it will only add about 5 minutes to you 10 minutes of quiet, still concentration.

Formality

Here is the definition of casual, let’s take a look:

ca·su·al kaZHo͞oəl/Submit

adjective

relaxed and unconcerned.“she regarded his affairs with a casual indulgence”

antonyms: formal

made or done without much thought or premeditation.

“a casual remark”

antonyms: premeditated

done or acting in a desultory way.

“to the casual observer, rugby looks something like soccer”

antonyms: careful, thorough

done or acting without sufficient care or thoroughness.

“the casual way in which victims were treated”

antonyms: careful, concerned

2. happening by chance; accidental.

“he pretended it was a casual meeting”

antonyms: intentional, planned

So, the most important equipment for seated meditation (or moving meditation or chanting meditation) is a mind and an atmosphere of formality.

Bad: Relaxed, unconcerned, without thought, not careful, not thorough, unplanned, by chance, accidental, unintentional.

Good:Formal, concerned, with thought, careful, thorough, planned, intentional.

I did not go to Harvard, but my sweats did.

Cushioning

Comfortable, loose fitting clothing is optimum. Sweat pants and a T shirt work well. A bathrobe or any robe is even better. You will need a space to sit, and if possible, that space should be used only for sitting. Many experienced sitters like to have a zafu, which is a specialized pillow, and a zabuton, which is a padded mat to sit on.

zafu zabuton — A zafu and 2 zabutons. I got two turntables and a zabuton.

These are nice to have, but not necessary. I used a folded up bedspread or a folded sleeping bag for a mat and a folded in half pillow, or two, for a meditation pillow. Why do we need the pillows and mats? You’ll find out. Sitting on a hard floor or under a bodhi tree with no cushions is not particularly easy or fun. It’s definitely not optimum, for sure.

So if you have a candle, some sweats, a pillow(s) and a bedspread, or blanket, or a straight back chair, you are ready to kick some *ss and take some names. You will also need some type of timer or alarm clock. You should be able to find someplace near you that sells incense, or you can order it via the internet.

Timer / Incense

Some people figure out how long it takes a stick of incense to burn half way or all the way to tell when your 10 or 15 minutes is up. Don’t try to go all gangbusters and try to sit for an hour the first time. You will only get disappointed and discouraged. Ten minutes will do nicely at first. The idea of a timer, a clock or a stick of incense burning is so you do not watch the clock.

Flowers

Another aspect of formality, it’s good to have a small vase of flowers in your dedicated sitting area. Ii always had a small vase the size of a baseball and I would pick wild flowers every so often. You can take a look and see if you can find a flower or flowers somewhere near you. You don’t have to go crazy with this stuff, but you can if you want to.

None of this stuff is necessary but having some of this stuff is optimum, or semi-optimum.

Summary

So, are we ready to start seated meditation concentrated breathing yet? Well, not really. In the next post I want to give you a little philosophy and background of Zen Buddhist meditation. Then in the post after that, we should be ready to do a little sitting. If you are already sitting or you want to go ahead and try it, be my guest.

One thing I offer is availability and access. Please feel free to ask me any questions or give any feed back or opinion you wish. I’m happy to help with the very basics of Buddhism or Meditation, but we can get into the really deep water of you want to do that. I also have a facebook page you can check out here:

https://www.facebook.com/Intro.Zen.Meditation/

I’m hardly an expert, but I do know a little something something about this stuff.

What do I need to do this? Comfortable, loose fitting clothes, some pillows or padding to sit on, or a straight back chair, and something to use as a timer.
How long will it take? 1o minutes once or twice a day is enough to start.
If I meditate, will I be reincarnated like the Dalai Lama, and the Panchen Lama? I have no idea, Chuck. Let’s all do something in this life before being worried about the next one, eh?
What’s the deal with the insects? I’m not exactly sure. I want you to tell me what thet is all about.
What if I’m a Christian? Do I need to be a Buddhist? Whay if I’m a Muslim? What if I don’t believe in religion or in God? That’s not a problem. Bees and squirrels have no religious affiliation I know of, but they do stop and sit quietly in a fixed position at times during the day. Cats and dogs, too. Check it out.
What’s the most important thing I need to do seated meditation, concentrated breathing? The most important thing is a sense of formality. You are going down a path that is 2,500 years old, amd traveled by many people who were very grateful to experience it.

Isn’t this just a bunch of esoteric BS ?

Actually, there is an unbroken chain of over 25 centuries of this practice. It’s not about finding Nirvana or becoming impervious to pain, heartache, loneliness, isolation, sickness, or mental illness. Enlightenment isn’t something to really shoot for, either.

The fact is that the mind is the most powerful instrument in the universe. The pain and heartache we feel is the very source of our strength and power. The mind can tell us things that are not true and make us do things not in our best interest. But when concentrated, your mind can be sharpened and attuned, and you will probably slowly start doing things that are really good for you and for others around you. You will feel that you can face your issues and your troubles head on.

If you are in darkness, you may find the strength to take the long path back to yourself and get back up and reach fort the starts once again.

At the least, I believe you will feel more relaxed and a little more aware of what’s really going on around you and in the world we all live in.