Sitting Instructions
The follow is a set of sitting instructions for Zen meditation, compiled by Seiju Mamoser, founder of the Albuquerque Zen Center.
|
1. Za-zen (sitting practice). Sit formally—unify body and mind .
| 2. Posture |
| |
a. Firm base: Burmese/Seiza/Chair.
b. Elevated rump.
c. Sternum up, rock forward on pelvis, up, not out.
d. Chin tucked in, head from ceiling.
e. Mouth closed, nostrils flared.
f. Eyes open-half-open, resting on floor, soft focus.
g. Hands—cradle hara.
h. Rely on skeleton.
i. Relax within posture.
j. Loose clothing (at waist and leg).
k. Basic rules during zazen: sit still, sit quietly—no movement, no unnecessary noise.
|
|
| 3.
Breathing |
| |
a. Use diaphragm, upper chest does not move.
b.
Let your body breathe, don’t try controlling;
yet extend subtly.
c.
Be mindful of breath, short, long,
without judgment.
d.
Feel with hands/hara.
e.Complete breathing/spherical breathing.
| i |
Inhaling, embrace entire world within yourself. |
| ii |
Exhaling, give yourself to the world’s embrace. |
| iii |
Both inhaling and exhaling completely unify
with world.
. |
| f |
Give yourself to breathing unify with breathing |
|
 |
|
4. Mind |
- Become aware of entire body/let your consciousness fill your body.
- Center your focus on hara, below the navel. Feel your whole body with whole body.
- Come alive to physical experience of breathing, sensation of inhaling and exhaling.
- Unifying mind and body with breathing is not observing the breath, monitoring the breath, or counting the breath, though counting can be used as a temporary tool to focus the mind away from subjective activity.
- Take note of thoughts, memories, emotions, but return immediately to physical awareness of breathing. Surrender thoughts, memories, emotions into breathing.
- Senses are alert, but passive; completely receptive, without attachment.
- Sit at the center of sphere of sensation.
- Awareness and thinking are very different activities; there is no intellectual content in zazen—mind-full-ness.
- Every time we attach to thoughts/memories/emotions we lose awareness of this moment of our life and our relationship with the world around us.
- Our practice must arise each moment at the speed of life.
- Don’t identify with subjective activity (thoughts, memories, emotions).
- When distracted, take note and surrender into breathing awareness.
|
|
5. Unify mind and body through activity |
- Zazen is physical activity. The mind is disciplined to turn from centering on subjective mental activity to realization of immediate physical awareness (relationship).
- Our consciousness becomes one with your experience through unifying with our activity.
- Not meditation—no subject/object discriminating.
- The practice of coming awake in each moment of our life. No one can do this for us.
- Strong will: we need a great, persistent determination to cut through attachment and conceptualization.
- Complete relaxation is necessary for complete awareness.
- Complete activity—whole body-mind unified in activity of breathing—great energy.
- No-thinking activity; understanding is doing—manifestation—meaning and action together.
- Embrace your experience, no resistance, no judgment. Embrace our pain and discomfort; separating from unpleasant sensation is suffering. Relax with the sensation; keep experience fluid. Don’t become myopic, feel the unpleasant sensation within the sphere of all sensations arising this moment.
- Breathe spherically.
- Simple to describe, very difficult to do; don’t get discouraged.
- Begin again and again.
- Don’t judge or compare.
|
|
