Zen: Part 2 - Practice | Feelingawareness

Zen: Part 2 - Practice

Preparation

Zen practice, or Zazen, is about allowing attention to rest in the present moment. Clear attention can help us calm the nervous system, appreciate things, and also become aware of problematic thoughts, feelings, and sensations that need to be addressed.

A Holiday

Meditation may seem like a difficult discipline to achieve a goal. That is a thought frame.

The present moment is not a distant goal, something we work hard to build—it is always right here. When we wake from a dream, we've been lying in our bed the whole time. That's the present moment.

Zen is a holiday. It's a holiday from thoughts and plans and the busyness of everyday life. If we just stop and notice—not try to notice—whatever is here will be perceived.

Some of those perceptions will be colours, sounds, scents, sensations, and thoughts. Some will be pleasant and some will not. Some will be triggering and some will not.

Location

It is generally helpful to decrease overall stimulation with a calm environment. Visual simplicity and quiet allow us to notice what is here, and also how busy the mind is. With time, Zen attention can be maintained in stimulating circumstances.

Low lighting often helps, though darkness can also be a great "screen" that invites more mental imagery. A certain amount of light strikes a balance.

When selecting a location, take note of how the mind reacts to different colours and objects. Some prefer to face a wall and lower the eyes. Others prefer to face the center of a room and look straight ahead. Whether eyes are open or closed, find a balance—too much stimulation activates the mind, while too little encourages sleep.

Day and Time

Like any successful exercise program, we need to start easy and make it regular, probably once a day, until the habit pattern takes shape.

Choose a time of day when problems don't need to be solved and it's truly okay to take a break. It's important to make that promise.

For beginners, even 5 minutes is okay. Thinking often runs constantly and can be difficult to avoid for even 5 seconds. Try to build up the session time to at least 15 minutes.

If you consider a longer period, be respectful of your joints and muscles. Pushing through pain can cause the body to resist meditation. Usually 30 or 40 minutes is enough for a longer session. And keep in mind that longer isn't necessarily better.

Posture

Zen practice is about awareness and attention, not any particular posture. It helps to find a sitting position that is comfortable over time without strain to any part of the body.

The traditional zazen posture is sitting on a firm surface with a small pillow under the base of the spine, legs crossed, back straight, hands on lap or thighs. This triangular base helps keep the posture steady. Various versions include:

• Lotus—legs crossed with both feet resting on opposite thighs

• Half lotus—one foot resting on the opposite thigh

• Quarter lotus—one foot resting on the opposite calf

• Burmese—knees out to the side, feet tucked in towards groin, on the floor in front of each other

In addition, some prefer to kneel with a pillow between the buttocks and ankles, while others kneel using a meditation bench.

The simplest and easiest position is sitting on a padded, upright chair, feet on the floor and back straight.

If sitting upright for any length of time is a problem, lie with the back flat on a mat, with knees up and/or supported by a cushion.

Leisurely postures on padded chairs or beds can also work, however, greater comfort often encourages daydreaming and sleep rather than clarity of attention.

It is generally useful to release tension before a session with easy, informal stretching and deep, slow breathing and exhalation.

Dealing with Thoughts

Thought, in all its forms, is the natural patterning of the mind. For various reasons, however, thought can go from infrequent and useful to all-consuming and destructive. The purpose of Zen attention is to:

• recognize thoughts as thoughts—not reality

• identify thoughts that are symptoms of problems to be taken to therapy

• notice problematic feelings—and their origins—for resolution in therapy

• disengage from useless thoughts that interfere with the full experience of life

Beginners are often astounded at how busy their minds are. It can be surprising to witness that the gap between breaths is flooded with ideas and images that won't stop. In addition to that barrage we often start an internal dialogue about those thoughts, and even a monologue about the dialogue about all the thinking.

The whole mental landscape can be overwhelming and turn zazen into a frustrating struggle.

Please recognize that much of the human brain is built to think—to assess, to reflect, to plan, to problem solve. Some activity is completely normal. An overactive brain, however, is an accumulation of mental habits and defenses that are not originally our fault, but deserve attention.

So how do we deal with thoughts in Zen practice?

1) Let them pass without engaging. Thoughts, like birds, will appear, but we don't need to follow them with our eyes—we can let them “fly” past. Deal with thoughts the same way. If you do follow them and get caught up, just return to the zazen when you realize it.

2) Avoid thinking about stopping thinking, or thinking about how the session is going. Thoughts are like waves in a pool. Trying to smooth them with your hands will only create more waves. Thoughts, like waves, will subside when you are still.

3) Labelling thoughts is a useful technique for recognizing them for what they are. It can be very enlightening to discover just what we think about the most. This inventory can be very useful to bring to therapy.

During session, for instance, if a thought arises about dinner, attach a little label, "thought about dinner." Return to your practice and label the next one and the next one. Since the labels are also thoughts, we need to keep them brief and recognize that this is an interim practice that helps thought waves settle down over time.

4) Apply compassionate curiosity. We are fascinating, perfectly imperfect beings to explore, and we do odd, infuriating, and sometimes funny things. Be curious rather than judgmental—after all, negative judgment is just another thought.

5) Every moment is a fresh start. The “mistakes” we make in session pass, and then they are in the past—gone. Let them go. This moment, this breath, is a new beginning. Then this moment, Then this one. Every time, just breathe and start new.

Zen Practice - Forms

1) Counting the Breath

Counting the breath is the most basic form of zazen.

Let yourself breathe naturally. Attention to the breath can be focused at the nostrils, chest, or below the diaphragm.

Mentally count a number every time you exhale. Counting 1-8 or 1-10 is common. After the top number, return and count 1 for the next exhale. Continue until the session time ends.

Your attention is on the breath, the numbers, and any sights, sounds, scents, and sensations that occur. The only thought required is the number that appears in your mind. There is no need to have any other thought—though mental activity will happen and can be noticed but not engaged.

2) Labelling the Breath

In this form the focus is not on a count, it is on the exhale and the inhale. As you naturally breathe, silently say “in” and "out."

Mentally labelling the breath without counting is slightly more challenging. Without attention being anchored to the count, it can be easier to become lost in thought. If you do tend to get lost, return to the counting form until you are more able to stay in present attention.

3) Noticing the Breath

In this form, just feel the inhale; feel the exhale; inhale; exhale; inhale; exhale etc. Give your full, calm attention to it. When you can, let your focus of attention broaden outward—without losing the breath as the centre. As usual, when you find yourself lost in thought, return to the breath.

Noticing the breath without counting or labelling is even more challenging because there is no thought structure at all (the count, the labels).

4) Looking and Listening

When we have emotional or physical pain, sometimes a quiet state of attention can magnify those discomforts and make it almost impossible to focus. In these cases, it can be helpful to direct attention away from the body and even incorporate gentle activity like walking.

Choose a point of focus. A physical object such as a candle, rock, leaf, or a steady sound—such as a temple bell or low drumbeat—will usually work well. Less complex is better, as an involved image or piece of music will likely lead to mental activity and inner commentary.

At first, count or concentrate on the breath (forms 1 or 2) and settle in. Then, while keeping the breath as a grounding feeling, look at, or listen to the object. Just look. Just listen. Part of the mind will want to comment on it, but just look or listen without describing it.

As you attend to the object totally, allow the attention to envelop the object itself, and just be with it. When thinking or day dreaming happens, just return to the breath and the object. Let it fill everything. There is nothing else to do.

This focus away from the body may reduce the amount of discomfort you often experience.

5) Walking

Walking is a traditional alternative to sitting zazen. It can be used as a break between sitting sessions or as an effective form you prefer.

You can walk slowly within a space, or walk outside. While walking, continue any of the practices listed above. If walking very slowly, you can, if it's helpful, switch focus from the breath to the feet. Instead of noting inhale/exhale, note right/left.

Walking outside involves more stimulus but can be very refreshing and certainly nurturing in a natural setting. Walking with the outward focus of “Looking and Listening” can be very helpful for people dealing with pain.

6) Open attention

The purpose of Zen practice is to allow our attention to return to the natural, uncluttered state of feelingawareness. If that occurs during meditation sessions, it can flow out and fill our entire lives.

Open attention is a totally unfocused form. Start by focusing on the breath and then let attention expand—outward and inward at the same time. No need to push or direct, just let attention be with whatever is, moment by moment.

This is different than sitting as you always have, full of thinking, worrying, judging, and pushing to be something, do something, get something, criticize something.

This is pure Zen, pure feelingawareness.

Cautions

Zen attention is a tool to experience what is, and sometimes that experience can be distressing and painful. For that reason, Zen attention needs to occur at a pace that is effective but not overwhelming. Be sure to have support and guidance and a therapeutic format where difficulties can be processed and resolved when they arise.