Zazen?

[Murah]

I'm pretty new to the whole "Zen experience" and one thing I can't quite seem to understand is Zazen ( or the zen meditation).

How is this different from all the other meditations out there?

For the past six months I've been practicing breathing meditation ( anapanasati) without a teacher, so I guess you could say I'm still fairly new to meditation as well..lol.

Thanks for your input!

-Murah

[Gregor]

Murah,

I cannot speak with a great deal of authority about Zazen, I'm a relative beginner myself. But I would like to share my thoughts.

Being a beginner is a good thing, its really good to keep that mindset with you. I hope to never lose my excitement for the Dharma.

I have worked with the Anapanasati Sutta myself, and in all honestly its not that different. . .the dogma is a bit different, and the technique is a little bit different. . .but all in all we are still talking about following the breath, belly breathing, keeping proper posture, ect.

I'd really recommend that if you are curious about Zazen, you could commit to the practice of it daily for about a week. Check out this link -

http://www.mro.org/zmm/teachings/meditation.php

They are some pretty solid instructions. I wish I could describe Zazen better for you but I think it something we need to experience for ourselves.

[Murah]

Murah,

I cannot speak with a great deal of authority about Zazen, I'm a relative beginner myself. But I would like to share my thoughts.

Being a beginner is a good thing, its really good to keep that mindset with you. I hope to never lose my excitement for the Dharma.

I have worked with the Anapanasati Sutta myself, and in all honestly its not that different. . .the dogma is a bit different, and the technique is a little bit different. . .but all in all we are still talking about following the breath, belly breathing, keeping proper posture, ect.

I'd really recommend that if you are curious about Zazen, you could commit to the practice of it daily for about a week. Check out this link -

http://www.mro.org/zmm/teachings/meditation.php

They are some pretty solid instructions. I wish I could describe Zazen better for you but I think it something we need to experience for ourselves.

Thank you Gregor!!

-Murah

[Bansho]

Hi Murah,

Zazen is the complete practice of shila (ethics), samadhi (concentration) and prajna (wisdom), as such it encompasses all aspects of the Eightfold Path. 'Meditation' is actually a misnomer, since Zazen has no specific object of focus, in contrast to most techniques of meditation/contemplation.

Gassho
Kenneth

[Dharmamong]

Hi Murah,


Don't worry about doing or concentrating or anything like that, sit cross legged (lotus or half lotus position--you know the one where you feet are on top of th opposite thigh--if you can't do it stretch and slowly try harder you will inthe end!) staring at a wall for 20 or so mins a day. You'll get bored, get sore legs, think you're doing it wrong because nothing's happening-it doesn't, you'll start thinking about what you're going to have for your dinner, but eventually that'll calm down but it'll always happen. That's it. If you like it do more, if you don't, don't.

Just watch jundo for a demonstration of the correct position and how boring it is! http://www.treeleafzen.blogspot.com

hope that helps