Echoes of the Name

Meditation Posture

Kyōshin: In my limited experience of meditation I have found that the form, the ‘mudra’ of zazen, is extremely important.  As such here are some basic instructions and links on the subject.  The instructions are a mash-up of Shohaku Okumura’s Zazen Instruction, Kodo Sawaki’s ‘How to Sit’, and Dōgen Zenji’s Zazengi – made in the light of personal experience.

A quiet, bright, well-maintained room free from drafts, vapours and damp is good for zazen. It should be warm in winter and cool in summer.

Spread out a thick mat and place your meditation cushion on it.  Bow toward your cushion, turn around and bow in the opposite direction, then place your behind on the round cushion, taking care not to use more than half of it. The cushion does not go under the thighs; it goes under the buttocks. Place the front edge of the cushion under your buttocks so that when you cross your legs they rest on the mat.

Sit in either the full, half or quarter lotus posture. In the full lotus, the right foot is placed on the left thigh and the left foot on the right thigh. The toes of each foot should be aligned with the thighs, not extending past or slid down. In the half lotus just put the left foot on the right thigh. Your knees should rest firmly on the mat, just like shells that attach themselves to a rock in the ocean.

Loosen your clothes and belt and keep them neat. Place your hands in your lap with your left hand in the palm of your right, the tips of the thumbs touching lightly (fig.8). The top of the thumbs should be level with the navel.  (An alternative method of holding the hands used in the Rinzai tradition can be seen in fig.9).

Next sway your body left and right, making first big movements that gradually become smaller, until after seven or eight movements you settle firmly in the zazen posture. Take one deep breath and relax your shoulders completely. Push your lower back forward. Resting on your hip bone, your spine should be straight and unmoving.

Gently push up the crown of the head as if you are trying to press against a ceiling. You should feel your chin tuck in very slightly. Now relax, keeping the chin tucked in, and, let the vertebrae rest naturally in a stack.  Sitting like this, your nose should be straight above your navel, and your ears straight above the shoulders. Keep the eyes open with a soft, relaxed gaze that falls downward past the tip of the nose.

Take care not to pull the inner organs upward or push them down. They should rest naturally in the body. Make sure that your hips are always bent forward and your consciousness is sharp and clear. Don’t forget that the vital point of zazen lies in the hip/waist/pelvis area.

When your posture is stable, first exhale from the mouth completely, letting the air inside your body completely out. Having completely exhaled, close your mouth, place your tongue on the roof of your mouth behind your upper teeth, and feel fresh air inhale through your nose.  Now keeping your tongue on your upper palate and your mouth closed, breathe easily and naturally through the nose.  As you settle the air should naturally flow to and from your abdomen.  Do not make any special effort to regulate your breathing unless as part of a specific meditation instruction.

How you procede at this point will depend on the meditation instructions you choose to follow.

See the links below headed ‘Approaches to Meditation’ for some resources that I have found helpful.

Useful Links Relating to Meditation Posture:

• The Kodo Sawaki Zen lineage places a strong emphasis on correct posture and/or ‘entrusting to the posture’.  Check out ‘Opening the Hand of Thought‘ by Kosho Uchiyama, the Antaiji website, Rev. Issho Fujita‘s teachings Zazen Sankyu, Zazen is Not the Same as Meditation and video tutorials Part 1 | Part 2.   Al Coleman’s blog, hey bro! can you spare some change? is a great resource.
  
• I’ve also learnt a bit about the significance of posture from the writings of Dainin Katagiri Roshi and his disciple Dosho Port.
  
• There’s a very good discussion of posture in Crystal Clear: A Practical Guide for Mahamudra Meditators by Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche (see also here)
  
• In order to sit in a comfortable and supportive meditation posture it can be helpful to do some regular exercises.  See for instance: How to Grow a Lotus by Donna Farhi Schuster, Yoga for Zen via Brad Warner’s site & Basic instructions for Padmasana by Erich Schiffman

Approaches to Meditation:

These are some resources that I have found helpful.

• ‘Opening the Hand of Thought’ - Kosho Uchiyama
• ‘How to Raise an Ox’ – Francis Dojun Cook
• ‘Each Moment is the Universe’ – Dainin Katagiri
• ‘Keep Me in Your Heart a While’ – Dosho Port
• ‘Genjokoan’ - Eihei Dōgen
• ‘Zazenshin’ – Eihei Dōgen
• ‘Shoji’ – Eihei Dōgen
• ‘Cultivating the empty field: the silent illumination of Zen Master Hongzhi’ - Taigen Daniel Leighton
• NaturalAwareness.net – Resources – George Draffan
• Mahamudra Manual - Peter Barth
• C’rystal Clear: Practical Advice for Mahamudra Meditators‘ – Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche
• Mahamudra: The Moonlight — Quintessence of Mind and Meditation by Dakpo Tashi Namgyal
• Essentials of Mahamudra: Looking Directly at the Mind by Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche

Dealing with Challenges in Meditation:

• Unmasking Meditation Instructions by Jason Siff
• Up Against a Wall? Sources of Unnecessary Confusion – Ken McLeod
• Six Ways Not to Approach Meditation – Ken McLeod
• 8 Strayings from Mahamudra
• Tightening and Loosening‘ (also here)

Meditation in Jōdo Shinshū:

• The Debate over Meditation within Modern Jōdo Shinshū
• Practice in Jodo Shinshu Buddhist Temples (.pdf) – Rev. Jundo Gregory Gibbs
• Traditional Jodo Shinshu Meditation? – J.K. Hirano
• Ordinary Struggles – Interview with Koshin Ogui
• Nenbutsu and Meditation: Problems with the Categories of Contemplation, Devotion, Meditation, and Faith (.pdf) – Lisa Grumbach
• Calm Hearing through Reflection on the Breath and Mortality – An exhortation by Rennyo Shonin
• A Chomon Retreat – Kyōshin Samuels