How to Meditate

Zen meditation is the meditative practice at the heart of Zen Buddhism, a school of Mahayana Buddhism that developed in China (as Chan) before spreading to Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. Rather than emphasizing scripture study or intellectual analysis, Zen prioritizes direct, experiential insight into the nature of mind and reality through sustained meditation practice. It tends to be simple and unadorned — sitting with the breath and present-moment awareness rather than following elaborate visualizations or techniques.

Zazen (座禅, "seated meditation") is the specific formal practice through which Zen meditation is done. Key elements include:

• Posture: Sitting upright, often cross-legged on a cushion (zafu), with a straight spine, hands resting in a specific mudra (often the cosmic mudra — one hand cupped in the other, thumbs lightly touching), and eyes typically half-open, gaze lowered.

• Breath: Attention rests on natural breathing, often counting breaths as a way to anchor the mind.

• Mind: The aim isn't to blank the mind or chase a particular experience, but to observe thoughts arising and passing without grasping or pushing them away — sometimes described as "just sitting" (shikantaza in the Soto tradition).

• Setting: Traditionally practiced in a zendo (meditation hall), often in group sessions, sometimes punctuated by walking meditation (kinhin) between sitting periods.

Different Zen lineages emphasize zazen somewhat differently — Soto Zen tends toward shikantaza (open, objectless awareness), while Rinzai Zen often pairs zazen with koan practice (paradoxical questions used to short-circuit conceptual thinking and provoke insight). We will be using elements of both in our guided meditations.

Other Forms of Meditation

Sitting is the most common form of meditation, but far from the only one. So do not be discouraged if you find that zazen is not for you!

• Sitting meditation (zazen, vipassana, etc.): The classic form — seated, cultivating stillness and present-moment awareness while the body stays largely motionless.

• Walking meditation (kinhin in Zen, or standalone walking practice): Slow, deliberate walking with attention on the sensations of each step, often used to bridge sitting periods or to work with restlessness that makes stillness difficult.

• Standing meditation (e.g., zhan zhuang in Chinese traditions): Standing still, often with arms held in a rounded position, cultivating awareness of posture, breath, and subtle body sensation — common in qigong and some martial arts lineages.

• Lying-down meditation (e.g., yoga nidra, or reclined mindfulness): Practiced lying flat, often used for deep relaxation or body-scanning; the tradeoff is it's easier to drift into sleep, so it's less emphasized for concentration training.

• Moving meditation (yoga, tai chi, qigong): Meditative awareness woven into a flowing sequence of movements, where the movement itself becomes the object of attention rather than an obstacle to it.

• Eating meditation: Mindful, silent eating with full attention on the taste, texture, and act of eating — common in retreat settings (e.g., the raisin exercise, or formal Zen meals called oryoki).

• Everyday activity meditation: Bringing meditative attention to ordinary tasks — washing dishes, sweeping, driving — treating the activity itself as the practice rather than a break from it.

The common thread across all of them is sustained, non-judgmental attention to present experience — the body position is just the vehicle, not the point.