One of the most common questions that any meditation teacher gets asked is “am I doing this right?” or “how do I know I am meditating correctly?” or some variation on that theme. Some teachers have answers for that. I don’t know that I do. What I will tell you is what my favorite author Brad Warner told me in one of his books, “if you’re doing zazen at all, chances are you’re doing it right.” Especially here in the West, we are so focused on doing things correctly. We expect there to be a specific measurable way of doing something that can be judged as good or bad, right or wrong. What if I told you that for Zen at least there really isn’t one...per se? You can judge the practice against a standard, but that standard isn’t necessarily correct in all cases, for all people, in all circumstances.
Matsuoka-roshi, my Dharma great-grandfather (my teacher’s teacher’s teacher) identified three aspects of practice, the posture, the breathing, and the mind. It is possible to say that you are practicing correctly when measured against these aspects, but his is just one framework of many. In my opinion, the real judge of practice is does it help you see more clearly into your true nature? With all that said, I’d like to take a few minutes to dig a little deeper into the three aspects of zazen in the Order of Clear Mind. Remember, these are more or less guidelines and, in most cases, I’m probably saying more than I should.
The posture: Some meditation teachers will tell you that any posture that is comfortable is the proper one. Some say that all the really matters is what you do with your mind. But is the mind really separate from the body? In Zen, we often speak of the body and mind as one not two or if not the same then at least directly affecting each other. The Japanese point to this body mind connection in their language. The word “shin” means both heart and mind and in Zen is often written as heart/mind pointing to the inseparable nature of the heart and the mind, the mind and the body. With this in mind, the importance of the posture in zazen is paramount. It allows one to remain upright and still while using as little effort as possible. And as the body settles becoming more and more still so does the mind. In the same vein, if the mind is unsettled, the posture has probably slipped. It is a balance between tension and relaxation, the middle way. Brad often remarks that zazen is a yoga class with only one posture that is held for a long time. Dogen encourages us to sit on our cushion as a king on his throne; with a sense of pride and dignity. So, it is with all this in mind that we take our seats.
The breath: Honestly, the less that is said about breathing the better as this is one of the aspects that people tend to obsess over. I know it can be for me. As much as possible, allow the breath to come and go as it will. If it is shallow, let it be shallow. If it is deep, let it be deep. Often, as we settle more and more into the practice, the breath becomes deeper, longer, and slower. One thing I will say about the breath is that it can be a powerful anchor for the mind. If your mind begins to wander, try counting your breath with each inhalation and exhalation getting a number. In, one. Out, two. And so on up to ten. If you lose count, start back at one. If you become distracted, start back at one. Sometimes you might spend an entire session just counting one two. That’s fine. Eventually, you can count only the in breath and after that, you can just notice the sensation of breathing. The most important part is don’t stop.
The mind: We can’t stop the mind from thinking. Its nature is to think. Daiho-roshi refers to the mind as a sense organ, a popular idea in Buddhism where the sixth sense is the mind itself and has nothing to do with Bruce Willis. As a sense organ, it takes in information and processes it, just as the eyes do with light and the ears do with sound. Brad often says that the mind excretes thoughts in the same way the stomach excretes acid and you wouldn’t want either to stop. Dogen encourages us to think non-thinking, but in this case what he means is something closer to consideration as in don’t spend your zazen time considering things. Just let the thoughts that arise, arise and pass away as they are want to do. Suzuki-roshi says to treat your thoughts like house guests. Let them come and go, but don’t serve them tea. As thoughts come and go, do not grab onto them. Use your time on the cushion for zazen, not for making grocery lists or planning a vacation.
If we follow these guidelines then by Matsuoka’s definition, we are doing it right. But even when we aren’t, we are still sitting, which is better than not. Vegging out on the couch...that’s probably a way to do zazen wrong.
Gassho,
Daishin
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