Zazen, The Secret Of Zen
Zen encompasses a set of beliefs that originated in the 6th century AD from the philosophy of Buddha Shakyamuni. These ideas were passing from one disciple to another, reaching our days. This transmission of ideas is what is known as the Zen line, which is developed through the practice of zazen.
Its diffusion through Western culture did not come until the early twentieth century, when it was introduced into our society through a fondness for martial arts or Japanese-style garden decoration.
What is zazen?
Zazen is based on practicing meditation in the lotus position, with the legs crossed, the back straight and the arms resting on the lap. Through this practice we can achieve a great change in our spirit, so that we can merge with the entire universe.
Although we believe that this philosophy may be somewhat crazy, the precepts of zazen have been followed for centuries, giving rise to innumerable customs in different towns and even the birth of a religion: Buddhism. This religion makes use of the foundations of zazen to develop a whole philosophy of life, centered on meditation and an extrasensory connection with the universe and other forms of life.
Therefore, Buddhism is, in essence, a belief that is born of zazen and puts its ideas into practice. It already contained the idea that there were seven Buddhas before Buddha Shakyamuni, who developed this philosophy. This would suppose that the practice of zazen is so transcendental that it dates back to times before its own definition.
How to practice zazen?
If we want to follow this interesting philosophy, which will also provide us with many of the benefits that we could get through a traditional meditation, it is good that we keep the following points in mind.
1. The posture for meditation
Posture is one of the most important elements in zazen practice. The most advisable thing is to sit on a round and comfortable pillow. Next, we will cross our legs in the lotus position, or simply resting the soles of the feet on the opposite thigh (in case the lotus position is uncomfortable).
The back should be completely straight, the head erect and facing forward. We will also let our hands rest on our lap, and with the palms facing up, with the thumbs touching their ends.
Finally, we will relax our shoulders, with the tip of our tongue on the palate, and we will fix our gaze on some point on the ground, approximately one meter from us, without observing anything in particular. With this posture we will achieve a balance both physically and mentally, being able to put meditation into practice in a comfortable way.
2. The importance of breathing
Once we have adopted the correct posture to meditate, we will have to focus on our way of breathing. Slow, deep inspiration is resumed so that our lungs gradually fill with air.
3. Thoughts during meditation
The last aspect that we must take into account will be the work that we will do specifically on the mental plane, paying attention to the thoughts that we handle. In this sense, it is advisable to try to clear our mind, freeing it of all kinds of thoughts, plans or concerns that may assail us. This does not mean that we should block them, but simply let them flow without fixing our attention on any one in particular.
Precisely, to achieve this, we focus on breathing, which is what we are really doing now. Breathing thus becomes a way of anchoring ourselves to the present while increasing our body awareness making an effort to stay in the posture we have described.
As we can see, zazen is a fairly simple practice that only requires a little physical effort and repetition. This is precisely what zazen resembles to life itself : effort and repetition are what will allow us to achieve good personal development and adequate progress when pursuing any objective, being able to apply its philosophy both in the personal aspects of our day to day, as in the professionals.
