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Zazen 101Here's what you do. Take a seat on a chair or cushion. No sofas. No overstuffed chairs. If you are sitting on a chair, sit on the forward third. Place your feet shoulder width apart and set at right angles to your thighs. Place your hands together by cradling your left hand in your right hand, thumbs lightly touching. Pull your shoulders back, sit upright, and tuck your chin just a bit. Eyes should be half open at about a 45 degree angle in front of you and you should be facing a plain wall. If you are sitting on a cushion, fold your legs left foot onto right thigh; right foot onto left thigh (or a variation of this lotus position). Sit on the forward third of your cushion. Knees are thrust toward the floor offering you a three point seat (two knees and a butt). Hands are cradled in the cosmic mudra, shoulders are back and set square. Exhale. Inhale. Make no fuss about it. Let your breath find its own way. Place your mind's eye on your breath or your nose; count each exhalation. After achieving some measure of stability, stop counting and just be present. Do not move except to adjust posture and ONLY if ABSOLUTELY necessary. As a thought arises, notice it arose and let it go. As a feeling arises, notice it arose and let it go. We let things go by cutting our connection to them. Snip, snip! Sit this way, perfectly still, for a period of 25 to 50 minutes. If you are a beginner, please adjust these times to 10-25 minutes. Pick an amount of time IN ADVANCE of beginning. If you have an alarm on your watch, use it. I urge you to do this practice twice a day. In the morning on waking and in the evening just before bed. Let me know how it goes by personal email: harveyhilbert@yahoo.com streetZenBernie Glassman-roshi, founder of Zen Peacemaker Sangha, wrote a wonderful book entitled, "Bearing Witness". In it he describes his street work. Bearing witness to homelessness, poverty, war and so on. His practice includes actually becoming homeless for a period. Taking nothing with us, we just sit with the population we are bearing witness on behalf of.
In the past I participated in peace protests after I returned from fighting in the Vietnam war. I was uncomfortable with the adversarial role I often felt the protesters had with others. It was about peace and non-violence, but anger and patriotism are a challenging poison to serenity. Awhile ago I met my friend, Claude Anshin Thomas, author of "At Hell's Gate", and homeless Zen Priest. Anshin practices homeless wondering and lectures on Peace and Non-Violence. Like me, he is a combat veteran. His practice strongly influenced me.
So, over the last two years or so I began a practice I am calling streetZen. In this practice I simply sit zazen in public places. The places I select have to do with particular issues, such as the environment, veterans, etc. If I am sitting on behalf of the environment, I consider myself an Earth Witness. If I sit at Veteran's Park, I am there as a Peace Witness. One other form of practice is Soup Kitchen work. I did that for awhile, but haven't recently. In this, I simply volunteer at the local soup kitchen and put in a few hours there.
The ground rules of the practice are simple. Practice zazen. No talking. If spoken to, reply quietly, politely, and with a gassho and bow. At the soup kitchen, the work is similar to "samu" or "work meditation" and the rules would include mindful silence and mindful practice as I cut things, place things, etc.
When practicing streetZen, I place a small sign in front of me. It simply says "PEACE" or "Earth Witness". I also have a begging bowl and sometimes incense. I chant the Heart Sutra at the beginning and end of the sitting period. I currently sit Earth Witness at the SW Environmental Center at the Downtown Mall in Las Cruces on Saturday Morning from 9:00 to 10:00 AM. I practice Peace witness practice at Veteran's Park on Wednesdays at 4:00 - 5:00 PM.
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Last updated 4/9/10