Zazen in Kyoto

DOING ZAZEN.

Zazen is seated mediation. Zen integrated the ancient Indian methods of yoga meditation into Buddhism. Dogen the founder of Soto Zen who first defined the method of zazen in Japan, attested that "zazen is satori in and of itself." In zen sects zazen is the most important practice, the study of Buddhist scriptures is secondary.

Zazen consists of choshin (adjusting one's body), chosoku (adjusting one's breath), chushin (adjusting one's mind). Zazen is to attain enlightenment, our true nature or Buddha nature, a state of no-mind in which body, breath and mind are unified. Most of us pay attention to what is outside ourselves - looking, listening, talking - but if we turn our consciousness inward and place all attention into zazen, our delusion and attachment will peel away and we will realize everything is perfect as it already is.

There is a wonderful opportunity offered my Taizo-in, the oldest of the sub-temples amongst the Myoshin-in Temple complex in Kyoto to experince Zazen and satori. Founded in 1404, an outsider like myself can step back in time, create a seated space in the serene garden atmosphere of this Zen temple and empty myself of the traffic on the I-405, seventeen work projects that await my return, the responsibility of an aging parent and the six pounds I need to loose. The last is especially beneficial and worth the trip to this sanctuary.

                                                  TAIZO-IN TEMPLE
                                                   Kyoto, Japan
                                                   http://www.taizoin.com/