01-14-2017, 12:00 AM
Wall gazing was Bodhidharma the first patriarch of zen's way. Hit sat 9 years facing the wall it is told...
Glance what do you do to come to inner silence?
In Rinzai zen we use first counting breath from one to ten and later word after word of a koan.
Soto zen folks use Shinkantaza.
Wiki says: The term shikantaza is attributed to Dōgen's teacher Tiantong Rujing (1162-1228), and it literally means, "nothing but (shikan) precisely (da) sitting (za)."[1] In other words, Dōgen means, "doing only zazen whole-heartedly" or "single-minded sitting."[2][3]
and more...
Master Shengyen explains the meaning of the term in this way:
This “just sitting” in Chinese is zhiguan dazuo. Literally, this means “just mind sitting.” Some of you are familiar with the Japanese transliteration, shikantaza. It has the flavor of “Just mind your own business.” What business? The business of minding yourself just sitting. At least, you should be clear that you're sitting. “Mind yourself just sitting” entails knowing that your body is sitting there. This does not mean minding a particular part of your body or getting involved in a particular sensation. Instead, your whole body, your whole being is sitting there.[15]
According to Merv Fowler, shikantaza is described best as,
quiet sitting in open awareness, reflecting directly the reality of life.[16]
Shikantaza is often termed a goalless meditation in quiet awareness,
not working on any koan, or counting the breath. It is an alert condition, performed erect, with no trace of sluggishness or drowsiness.[17]
---------
I used koan for years, yet at times dwell in the inner silence just being. Mind is like a horse, ox or monkey to train... ppphhh. Sometimes it works for me to set up a little reward for hard efforts. Heh. Dog training myself so to speak
Glance what do you do to come to inner silence?
In Rinzai zen we use first counting breath from one to ten and later word after word of a koan.
Soto zen folks use Shinkantaza.
Wiki says: The term shikantaza is attributed to Dōgen's teacher Tiantong Rujing (1162-1228), and it literally means, "nothing but (shikan) precisely (da) sitting (za)."[1] In other words, Dōgen means, "doing only zazen whole-heartedly" or "single-minded sitting."[2][3]
and more...
Master Shengyen explains the meaning of the term in this way:
This “just sitting” in Chinese is zhiguan dazuo. Literally, this means “just mind sitting.” Some of you are familiar with the Japanese transliteration, shikantaza. It has the flavor of “Just mind your own business.” What business? The business of minding yourself just sitting. At least, you should be clear that you're sitting. “Mind yourself just sitting” entails knowing that your body is sitting there. This does not mean minding a particular part of your body or getting involved in a particular sensation. Instead, your whole body, your whole being is sitting there.[15]
According to Merv Fowler, shikantaza is described best as,
quiet sitting in open awareness, reflecting directly the reality of life.[16]
Shikantaza is often termed a goalless meditation in quiet awareness,
not working on any koan, or counting the breath. It is an alert condition, performed erect, with no trace of sluggishness or drowsiness.[17]
---------
I used koan for years, yet at times dwell in the inner silence just being. Mind is like a horse, ox or monkey to train... ppphhh. Sometimes it works for me to set up a little reward for hard efforts. Heh. Dog training myself so to speak