Mon 20 Oct 2008
Zen is about as intricate, layered and complex as a lotus flower in full bloom, though the mysteries of this ancient Eastern philosophy are not as incomprehensible as you might imagine. On the contrary, the ability to calm the body and mind, and experience insight into the nature of your existence, is entirely within your grasp.
For starters, it helps to know that the fundamentals of Zen Buddhism lie in a practice known as zazen or literally ’seated meditation.’ Since practitioners of Zen believe that new perspectives and insights on existence will lead you down the road to enlightenment, meditation truly holds the key for unlocking your inner self.
On that note, today’s post is all about the 4 easy steps to blissful meditation.
Looking to discover the Buddha-nature within through meditation and mindfulness of daily experiences? Here are some quick and easy steps for reaching nirvana:
1) Assume the position. In Japanese seated meditation or zazen, there are three different types of leg positions: full-lotus, half-lotus and seiza (kneeling posture). All three have their varying degrees of pain and discomfort, though no one ever said that the road to enlightenment was easy!
2) Mind your posture. Your mother was right - a straight back and a strong spine really will serve you well in life. If your body is threatening to turn into a jellyfish, you can reinforce your posture by sitting on a small pillow or cushion. You can also fold your hands together over your belly, which is the body’s natural center of gravity.
3) There is no spoon. Start breathing deep from the belly, lower the eyelids halfway, and then find that sweet spot between conscious distraction and unconscious sleep. In the early stages of learning zazen, you need to develop your concentration skills by focusing on the natural rhythms of your breathing.
4) Reach nirvana. The fourth and final step in blissful meditation isn’t something you can expect to achieve in the first session, but it’s a respectable goal nevertheless. The key in zazen is to develop what is known as ‘one-pointedness of the mind,’ which allows you to focus all of your attention on a kōan or singular object of meditation.
Here is the cool part:
Kōan generally contain aspects that are inaccessible to rational understanding, such as the famous question, “Two hands clap and there is a sound, but what is the sound of one hand clapping?”
So, if you want to answer questions that are not answerable by mere intellectual reasoning, then practice these four easy steps to blissful meditation, and start uncovering the secrets of the universe.
Source: www.gadling.com
