General Guidelines

We approach the formal aspects of Zen practice seriously, not because we want to evoke some kind of “spiritual” atmosphere. Real practice requires us to be attentive and to regard each other, and the source of the teaching, with respect.

The zendo (lit. place or way of Zen) is where we meet for formal Zen practice. Activities are done as a group: sitting, walking, bowing, and chanting. Newcomers who are unsure of how to proceed are advised to follow the group.

Our practice is not complicated, but it is subtle and we learn the form by doing it again and again. It is by repeating something simple that we go through the process of clarification, insight and development.

Two experienced members perform special roles in the zendo. Jikijitsu leads zazen and Shoji attends to the needs of participants. Conversation is moderated prior to zazen and silence is the rule in the zendo. But our members will be happy to answer questions afterward.

Clothing

Neat, loose-fitting quietly colored clothing is best for practice. Avoid jewelry, T-shirts with messages, perfume and cologne. Heads and hands should be uncovered while sitting. Turn off wristwatch alarms and cell phones. Your outward presentation should not distract others or disrupt the spirit of harmony in the zendo.

Arriving

Before entering the building, think about your commitment to practice. Once inside there should be no uncentered conversation. Remove your shoes in the hallway outside the zendo. You are welcome to come in and wait until the meeting begins. During this time you can hang up your coat, put purses and packs away and settle yourself comfortably on a zabuton (mat). Feel free to ask for suggestions for making yourself more comfortable.

When entering the zendo to begin practice, bow in gassho (palms together in front of your chest, forearms at 45 degrees) facing into the room and sit on a zabuton. Once candles are lit there should be no talking or stretching. By showing mindfulness and respect for our practice area, we build harmony and stability in the zendo. If you arrive after zazen has begun please wait until the next kinhin to join in.

Beginning the Zazen Period

Formal practice begins with the Jikijitsu doing shoko sampai (offering incense and prostrating before the butsudan). Bowing has many connotations in Zen; in essence, bowing is an expression of our respect for the Buddha dharma (Buddha Way).

Shoko sampia is followed by the whole group chanting. You will find a chant book under your zabuton. Some chants are in English, others in Sanskrit. Chanting is an expression of mindfulness. Chant wholeheartedly. Please do not become preoccupied with the words’ meaning, pronunciation, or emphasis. Allow yourself to become the chanting, just as you allow yourself to become the breathing when doing zazen, or walking in kinjin.

After chanting we stand and perform three prostrations. To do a prostration (or profound bow), stand with hands in gassho and lower yourself gently to your knees. Touch your forehead and elbows to the floor and raise your hands, palm up and parallel to the floor, to ear level. As the bell is muted, stand back up and return your hands to gassho.

Jikijitsu lights incense and strikes the bell three times to mark the beginning of the first zazen period. Bells and wooden clappers are used to mark time in the zendo. After about twenty-five minutes, the bell is rung again to end zazen and the clappers are struck to mark the beginning of kinhin.

Zazen

Please make an effort to maintain correct posture and even breathing during zazen. Your posture should reflect an alert mind; don’t slouch or sway sleepily. Your breathing should be quiet, even, and deep. Relax your body and focus your mind with the breath.

Stillness is essential during zazen, as each person present is part of a single body of practice. If your body moves, so does your mind – and the minds of everyone present.

Each period of zazen begins with three strikes of the bell, lasts up to twenty-five minutes, and ends with one bell. Once zazen begins, do not move until Jikijitsu strikes the bell that ends the period. During each period, stay with the practice. Do zazen with your fullest attention; don’t look around or worry about the time or what others are doing.

If you are sitting in the zazen posture still involved in the thought processes, you are denying yourself entrance into the world which is always prior to this one.

The zazen posture itself is the entrance or gate to the world that is prior to the present world. It is the entrance to the world where mother and father are united in the state which is even prior to birth.

When, through our practice, we have laid the thinking self aside, when we have reached the point of seeing the non-necessity of thought, we are allowed entrance into this utter dissolution where the inside and the outside melt into the same thing.

Joshu Roshi

Posture

A stable position that you can maintain comfortably for the duration of a sitting period will provide a sound basis for your practice. People often have difficulty with posture in the beginning, especially with the legs. Feel free to review with more experienced Zen members, they will give helpful suggestions.

The full lotus position is ideal for zazen but is usually too difficult for new students. The half lotus, quarter lotus, or the use of a kneeling bench are acceptable alternatives.

When sitting cross-legged keep the knees on the floor, making a tripod of the knees and buttocks to form a solid base for the spine. Use one or more cushions (zafu) as necessary. Most people find that a higher elevation of the buttocks helps keep the knees down. Sit on the forward third of the zafu, using it as a wedge.

Find a centered position for your spine by swaying slightly from side to side. Straighten your spine by extending it, pushing the top of your head toward the ceiling while tucking in your chin, then relaxing your weight. Your back should be erect but not rigid or tense. Your head should rest squarely on your spine, not tilting. Direct your gaze downward at a 45-degree angle towards the floor with a soft gaze, the eyes are not closed.

Hands are held in the traditional “cosmic” mudra – right hand palm up with its blade against your lower belly, left hand, also palm up, resting over the right hand, middle knuckles aligned and thumb lightly touching at the tips. The mudra should form a definite oval with thumb-tips at the level of the navel.

Keep perfectly still throughout the period of zazen. This includes not yawning, scratching an itch, blowing your nose, straightening your glasses, etc. Often the unconscious movements are because we become too quiet and withdrawn. Awareness should fill the body.

Give your attention to the breathing cycle.

Gradually we become more mindful of our breath beyond our wandering thoughts – we begin to give ourselves to the breath, to move with the breath, breathing everything in when we inhale, and letting everything go – dissolving – when we exhale. As we let go of the self-consciousness of doing this, we settle into the spaciousness of our true selves; totally free, yet not separate from the world around us.

Eshin Godfrey

Kinhin

Kinhin is the first opportunity to take the mindfulness of zazen into motion. Kinhin is not simply a break, but an important practice. When the sitting period ends, bow, then stand up. Be careful that your legs are not numb when standing. Stand in front of your seat, hands in gassho. When the clappers are struck, bow, turn and place your hands in sassho (flat against the abdomen, left hand over right, with forearms horizontal). Begin walking slowly, keeping in step and close to the person in front of you, with eyes lowered. Keep both a sense of yourself as walking, and of the group as walking, In other words keep relationship with both the inside and the outside. Kinhin lasts five minutes. When the clappers are struck to mark the end of kinhin, put your hands in gassho for the remaining steps back to your seat in the zendo. The bell will sound. Bow and sit.

If you need to use the washroom bow out and leave during kinhin then return promptly to your position in line.

Closing – Tea Service, Chanting and Bowing

After the final sitting period a tea service and a chant closes the meeting.

Tea service is announced after the last kinhin. Take the teacup at the back right hand side of your zabuton. When Shoji comes to your place, hold the cup in one hand, close to your neighbor’s so Shoji can serve two at once. Your other hand is held beside it, palm up. When you lift the horizontal hand, Shoji will stop pouring tea. In the first serving everyone waits for the Jikijitsu to start drinking. For the second serving you may bow your head if you do not want more tea. In the second serving one can start drinking after ones neighbors have been served. When finished return the cup to its place behind you.

After tea the Jikijitsu does shoko sampai. This is followed by the group chanting Four Bodhisattva vows.

After Jikijitsu leaves the zendo, we bow and straighten our cushions. Everyone is then invited to stay, meet with each other and ask questions.