How to Learn Basic Zen Meditation

Mediation is like the proverbial elephant described by blind men, one of whom said the animal was a snake as he held its tail, while another insisted, based on its leg, that it was a tree. There are as many types of meditation as traditions it seems, but they all share a commonality of being based in experiencing the wholeness of the present moment freed of the mind’s grasping and control. It is a way, as the Beatles say, to just “let it be.

Zen meditation, in particular, is ideally suited as a basis for any spiritual practice. Zen doesn’t espouse any particular ideology or belief system other than being able “to enter the next moment with no trace of the last.”

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Close your eyes and sit quietly and comfortably, hands folded in your lap. Relax your shoulders, belly, jaw and space between your eyes/ Sit straight but not rigidly. Let your spine assume its natural shape.

2. Take deep, refreshing and regular breaths from deep in your abdomen. Usually, our breathing is shallow and fast, especially when we’re over- thinking things. By slowing down your breathing, you’ll slow down your thoughts.

3. Observe your breathing as you sit, feeling the flow of air in and out of your nostrils. Silently, repeat a word or phrase (called a mantra) over and over to act as an anchor to which you tie the wandering mind. It could be as simple as the Hindu “Om”, Wiccan “Blessed be” or as complex as saying the Rosary.

4. Do not attempt to block out thoughts, emotions or other distractions. Simply observe them as you would clouds passing through a clear blue sky, which is actually the true state of our minds when at rest. Watch them come. Let them go.

5. Listen to any sounds as you would to music, not naming or judging: just listen.

6. Don’t meditate to “get” something, like enlightenment, self-improvement or whatever. We sit to realize we’ve already got it! This is about the process of being, not the product

7. Smile slightly. Lighten up. Pay bare attention to your breath as it leaves your nose. If not repeating a mantra, count your breaths up to ten and repeat over and over again.
   Remember: there is no such thing as “bad” meditation. Just experience what is, not what you would like it to be.

8. Don’t try to stop your thoughts. Meditation is not about “stopping your thoughts”. It’s impossible anyway. Just let the thoughts think themselves. If you sit for even a minute, you’ll know what I mean.

9. Sit until two things happen: a) your breathing and thoughts slow down of their own accord, and b) you experience a slight sleepiness. This isn’t really sleepiness, but the doorway to deep meditation: a fourth state beyond waking, dreaming and sleeping.

10. If this is your first experience, try to sit for a minimum of ten minutes. If you like it, try to grab at least that much time daily to hit the clear button on your mental calculator, as I like to call meditation. So now that you’ve done these steps, you’re finally qualified to sit around doing nothing, looking at the floor (another description of the process.)