It's not for nothing that in old Japan -- where life was often nasty, brutish and cut short -- Zen was the "religion" of warriors. For centuries, Chinese Chan Buddhist priests had to be brought over by the boatload just to keep up with Japanese demand for meditation teaching.
The samurai understood that Zen is the perfect practice for people facing death every single day of their lives.
Doing Zen in the samurai way can resolve your anxious mental turmoil and keep you from being "stressed out" by anything at all. The samurai form of Zen was "Mokuso," which translates as "Stilling Thoughts." This was usually done while sitting in the Seiza posture (see above).
Doing Zen in the samurai way can resolve your anxious mental turmoil and keep you from being "stressed out" by anything at all. The samurai form of Zen was "Mokuso," which translates as "Stilling Thoughts." This was usually done while sitting in the Seiza posture (see above).
Anyone at all can learn to do Mokuso. It is not so difficult. And the rewards are instantaneous.
If you've ever studied Kendo, you've probably already learned how to sit calmly in Seiza and practice Mokuso.
If you've ever studied Kendo, you've probably already learned how to sit calmly in Seiza and practice Mokuso.
This "one pointed" mind training works by bringing the awareness, energy and attention down from your upper body where it's getting knotted up as "thoughts" and very uncomfortable emotions (in the neck, jaw, head, and shoulders especially) and constricting the circulation of Ki.
Here is the basic instruction: take the strong Seiza posture and rather than either thinking or imagining anything or directly trying to stop thinking or imagining anything, keep bringing your attention back to the "seat of your breathing" -- the one-point in the lower Tanden. This is a small area just about two fingers below your navel and about one inch inside it.
Each time the attention wavers, which it will, you gently but firmly bring it back to the "one point."
You can also do Mokuso by:
1. Lighting a candle (a small votive candle set into a dish or a glass is best so you don't get distracted by dripping wax) and focusing all your attention on the flame of the candle as the "one point," bringing your attention back to the flame each time it begins to wander into thoughts or images of the past and future, any worries you might have, &c.
2. Listening to a small indoor fountain that has a stream of water running quietly over pebbles. This can be very absorbing. It's the same idea: you listen to the trickling water (while sitting firmly yet comfortably in Seiza) and the changing, subtle sound of the water is your "one point." Each time your attention begins to waver, you return it to the sound of the trickling water.
3. Counting your out-breaths slowly down from 108. Counting the breaths is your "one point." Each number fills your mind as you count it, so that in a very short time the chain of thinking is snapped. Once all your thinking disappears, along with all the anxious feelings attached to it, you will feel very refreshed. At this time, stop counting and merely relax into the natural luminous mind state.
By using Seiza along with "one pointed" concentration you can overcome any anxious thought/feeling.
Better still, you will soon realize that your mind is one with unbounded space.
Here is the basic instruction: take the strong Seiza posture and rather than either thinking or imagining anything or directly trying to stop thinking or imagining anything, keep bringing your attention back to the "seat of your breathing" -- the one-point in the lower Tanden. This is a small area just about two fingers below your navel and about one inch inside it.
Each time the attention wavers, which it will, you gently but firmly bring it back to the "one point."
You can also do Mokuso by:
1. Lighting a candle (a small votive candle set into a dish or a glass is best so you don't get distracted by dripping wax) and focusing all your attention on the flame of the candle as the "one point," bringing your attention back to the flame each time it begins to wander into thoughts or images of the past and future, any worries you might have, &c.
2. Listening to a small indoor fountain that has a stream of water running quietly over pebbles. This can be very absorbing. It's the same idea: you listen to the trickling water (while sitting firmly yet comfortably in Seiza) and the changing, subtle sound of the water is your "one point." Each time your attention begins to waver, you return it to the sound of the trickling water.
3. Counting your out-breaths slowly down from 108. Counting the breaths is your "one point." Each number fills your mind as you count it, so that in a very short time the chain of thinking is snapped. Once all your thinking disappears, along with all the anxious feelings attached to it, you will feel very refreshed. At this time, stop counting and merely relax into the natural luminous mind state.
By using Seiza along with "one pointed" concentration you can overcome any anxious thought/feeling.
Better still, you will soon realize that your mind is one with unbounded space.
Wonderful article. Will try and let you know in a few days. Can you suggest a qigong practitioner for the same?
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