Hi Ed, I don't know how it is supposed to be in Zen, but the way you outlined it makes a lot of sense. Would be interested to know what others would say.
Wa aleikum salaam :-) Siska -----Original Message----- From: "ED" <seacrofter...@yahoo.com> Sender: Zen_Forum@yahoogroups.com Date: Thu, 16 Dec 2010 15:36:24 To: <Zen_Forum@yahoogroups.com> Reply-To: Zen_Forum@yahoogroups.com Subject: [Zen] Re: Zen and the Martial Arts Mel, Bill and All - Thank you for your responses. I have a need to be very clear on these issues. Therefore please consider the following, and tell us whether we are all on the same wavelength: (1) One sits in a right posture etc. and starts doing zazen. (2) At first, one counts breaths, then one's awareness is placed on the breath without counting and so on. These are calm-abiding concentration practices, called samatha, which enhance sustained voluntary attention, and culminate in an attention that can be sustained effortlessly for hours on end. (See Wikipedia) (3) Having calmed and stabilized the mind with samatha, one then switches to shikantaza i.e. resting in a state of brightly alert attention that is free of thoughts, directed to no object, and attached to no particular content. (See Wikipedia) (4) After intense practice of shikantaza over a (long) period of time, on attains glimses of the experience of no-self, which when authenticated by a authentic teacher may be referred to as kensho. (5) ... A salaam aleikum, - ED --- In Zen_Forum@yahoogroups.com, "Bill!" <billsm...@...> wrote: > > ED, > > In domestic arts (washing dishes/taking out the garbage) shikantaza is my favoite...Bill! --- In Zen_Forum@yahoogroups.com <mailto:Zen_Forum@yahoogroups.com> , "ED" <seacrofter...@...> wrote: > Hello Mel, Hello ED > In the martial arts (and in sports), which type of meditation is more > common > > (1) Awareness meditation (vipassana or shikantaza or something else) My understanding of 'shikantaza' is just plain zazen. I just sit on a chair, keep spine straight, eyes half-closed, and breath normally...and let the 'clouds' of thought just pass by. Just breath, nothing else I don't know the other term Everything empty. In a bar-room I was in, the drunken fellow moved and I moved with him. We ended up on the ground and I ended up on top. He was shouting and abusing..doing a lot of talking. But, I couldn't really hear, or understand. But, I could hear noise and see movement. Move in harmony with opponent, not against him the way Sumo bouts begin. Open eyes, open ears. I survived. Pride wasn't important. Just breath > (2) Concentration meditation (samatha or somethhing else) ? For my own personal purposes, I don't concentrate on anything...unless you call breathing as concentration on breathing itself...which I think complicates things more than needed to be For my own purposes, I don't really make use of the old and ancient terms. Modern English seems far easier for me, but that's just me in peace Mel
