I’m on day four of my Zen Meditation teacher training course (with the renowned Zen Master Daizan Roshi) in a beautiful old English country home called Gaunts House. Surrounded by stunning scenery, there’s an uplifting energy about the place, although this intensive course certainly isn’t a walk in the park.
Zen Meditation isn’t simply zoning out, nor is it a rigid practice either. It’s an ancient art that is often misunderstood, however those who manage to commit to practicing it regularly, reap the numerous benefits. Daizan Roshi stresses that doing regular meditation adds ten years to your life and is also an effective way of training your mind so that you are more productive at work, have richer, more connected relationships and a happier outlook on life.
The peaceful freedom fighter Aung San Suu Kyi once said that during her 15-year house arrest by Burma’s military junta, it was meditation that kept her spirit going. “Meditation is my secret weapon. I always know what the other person is thinking,” she said. Initially, the Noble Peace Prize recipient admitted that she found meditation difficult but once she became an avid practitioner, she managed to master her thoughts, which in turn transformed her world.
Typically, many great things in life don’t come easily and there’s no exception with Zen Meditation. Sometimes when you are sitting cross-legged and your mind wanders, you do ask yourself if anything is actually happening.
Luckily our teacher Daizan Roshi reminds us that with Zen, you shouldn’t try to fight, control or manipulate your thoughts. “It’s not the presence or absence of thoughts that make you a better meditator,” he explains. “It’s your relationship with them that counts. Simply acknowledge thoughts when they arise but don’t dwell on them or give them a storyline.” Our Zen Master also points out that even experienced meditators can sometimes have wandering minds in zazen.
So is a blank or thoughtless mind something of a myth? Japanese Zen Master Shunryu Suzuki says this: “You should not be bothered by your mind, rather be grateful for the weeds you have in your mind, because eventually they will enrich your practice.” So, the idea is not to worry about having a few thoughts while you meditate, but rather not to go off on a tangent and start thinking. Instead, concentrate on your breathing with the right posture and you will discover that your mind and body have great power to accept things as they are, whether agreeable or disagreeable. That is the essence of zen.
