Direct Key Points
1. Sitting Mat
 When doing Zazen, use a thick mat. Legs will
become painful if the mat is too thin. We
cannot continue true Zazen if our mind is
full of pain. Having to endure painful legs
is not Zen practice. Please feel free to
use a thick mat.Place a Zafu (a circular stuffed cushion about 40 cm wide and 15 cm high) on top of the mat and sit with it under your hips. |
| Basically there are three ways to do Zazen.
These are Kekkafuza, Hankafuza and
Japanese
- style kneeling. Of these, Kekkafuza is the most formal. If it is not physically possible to do this you should do Hankafuza. If both styles are too difficult you may choose to do Japanese - style kneeling. Some people may sit on a chair until they become able to sit on the floor. Kekkafuza Sit with the right foot on the left thigh and left foot on the right thigh. Buddha statues sit the opposite of practicing students. Buddha is always saving people and therefore sits counter crosswise. We are practicing so please sit as explained above. 
Hankafuza Sit with the left leg on the right thigh.  Japanese - Style Kneeling Sit with the cushion under your hips in a kneeling position. The two big toes should be crossed behind you with a space of about two fists between the knees. If this becomes painful, place the cushion between the legs and sit on it like a horse.   We may use any of these sitting styles in our Zen practice. We may alternate our leg position from right to left and left to right as necessary. |
Place the right hand under the left hand
on top of the legs. Make an egg shape
by
lightly touching the thumbnails together.
If you become sleepy or your mind is
distracted
this form may be lost. Please use awareness
to keep good form. Relax the shoulders
and
separate the arms from your sides.  |
 Sit with a straight back and always try to
achieve good form. This is very important.
Sometimes, though we think we are sitting
straight, our backs are curved. When
you
are sitting straight, you should feel
that
your back is a little bit arched. Students
sitting with bad form should feel that
they
are not doing Zazen. |
| Do not close the eyes while doing Zazen.
Zazen is not meditation or a form of
relaxation.
In the case of meditation we may imagine
God or something and feel that it is
real.
Many people say that they have had
a special
religious experience. Zazen does not
produce
such special experiences. During Zazen
we
keep our eyes open and look directly
for
our true self. When doing Zazen, look down slightly about 1 meter in front. Do not try to look at some particular point. Only see. |
|
When starting Zazen take one deep breath.
Slowly inhale with the nose, pressing
down
to the bottom of your stomach. After
a few
seconds, slowly exhale a thin stream
of air
from the nose. From this deep breath,
return
to normal breathing. |
| There are 4 methods used to control the mind
during Zazen. These are Susokukan,
Zuisokukan,
Shikantaza and Koan. Susokukan During Zazen count or breathe from 1 - 10. You may choose to count the exhale, inhale or both. Usually we say, count the exhale when you are sleepy or count the inhale when the mind is distracted. If you are very sleepy and distracted count both exhale and inhale. Please try these and choose the one that is best for you. More importantly, become one with counting. Never think of this counting as a number. When 1, only「oneee…」when 2, only「twooo…」 Like this, we become one with this counting. If you lose your concentration, do not dwell on your mistake, stop such thinking and quickly return to this counting. Zuisokukan Without counting we become one with breathing. When inhaling, become inhaling. When exhaling, become exhaling. Shikantaza This Zazen is only sitting with no method. This is the most simple and pure style of Zazen. 'Shikan' means 'just' and 'taza' means 'sit' without purpose. In fact, all other styles of Zazen lead to this level. Because there is no method for Shikantaza people sometimes arrive at a mistaken understanding. There is no way to check. Those who are doing Shikantaza often think that only sitting is perfect Buddhism. This is only knowledge and not true Shikantaza. Koan Buddhism means to lose oneself. To support this practice we use Zen questions. These are called Koans. Some people criticize Koans because it studies Buddhist theory, this is a big misunderstanding. When we become one with Koans we can lose ourselves. When we lose ourselves we can get the answers to Koans. If we keep ego it is impossible to get the answer. We need a good master and strong will for the truth otherwise Koan practice will become only a koan study or koan play. For this reason you must take care. In Toshoji, we teach all beginners Susokukan. In some cases we use koans. |
Indirect Key Points
1. Facing a wall
| When doing Zazen, face a wall. The wall is
not important. The reason we face the
wall
is because if we look at a far away
place
our mind will become distracted. In
your
house, use a door or wall to sit in
front
of. Sit about 1 meter away. |
| You should eat 80% (70%) of your full capacity.
After eating, take a short rest before
starting
Zazen. Just after a meal we tend to
feel
sleepy because we are full. Sleeping
Zazen
does not produce such a good effect
and is
not healthy for the body. If you sleep
during
Zazen it will become a habit. Also
remember,
if you do not eat, you will have no
power
to do Zazen. Eating moderately is best.
If
you are very serious and not sleepy
it is
possible to sit more and more. |
|
Thinking that a few minutes of Zazen
is not
useful or is equivalent to doing no
Zazen
is a mistake. Just one second of Zazen
has
an endless past and future. It has
a great
power to make the whole universe pure.
Even
if you cannot believe this, you must
try
Zen with this wisdom. How long and
how many
times we sit will depend on our environment
and will. If you have a strong will,
what
others might consider hard you might
find
easy. Sometimes people say, "I
have
no time." If you have a strong
will
you can make time. It is not so good
to sit
for a long time because you will become
tired
and your mind unclear. 30 - 40 minutes is a good start for beginners. If you wish to continue longer please do Kinhin and take a short rest in between intervals. For example: 40 minutes Zazen and 5 minutes Kinhin, followed by a 15 min rest. *We will explain Kinhin afterwards. |
 Use something to check the time while sitting.
The feeling of time is always different
depending
on the body's condition. Thinking about
how
long we have been sitting will distract
the
mind. Use a watch or incense stick
during
Zazen.When using incense, pick a stick that will burn for the desired time and put it in front of you. The nice smell of incense is also helpful for concentration while doing Zazen. |
In continuing Zazen, stand up and walk in
the room in between sessions. Naturally
look
downwards 2 meters ahead while walking.
Hands
are in Sashu. To do this, make a fist
with
the right hand and cover it with left
hand.
Bring the hands to the chest keeping
the
elbows up. Step heel first and walk
forward. Kinhin is not a rest. It is walking Zen.
People who are doing Susokukan must continue
counting while walking. Those doing Shikantaza
must walk 'Shikan' (just) walking. Normally
we think Kinhin is for refreshing ourselves
and stretching the legs. In a quiet environment
we do not receive outside influence. Moving
and noises influence us and cause discrimination.
For this reason, Buddha made Kinhin so that
we can try true practice while moving.Sashu and Walking In my Soto sect, we make Sashu with the right hand covering the left hand.  The founder of Toshoji, Harada Sogaku Roshi,
said that practicing students should always
keep the hands and legs, with the right under
and the left on top because Buddha sits the
opposite of this. Toshoji as well as Rinzai
follow this opinion.In Soto, when walking, take half a step per breath. It is very slow. In Rinzai, Kinhin is done at a fast walking pace. These two sects are on opposite sides of the scale. I think that, case-by-case, we should walk slowly or quickly. In Toshoji, the speed is in the middle between slow and fast. This pace is a little more slowly than normal walking. When I am in Italy, we use the same pace as the Soto sect because it is better for foreigners' legs. |
During Zazen we hit student's shoulders with
a stick. This is called Kyosaku. It
is not
an instrument used for hard training
or punishment.
Kyosaku is used to motivate students
to practice
harder and reach enlightenment. Sometimes
the shock of Kyosaku can help students
to
enlighten. In normal Zazenkai (Zen
training)
I lightly hit everyone equally. During
Sesshin
(5 days of hard Zen training) we give
many
Kyosaku for serious students. Most
temples
use Kyosaku for students who are sleepy
or
have bad form but this is not its true
use.
If we have bad form we can correct
it and
if we are sleepy it is better to return
home. Receiving Kyosaku In Soto sect temples a light touch is given on the right shoulder. At this time tilt the head to the left and make a gassho (hands pressed together in pray fashion). In Toshoji, the founder said that when we start Zazen we should never break our form. Just tilt the head to the left and receive Kyosaku. After this, make a gassho and return to Zazen. |
| If you are doing Zazen keep a small notebook.
If, during Zazen, you remember important
thoughts, go quickly and write them
down
in your notebook. Immediately return
to Zazen.
Please note, in a temple, we may not
write
in the Zendo (Zazen room) or leave
during
Zazen. Writing in a notebook at home
or between
intervals of Zazen is fine. |
| Dokusan means 'to study alone with a Master'.
Each student goes alone to the Master's
room
and says their understanding of their
koan.
The student then receives the Master's
criticism.
Sometimes the Master and student may
partake
in Dharma fighting. Dokusan is considered a private lesson rather than a group lesson. This private lesson is very important for the transmission of Buddhism between Master and disciple. Each person's life is different and this difference is itself real Buddhism. Searching for this real Buddhism is also different for everyone. The way is never the same. A way that is useful for one person may be of no use for someone else. The Master checks each student's life situation and level of understanding. He then suggests the best way for the student to enlighten. This is Dokusan. Caution for Dokusan Conversations held in Dokusan must never be discussed with another person. If you discuss or listen to other peoples Dokusan you will naturally want to use the same way as them. In day-to-day life this is not a problem though in Zen, if you really want to enlighten, such knowledge will become a big problem. This is a terrible thing so please never disturb other people. |
| Dokusan itself is 'no ego' practice. In Dokusan,
Master and disciple both abandon common
sense
and the feelings of normal life. We
must
use our whole body to get the truth.
Student's,
with a saintly feeling, go to Dokusan
with
the spirit that they are going to Buddha's
place. Though the Master has human faults, when he receives Dokusan with a dharma eye, he becomes one Buddha. The Master, without reservation, kills all discrimination. 
 With this spirit we have to follow the rules of Dokusan. In the entrance, bow three times before entering the Dokusan room. Enter the room with hands in Gassho form and bow three times before the Master. Kneel quietly and slide forward so that there is a space of about 50 cm between the Master and your knees. Put hands in Zazen form on your lap and sit up straight. Quickly say, "My Koan is …" and give your answer. Questions and answers should be simple and we should never talk about such things as Philosophy or Buddhism. Do not ask about theories and 'isms' in Dokusan. Such questions should be asked at another time, outside of Dokusan. Personal issues should not be addressed in Dokusan. In Dokusan, always do only practice.  When the Master rings the bell it is a signal
for the next person to come and for you to
leave. At this point, though you may wish
to say more, you must leave.Before standing up bow once. Exit the room and bow three times in the entrance before returning to your seat in the Zendo. Basically, in Dokusan, we must always bow three times though in Toshoji, because there are sometimes many people doing Dokusan, we only bow once. When going to Dokusan, do not go too quick nor too slow. We disturb other people with loud running or by taking too much time walking slowly. Hands should be in Sashu when going to and from Dokusan and in Gassho while in the Dokusan room. Waiting for and going to and from Dokusan is not a rest time. Carefully and seriously we must always become one with our Koan. |
Reading this report is a good cause and effect.
I hope that you practice Zen seriously because
life is so short.
Tetsujyo