Enlightenment is not a thing that is achieved but a continuing and unending process of opening in insight and deepening in wisdom.  Zen practice encourages you into both gradual and sudden experiences in which old structures of thinking give way to a dimension of mind unlimited by concepts.  Whether gradual, sudden, or both mixed together, waking up is a process of ripening into more and more subtle kinds of not-knowing, rather than an attainment of a special kind of state or knowledge.  So meditation is the quite radical act of offering yourself completely to the unknown, of entrusting yourself to direct experience of the source of your being, rather than clinging to ideas or developing concepts about the nature of mind.  Its true purpose is the deepening and rounding of character, which points to the fact that enlightenment experiences, however wonderful, are not an end in themselves but an ethical, spiritual undertaking:  when you realize (literally ‘make real’) your true nature, intimacy with the other opens up in a new, rich light.  The art of Zen practice, like any other artform, never stops asking you to see more deeply, wake up more comprehensively, act more genuinely, come alive in every corner of your being.

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Meditation brings us time and again up to the very edge of our tolerance and fear, sometimes called ‘resistance’, in a way that strengthens will and character, as well as insight into ourselves, over time.  We are doing this to meet ourselves more clearly, and to grow resilience and calm in the face of discomfort and unease.  More profoundly still, we are doing this to become real.  There is an element of trust needed to begin a real practice, but the great thing is that practice grows trust and opens up a place in you that is steady and strong, and not easily invaded by a desire to squirm away from difficulty. It is a practice because it engages all of what we are, and because nothing enduring happens without it. So, just as with any other practice such as music, art, sport, when you are unwilling, you do it anyway, just to see what happens next – and because you have seen how skill and depth of knowledge and trustworthy intuition grows in this way.

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Luckily, there’s no ‘better’ or ‘worse’ in the mind of meditation, but there is a gradual refinement in practice that makes settling into deep states relatively easy – literally, more ‘practised’.  In mindfulness, nothing repeats, so how can there be long or short, better or worse?  Zen practice builds patience and ‘stickability’, and as it does so, gradually you will find your heart opening up to far more interesting and sustaining questions than ‘when will I be enlightened?’, or ‘am I getting better at this?’ A Zen Sutra tells us that already, ‘This very place is the Lotus Land, this very body, the Buddha’.  Comparing mind drops away, as you simply agree to pay attention in a state of open wonder.

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The postures we use in zazen are all proven to maintain inner and outer stability and stillness, from which wisdom grows. You can certainly vary your posture in a number of ways, with care not to disturb others as you do so.  Ask the teacher or a senior student for advice about this.  You can also use a chair, without any loss of quality in your zazen whatsoever.  The main thing is to be sure not to move off too fast from what seems difficult – inside it, inside your ability to meet it without dislike and grow curious about it, lies the key to your freedom in all circumstances.

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When we bow to the floor in the direction of the altar, we are not actually bowing to a statue.  The figure on the altar, if there is one, is there to present a reflection of your own innate self-nature, enlightened from the beginning, your own capacity to realise your Buddha mind.  It may seem curious at first, but try it anyway.  You are touching your head to the earth, in veneration of the Earth who gives you your very life, and as you raise your hands above your head you are throwing away thoughts of ‘me’ and ‘mine’.  You are also giving your body a pleasurable full stretch in a yoga asana that relieves the posture you have been holding in meditation.  If the act of giving yourself away in this fashion genuinely offends you on religious grounds or is beyond you physically, simply do a standing bow instead.  But best to explore it for yourself.  Who knows, something useful may come from this act of throwing your self away while venerating the earth! Bowing is an ancient Buddhist practice of going beyond the self.  Some Buddhists do 108 bows in a row – a real body work-out!

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Zen venerates the great example and enlightenment of the historical figure, Shakyamuni Buddha, but does not elevate him to a God.  Many committed Jews and Christians, including monastics and clerics, choose to walk the path of Zen training in order to see God, and their own sacred texts as well, more intimately.  Zen imposes nothing upon any monotheistic or polytheistic religious faith practised alongside it. There is no worship or prayer offered ‘to Buddha’, although Zen form itself is an act of mindfulness and deep respect towards the depth of realization embodied in the Buddha’s example.  And zazen itself is recognisable as a deep form of prayer without words or content.  It is more like openly and intimately listening to God and being listened to, an act of open gratitude, rather than asking for something.  Zen is a religious practice in the sense that it connects you with real intimacy to all other sentient beings throughout space and time, and opens you to the immensity that afterwards can be called God, Buddha-nature, your true Self, the universe;  but at the time, it plainly has no name at all, the profound and profoundly rich emptiness that every religious tradition recognises in its mystical streams of experience.

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Dokusan or Sanzen means literally ‘work in the room’.  It is an opportunity to ask questions and seek guidance, to enquire into the nature of practice and your own true nature with a teacher whose own level of insight has been publicly recognised by a recognised Zen master.  You will be received at whatever level of enquiry you bring to the encounter, and encouraged to go further, to look more deeply.  What takes place in the dokusan room remains entirely confidential.  The dokusan room can be a place of quiet encounter, or of laughter, and the odd sounds of koan presentations.  Don’t be worried or intimidated by this – in time you’l find your own way into the spirit of playfulness that often marks the Zen way of meeting with mystery. 

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Weekly practice with the support and encouragement of the teacher and the group is essential if you want to move beyond a dalliance with the big questions of your life, and a daily practice – even for just 15 minutes once or twice a day – gives it strength.  Start with 5 minutes of settled quiet sitting if that is all you can manage, and the commitment to get up only when you really feel it’s time to do so.  You can include slower, mindful walking meditation as part of a daily walk, or sit quietly for a while with no agenda but to be and to breathe on a bench or under a tree.  It is good to create a place in your room or house that you dedicate to the regular act of agreeing to sit down and face yourself.  Make it beautiful, with you cushions, a simple altar with a small flower offering, a candle to light, perhaps some incense. Or just sit upright in your favourite chair and settle into your breath, your bones and sinews, the emotional tone your find in your body, the freshness of the morning, the peace of the early evening, and savour your sheer existence as it comes alive to you when thought starts to drop away.

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