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Zazen Talks

Zazen is a meditative discipline that is typically the primary practice of the Zen Buddhist tradition.

The generalized Japanese term for meditation is 瞑想 (meisō); however, zazen has been used informally to include all forms of seated Buddhist meditation. The term zuòchán can be found in early Chinese Buddhist sources, such as the Dhyāna sutras. For example, the famous translator Kumārajīva (344–413) translated a work termed Zuòchán sān mēi jīng (A Manual on the Samādhi of Sitting Meditation) and the Chinese Tiantai master Zhiyi (538–597 CE) wrote some very influential works on sitting meditation.

The meaning and method of zazen varies from school to school, but in general it is a quiet type of Buddhist meditation done in a sitting posture like the lotus position. The practice can be done with various methods, such as following the breath (anapanasati), mentally repeating a phrase (which could be a koan, a mantra, a huatou or nianfo) and a kind of open monitoring in which one is aware of whatever comes to our attention (sometimes called shikantaza or silent illumination). Repeating a huatou, a short meditation phrase, is a common method in Chinese Chan and Korean Seon. Meanwhile, nianfo, the practice of silently reciting the Buddha Amitabha's name, is common in the traditions influenced by Pure Land practice, and was also taught by Chan masters like Zongmi.

In the Japanese Buddhist Rinzai school, zazen is usually combined with the study of koans. The Japanese Sōtō school makes less or no use of koans, preferring an approach known as shikantaza where the mind has no object at all.

From zazen on Wikipedia

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Awakening Through Huineng's Koan

Practice, Koan, Zazen
Sep 11 1989
Green Gulch

Beyond Duality: Unveiling the Original Face

Serial: SF-04067

Duplicate

Practice, Zazen, Koan
Aug 11 1989
Green Gulch

Sunday Lecture

Mill Valley, Blue Cliff Record, Zazen, Buddha Nature, Liberation, Harmonizing, Suzuki...
Jul 09 1989
Green Gulch

Embodying Enlightenment Through Daily Awareness

Renunciation, Zazen Mind, Zazen, Buddha Nature, Concentration, Suzuki Roshi, Ceremony...
May 18 1989
Tassajara

Zen Harmony: Meditation, Music, Mantra

Mantra, Buddha Nature, Lotus Sutra, Soto Zen, Zazen, Bowing, Chanting, Posture, Bell...
May 03 1987
Green Gulch Farm

Breathing

Breath, Practice, Zazen
Jul 1980
Unknown

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