Points to Watch in Zazen

Text

Keizan's Zazen Yōjinki ('Points to Watch in Zazen') gives the Sōtō practitioner a manual for the body of practice, where Dōgen's Fukanzazengi gives the spirit. Choose a clean, quiet place. Sit on a thick cushion, legs in lotus or half-lotus, spine erect, ears aligned with shoulders, nose with navel. The tongue rests against the upper palate; the eyes are open but soft, gaze cast slightly downward. Breathe through the nose, neither holding nor pushing. 'Do not think of the koans. Do not turn the mind toward enlightenment. Do not turn it away. Sit upright in the midst of all conditions, neither extinguishing thoughts nor following them. This is the zazen of the buddhas and ancestors.' From this single instruction the daily life of the Sōtō monastery is built.

tr. Zen Lineage editorial paraphrase, after Cleary's Timeless Spring rendering

license: cc_by

Attribution

• Speaker
  Keizan Jōkin

Lineage: Sōtō

By Keizan Jōkin

• The Transmission to Mahakashyapadialogue
• Zazen Yojinki: Notes on What to Be Aware of in Zazensermon
• Awakening Is Accessible to All Beingssaying
• Broad Seatproverb
• Record of the Transmission of Lightproverb

Sources

• contentEditorial Teachings

  Zazen Yōjinki, instructions on posture and attitude

  Zazen Yōjinki: Points to Watch in Zazen