Zen Yoga
| Zen Yoga | |
|---|---|
| Practice emphases | |
| alignment, energy or qi/ki, mindfulness, meditation (Zen or Dhyāna), awakening or kensho. | |
| Related schools | |
| Hatha Yoga, Qigong, Dao Yin, Oki-do yoga |
Zen yoga refers to a variety of physical and energetic practices that can be found within the Zen Buddhist tradition, and increasingly taught in the West. Some Zen temples include a taiso (exercise) period, often early in the morning, including yoga-like postures, quick repetitive exercises, and/or more flowing exercises reminiscent of Tai Chi. These exercises are designed to open and unblock the body in preparation for sitting meditation, develop a deeper awareness of the body, and as an opportunity to practice "becoming one” with what’s happening in the moment (expressed in Japanese through the terms narikiru – become one – or ima-koko – now-here).
The Buddha grew up around 500 B.C.E. in a time of great political and spiritual upheaval. The brahmanas, the spiritual orthodoxy, followed the teachings of the Vedas (written in the ninth century B.C.E.) and the Upanishads (compiled from around the seventh century B.C.E.). Ritual and offering were central to their beliefs, and these could only be performed by the spiritual caste, the Brahmins. The ritual act of making offerings was even, at times, venerated even more than the gods themselves, and as a consequence the Brahmins became very powerful and secretive.
A number of ‘radical’ spiritual schools and teachers emerged (the shramana schools) in reaction to this brahmana orthodoxy (sometimes called the “movement of the forest sages”), of which the Buddha was one. What the Buddha offered was a straightforward method to alleviate suffering and lead towards liberation, accessible to people of all castes. As opposed to some of the more extreme positions that appeared (emphasising severe austerities or sensual indulgence) he taught what he called the 'middle way', emphasising moderation, calmness and non-forcing.
He taught that there are no absolute “things”, there are only processes in a constant state of change (annica); that there is no fixed or permanent essence or soul (annata); and that suffering is inherent to life (dukkha) (the Three Marks of Existence). In the Satipatthana Sutta, the Buddha described four foundations (or bases) of mindfulness – mindfulness of the body, of sensations, of the mind, and of dharmas (i.e. phenomena, thoughts, arisings), and is recorded as saying, “There is one thing that leads to happiness in the present and liberation in the future; and what is this one thing? It is mindfulness of the body.” (Anguttara Nikaya, sutta I, 21). Thus mindfulness of the body is the direct way to liberation and the end of suffering. Zen yoga practice is primarily concerned with the body and sensations, and observing life as a process in a constant state of change, so is in direct line with the Buddha's method of awakening.
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