"Just Sitting" (Jap: “Shikantaza” 只管打坐) is the core practice in Zen.The approach to it is very practical and straightforward. You just sit with an upright posture while being aware of your experience. There is no aim for any particular states or anything “special”.
Sounds simple? Yes, Zen meditation is a most simple way to be, and there is no point in burdening it with ideas and expectations about its benefits. Zen meditation is about developing a simple and regular habit, rather than fussing over any kind of technique or experience.
Each sitting is really as simple as keeping a regular appointment with yourself and accepting it just as it is. Chairs provided, or you can BYO zafu or stool. Come and share in this with Zen monk Seikan and others at RMIT Spiritual Centre (City Campus, Building 11), every Tuesday 12.30pm-1.30pm.
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MZC runs regular Zazen (Zen meditation) meetings for people from all walks of life. Whether you are new to Zen practice, or have had some prior experience, please feel free to come and sit. Consistent with Zen, MZC follows a clear and simple form of practice rather than expounding ideas or belief systems.
Regardless of what may bring you to Zen, Zazen is itself a practice of letting go. While there is now an extensive body of research that regular meditation practice will reliably create significant stress relief and many other health benefits, it is often our fixation and impatience with reaping those benefits which can get in the way of meditating simply and well.
To emphasize this, Zen master Kodo Sawaki (1880-1965) often used to say to newcomers that "Zazen is good for nothing". In doing so, Sawaki took issue not with Zazen itself, which he continued to practice throughout his life, but rather with people's narrow expectations of personal gain which can only undermine the practice.
The practice of Zazen is extremely simple and straightforward: Just Sitting. You simply sit with a straight posture and maintain awareness of your experience without getting caught up in assessing, comparing, or trying to change it. Basically you start exactly where you are, and in the end you are also just where you are. Along the way, there is no special technique and no pursuit of any special experience.
Zazen is not about imposing calmness, stillness, or any special state of mind. It simply involves being awaremoment by moment which sets the ground from which calmness and peace of mind eventually develop as natural side-effects.Initially this approach can seem similar to "mindfulness", except that with Zazen there is ultimately no object of awareness and certainly none of the self-conscious mannerisms commonly associated with "trying to be mindful".
Zazen relies on regularity and habit much more so than on any special skill. Certainly it is no performance, contest, or forced activity. To sit Zazen is really as simple as choosing to do so. If you choose to do so, there is no question that you will be capable of it. So the real issue is not whether or not you will "succeed", but whether or not you may be willing to start accepting your experience just as it is.
Just sitting is to be one with your present experience. Being one with your present experience is to become one with yourself. And being one with yourself is actually to start losing our ideas about who you are. Whatever benefits that may come from Zen practice, they will come not from trying to control or change our lives, but from being wholeheartedly present and letting go.
Sawaki Roshi:"Hey what are you gawking at? Don't you see it's about you!"
MZC currently offers the following meeting formats:
Intro to Zen 1st Thursday of each month 5.45pm-7.00pm at Glen Iris: monthly introductory session for people new to Zen and meditation practice (Dana $8) 3-Week Zen Course2nd-4th Thursday of each month 5.45pm-7.00pm at Glen Iris:monthly Zen course over 3 consecutive weeks balanced between learning about Zen meditation and engaging in its actual practice, suitable for newcomers as well as people with prior experience (Dana $60). Lunchtime Zazen every Tuesday 12.30pm-1.30pm at RMIT City: weekly informal Zen meeting including Zazen and a talk on Zen practice, suitable for newcomers and regulars (Dana $3). Morning Zazen every Friday 6.30am-8am at Glen Iris: weekly formal Zen practice meeting including 2 Zazen periods and Kinhin (Dana $8). Zazenkai every Monday and Thursday 7.30pm-9.45pm at Glen Iris: twice-weekly formal Zen practice meetings including 2 Zazen periods, Kinhin, Heart Sutra (Mondays), Talk (Thursdays), and Tea Ceremony (Dana $8). Mini-Sesshin 1st Monday of each month 6pm-10.45pm at Glen Iris: monthly extended Zazenkai format including 5 Zazen periods (Dana $12). Sesshinheldfrom time to time at various venues in Melbourne and elsewhere:extended Zen meetings including one or more days of intensive Zazen practice (Dana set individually for each event).
All MZC meetings are listed in our Calendar on the left sidebar tab. Due to the limited seating at our main practice venue, Kotsusoon-ji in Glen Iris, please always be sure to RSVP before coming. RSVPs involve sending an electronic Dana (donation) payment via PayPal, which we have found to be the only practical way of minimizing waitlists and "no shows", and of being able to operate without manual accounting, cash handling, etc.
MZC is a non-profit operation and any surplus is directed toMelbourne Zen Hospice, a public benevolent institution providing free support for dying patients and their carers and families - thank you.
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