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What is Zen?
Zen is a meditation tradition that traces its lineage back student to teacher for over 80 generations to Shakyamuni Buddha the founder of Buddhism. Bodhidharma the teacher credited with bringing Zen practice to China is said to have characterised it as:
A special transmission outside the scriptures
Not relying on words and letters
Directly pointing to the mind
Seeing the true nature and attaining buddahood
With this approach direct experience is stressed over intellectual understanding. There are a lot of books written about it but none of them can really express what Zen is, they are descriptions, in the same way that we can't ever fully describe the taste of tea - it has to be tasted, personally. So Zen is the name for both a tradition of meditation and the direct experience of the true nature of the mind. Zen Buddhist practice awakens us to the possibility that since the beginning we have lacked nothing. The method is simple; to apply direct and open awareness to every moment of our lives. It is a radical turning towards now. Learning simply to be.
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Lineage
Lineage is an important aspect of Zen practice where the teacher can trace back over multiple generations the transmission of the teachings and fruition of practice teacher to student. Hazy Moon Sangha is a member of the White Plum Asanga, an organisation of peers in the lineage of Taizan Maezumi Roshi it seeks to preserve Maezumi Roshi's vision and ongoing legacy in a way that is suited the time and place we find ourselves in.
Maezumi Roshi received Dharma transmission from Baian Hakujun in the Soto lineage. He also received Inka in both the Shakyamuni Kai, through Koryu Roshi, and in the San Bo Kyo Dan (Three Treasures school) through Yasutani Roshi.
See Maezumi Roshi's bio on the White Plum Asanga site for more details about his legacy and their ongoing activities. Scott Sensei received Dharma Transmission (Shiho) from Catherine Genno Pagés Roshi of Dana Sangha based in Montreuil, France.
Types of Practice
Within this lineage there are three core mediation practices; 1) Breath Meditation - see our 'how do I meditate?' page 2)Koan Study and 3)Shikantaza
Koan Study
Koans have been used between teachers and students to clarify important spiritual and life questions. They often take the form of a dialogue between a teacher and student. Students study these interchanges and bring their understanding to the teacher, directly one to one in interview. Koan study can only be undertaken by request and happens face to face with a qualified teacher in Daisan (one to one meeting). Koans are not intellectual puzzles but they instead require a more intuitive leap, the contemporary teacher Daido Koori Roshi described them as "dark to the mind radiant to the heart". Many of the Koan collections used in Zen training have been published with commentaries by renowned teachers - see Zenkei Shibayamas; The Gateless Barrier as a good example.
Shikantaza
Shikantaza is a meditation practice where we 'just sit'. It is a practice in which no effort is made to change anything that arises - we trust that everything that comes up will be resolved in the natural state of the mind. It is a practice of total awareness and non-separation. Normally we begin Shikantaza after we have reached a stable grounding in breath practice. It has been described as a practice of trust, we trust that when we sit down and take the posture of meditation that everything is taken care of.
Students who are interested in Shikantaza or Koan study should raise it with Scott Sensei in Daisan (one to one meeting).