Beginning Zen

Ten Easy Steps

This is a course that makes it easy to get started with a Zen practice. The first chapter is so easy that anyone can complete it in one hour.

After that, we recommend that the steps of the first chapter be followed on a daily basis for a week or two at least. After it becomes second nature, i.e., so automatic that it requires no effort, it will be time to begin the more challenging intermediate course.

Most books on Zen say that Zen practice is hard. To be a full-time practitioner, like a monk or a nun who has left home to dedicate their entire waking hours to waking up, is not easy. However, this program is for lay people, people who spend most of their waking hours attending to school or work and family matters.

The idea behind this course is to lower the bar into Zen practice so that more people will try it, i.e., we are trying to reduce the intimidation factor. This is a course that lay people can take, even in the midst of a busy family and school or work-dominated life.

If you are lucky enough to live near a Zen center having a sanctioned teacher, or at least a senior student of a sanctioned teacher, it would be wise to become a member and participate in the scheduled events. A good list of Zen Centers in the U.S. is published by the American Zen Teachers Association. Another good list, including centers all over the world, is maintained at BuddhaNet.

When you finish this course, you will know what goes on in Zen centers and you won't feel intimidated by them. You'll be welcomed with open arms and open minds and the people there will help your practice grow.

Let's relax and get started. One hour from now, you'll be practicing Zen.

But first, a disclaimer. "You" won't really be practicing Zen one hour from now. A deluded thing that calls itself "me" will be practicing Zen.

Most people are convinced that every thought they have is their thought, that everything they see is what they see.

It is Seeing Awareness that sees, not "you." It is Hearing Awareness that hears, not "you." It is Thinking Awareness that thinks and "your" thinking is just meaningless elaboration.

Buddha Nature, Universal Consciousness, the Deathless, Awareness, whatever it may be called, is not a being or entity (and to give it a name, any name, is to miss it). It just is and the point of Zen practice is to awaken, to become aware. Buddha Nature or nirvana is not something "out there" because there is no "out there."

The belief that one owns a self that is permanent and pleasurable is a view held by all unenlightened sentient beings. The Theravadan school of Buddhism, the early school that preserved the words of the Buddha, spoken in Pali, recorded that the Buddha called such a wrong view sakkaya ditthi. The term sakkaya refers to the concept of self (body and mind) and ditthi means "wrong view."

Sakkaya ditthi is the first of the ten fetters that bind unenlightened beings. Its counterpart is Right View, the first of the Four Noble Truths.

If you approach this course with a determination to become a better person, you have already fallen into the trap. Such thoughts are mere sakkaya ditthi, arising from a belief in self as an independent entity in an external world. But the Buddha taught that there is no mind and body within, no world without. That is Right View, the First Noble Truth.

The Buddha taught that we overcome sakkaya ditthi through meditative absorption and Zen teachers teach that we awaken by concentrating on the present moment.

If "you" have overcome sakkaya ditthi, then "you" are an enlightened being who will gain nothing from following the beginning, intermediate, or advanced levels of this course. We won't be putting "you" or "we" in quote marks for the rest of this program, but those terms should be understood from the vantage point of enlightenment, and not in their vulgar, deluded meaning.

Step 1 - Seeking the Ox - Dropping Opinions

We recite, upon awakening each morning, the opening lines of Affirming Faith in Mind. Written in the six century by Chinese Master Jianzhi Sengcan, the Third Patriarch of Zen, scholars have praised it as "the highest achievement of the human mind." In Chinese it's called the Hsin Hsin Ming. It can be recited silently. The Great Way is the Tao; this is a Taoist writing, adopted by the Zen sect.

The Great Way is not difficult for those who do not pick and choose.

When pref'rences are cast aside, the Way stands clear and undisguised.

But even slight distinctions made set earth and heaven far apart.

If you would clearly see the truth, discard opinions pro and con.

To founder in dislike and like is nothing but the mind's disease

And not to see the Way's deep truth disturbs the mind's essential peace.

The late American Zen Master John Daido Loori, Roshi (old master) was given the name Daido because he loved the Hsin Hsin Ming so much. Daido is Japanese for the Great Way.

Anyone can learn these six lines and commit them to memory in a few minutes. You don't even have to understand the teaching at first. Daily repetition will work its magic. The author is talking about sakkaya ditthi. Only a self within can like or dislike a world without, only a self can hold opinions. The gap between where we are now and Nirvana is caused by the slightest distinction made between inside and outside; the presence of the slightest distinction is the manifestation of sakkaya ditthi.

The full Hsin Hsin Ming is quite lengthy but reciting the opening lines every day provides a foundation for a strong Zen practice. Why? Because it helps us to empty the cup of our opinions. As Zen master Hsu Yun said: "Drop everything, and let no thought arise." Dropping everything means to drop everything. Even the wrong view that you are a self in a world.

Step 2 - Finding the Footprints - The Precepts

We then recite the five lay precepts, as worded by another late American Zen Master, Roshi Philip Kapleau:

I resolve not to kill, but to cherish all life.

I resolve not to take what is not given, but to respect the things of others.

I resolve not to engage in improper relationships, but to lead a life of purity and self-restraint.

I resolve not to lie but to speak the truth.

I resolve not to cause others to take substances that impair the mind, nor to do so myself, but to keep the mind clear.

With ten or fifteen minutes of effort, you can commit the five lay precepts to memory for silent recitation each morning upon awakening, just after the recital of the Hsin Hsin Ming.

Step 3 – First Glimpse of the Ox - Taking Refuge

Next, recite the repentance gatha (verse):

All evil actions committed by me since time immemorial, stemming from greed, anger, and ignorance, arising from body, speech and mind, I now repent having committed.

Step 4 – Catching the Ox - Meditation

Having completed three important preliminary steps, we sit quietly for ten to thirty minutes. Try not to move. When the body is moving, the mind is moving (an old Zen saying). Please do that now. Face a wall, maintain the eyes slightly open but not foused on anything, looking down with the eyes only so that the head is erect, watch the breath flow in and out, and do nothing else. As we said earlier, don't grow two heads and don't paint legs on a snake, i.e., don't make the simple and the finished into something complex. The essence of Zen is simplicity.

We end the meditation by reciting The Four Vows:

All beings without number, I vow to liberate.

Endless blind passions, I vow to uproot.

Dharma gates, beyond measure, I vow to penetrate.

The Great Way of Buddha, I vow to attain.

Step 5 – Taming the Ox - Prostrations

We perform twelve prostrations or bows upon completion of The Four Vows. We bow to our inherent Buddha nature, which is eternal, joyous, selfless, pure.

There are no external entities to whom we bow. Again, there is no "out there," no mind and body within, no world without. Roshi Yasutani called prostrations "the horizontalizing of the mast of ego." You'll run across that quote when you read The Three Pillars of Zen.

Step 6 – Self Forgotten - Buddha Name Recitations

We recite the name of Amitabha Buddha twelve times. This step can be performed simultaneously with the twelve prostrations or bows or after the prostrations have been completed. Amitabha is not an "other." We are reciting our own name, remembering who we are. This concludes our beginning Zen morning practice.

Step 7 - Riding the Ox Home - Chanting

At the begining level, this step is satisfied by chanting The Four Vows at the conclusion of a sitting. At the intermediate and advanced levels, this is the first step of the evening practice.

Step 8 – Self and Ox Forgotten - Sutra Study

The eighth step is practiced in the evening. We read at least a few pages of a sutra before retiring. Many sutras are of Chinese origin and it takes time to get used to the lofty language. However, even if they seem oddly foreign at first, they become delightful with daily reading.

The great sutras, such as The Diamond Sutra, The Lotus Sutra, The Shurangama Sutra, The Avatamsaka Sutra (also known as The Flower Garland Sutra), and others, are not easily found on the Internet, due to their great length. This site includes an Amazon bookstore for convenience.

We incorporate sutra study into our daily practice by reading a few pages per day. A Zen practice without daily sutra study is not as authentic as it could be. Here is a website with a list of sutras.

We recommend reading The Three Pillars of Zen, however, prior to beginning sutra study. It will give you the background and inspiration to study the ancient Buddhist texts.

Step 9 – Reaching the Source - Yaza

We meditate at night before going to bed. "Ya" means night and "za" is to sit. Even for beginners, a single daily meditation builds a weak foundation. A night time sitting, just prior to retiring for the day, is important as you will quickly discover.

Although we can not do so every day, we attend intensive meditation retreats, known as sesshins, when they are offered. At the beginning level, we attend weekend sesshins. An all day sitting, known as a zazenkai, is a good preparation for a weekend sesshin.

Step 10 – Returning to the Marketplace - Teaching

This is what an awakened Zen Master does: He or she lives in the world, teaching by example.

The rest of us can practice beginning Zen every day and encourage others to do the same by introducing them to these ten easy steps. We can refer others to this website or to the Meetup page of Walk In Zen Centers, for example. Sharing the Buddhadharma with others is a form of giving, the first of the six perfections (paramitas) practiced by Buddhas-to-be (Bodhisattvas).

A Zen practice that is not practiced all day, every day, is not authentic. Zen practice is not a Sunday only activity. We have to remember: 1) The opening lines of the Hsin Hsin Ming throughout the day when opinions arise; 2) The Five Lay Precepts; 3) The repentance gatha (which, along with following the Five Lay Precepts, is preparatory to taking refuge); 4) The four vows; and 5) The name of Amitabha Buddha as various situations arise throughout the day, all day long.

We will often forget to apply the teachings in those five verses or recitations; that's why Zen practice is called a practice. We work at it every day, and we get better at it with time. If we review these ten steps every day, they will quickly become second nature. We can then introduce them to others and move on to Intermediate Zen.

As promised, less than an hour has gone by, and you have practiced Zen. Just follow the ten steps of beginning Zen every day. When you are ready to move on to the intermediate level, you will know.

But I didn't know what to do during that ten minute sitting, you may say. Well, if you did manage to sit still, you were doing quite well. Sitting without movement is close to the heart of Zen practice.

The best book in the English language on the subject of Zen, in my opinion, is The Three Pillars of Zen by Philip Kapleau, Roshi. In it you will find a treasure trove of information on how to sit and what to do when sitting. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. The book is a masterpiece and needs to be read many times.

It is beyond the scope of this course to provide detailed instruction on meditation and there is no need for anyone to provide such instruction in a website due to the existence of The Three Pillars. You can get it from amazon.com or from the bookstore on this website that is connected to amazon.com and no extra expense is encountered by accessing it from here.

After reading The Three Pillars, you will understand the importance of having a sanctioned Zen teacher that you can work with in person. This website hopes to point you in the right direction, but it is no substitute for a sanctioned teacher. Visit www.americanzenteachers.org to find a Zen center near you.

After a few years of practicing these ten basic steps every day, you will look back and realize you are not the same person you used to be. Zen training is transformative. Even if you never go beyond the ten simple steps of Beginning Zen, your evolution will become apparent to yourself and others.

The rest of this website includes intermediate and advanced levels of practice. It is intended for lay people, not monks or nuns. Monastics who have left home to devote their entire lives to the practice of Zen or other forms of Buddhism will have no need of a lay person's website such as this.

However, single lay people or lay people with families will benefit greatly from practicing beginning Zen every day. Most people will gradually evolve their beginning Zen practice into intermediate and advanced Zen over time.

Ironically, a self-centered desire to get benefits from practice is sakkaya ditthi and a sure guarantee that no benefits will be received. The practice must be approached with a wholesome mind, a relaxed mind that wants only to practice Zen for the daily satisfaction of practicing, not to get a future reward. The practice is not separate from awakening. When you sit in meditation, you are doing what a Buddha does (that's another old Zen saying).

Sitting in meditation, zazen, is the easiest part of Zen practice. The hard practice comes during the school day or during the work day. The moments between formal sittings, chanting practice, prostrations and the like are when we must learn to carry our Zen practice with us. It is during the moments of our daily life that we must learn to walk in Zen.

Introduction to Intermediate and Advanced Zen

How To Practice Zen

Beginning Zen

Ten Easy Steps