You are on page 1of 10

Zen Meditation: Not One, Not Two

A Lecture Presented at Rowan University November 3, 2003 By Shigenori Nagatomo

I. Introduction Professor Youru Wang kindly extended to me an invitation to ive a lecture an d so ! would like to t"ank Professor Youru Wang and t"ose #eo#le w"o "ave ende avored to make t"is occasion #ossible$ %"en ! acce#ted "is invitation, ! wanted to talk about Zen Meditation$ &"e title ! "ave c"osen for t"is mornin 's lecture is ( Ze n Meditation: Not One, Not Two.( ) As t"is title consists of two #arts, let me ex#lain eac" #art to tell you w"at ! #lan to talk about t"is mornin $ ) &"e first #art of t"e title, ( Zen Meditation,( deals wit" w"at Zen Meditation i s #rimarily in reference to t"e t"ree*ste# #rocedure #rescribed by t"is tradition$ ) &"e second #art of t"e title, (not one, not two,( desi nates a #ractical ideal Zen would like to see everybody embodies, t"at is, a freedom of bot" mind and body$ ) ! would be "a##y if some of you "ere can see a merit of t"is freedom, so t"at you can incor#orate it in your daily life$ ) +efore ! #roceed to talk about Zen meditation, let me first start wit" a sc"eme w"ic" de#icts clearly "ow we are situated in our everyday life$ ) &o do so, ! will em#loy a model #ro#osed by a ,wiss #syc"olo ist, C.G.Jung$ ) Accordin to Jung, we are situated between two i antic s#"eres, wit" our e o*consciousness #ositioned in t"e tan ential #oint between t"em$ ) &o #ortray t"is #icture, t"e followin dia ram is "el#ful$ -i ure ./ 0xternal %orld and !nternal %orld

A/ &"in *!n*!tself B: 0xternal %orld As ,ensible !ma e C: 0 o*1onsciousness D: Personal Unconscious E: 1ollective Unconscious : Psyc"e itself ) %e can call t"e stand#oint w"ere e o*consciousness is situated in t"is dia ram, (everyday standpoint$( ) &"is standpoint is #rovisionally dualistic in nature, t"at is to say, it reco ni2es two t"in s and claims t"at t"ey are real$ ) -or exam#le, t"ere are two i antic s#"eres3 one is outer an d t"e ot"er is inner$ ) 4nce we acce#t t"is outer*inner distinction, we also notice t"at t"ere are many two t"in s t"at are affirmed to be real$ ) &"ey may be mind and body, ! and ot"ers, ! and nature, and ood and evil$ ) !n t"e everyday standpoint, two t"in s arise, lo ically s#eakin , by relyin on eit"er*or lo ic$ ) %"en t"is lo ic is a##lied to t"e w"ole, it divides it into two #arts$ ) !t #rioriti2es one of t"em as bein real or true$ ) 0it"er*or lo ic t"inks it is reasonable to divide t"e w"ole in two$

) -or exam#le, man is eit"er ood or evil$ ) 0#istemolo ically, two t"in s in t"e everyday stand#oint are t"e sub5ect w"ic" knows and t"e ob5ect t"at is known$ ) &ake an exam#le of t"e dualistic relations"i# a##lied in kn owin ot"ers, for exam#le, my collea ue$ ) %"en ! attem#t to know "er, ! rely on t"e lan ua e s"e s#eaks and "er body lan ua e$ ) 6ere ! cannot know "er mind in toto, and so ! infer w"at s"e "as in mind$ ) Zen t"inks t"at t"e situations created by assumin t"e dualistic stand#oint is not ideal, or t"at t"ey are real$ ) And "ence, Zen says (not two$( ) &"is is a recommendation for #ractically ac"ievin oneness by t"e #ractice of meditation$ ) %"en Zen makes t"is recommendation, it is sayin t"at ! and ot "ers, mind and body, ! and nature ou "t to be one, if one were to "ave a correct understandin of t"e nature of t"in s$ ) Accordin ly, you will understand t"at t"e #"rase ( not two( a##earin in t"e title of t"is mornin talk is a denial of t"e dualisti c stand#oint$ ) Zen t"inks one cannot ac"ieve t"is denial sim#ly by followin eit"er*or lo ic, or sim#ly by followin an intellectual #rocess of reasonin $ ) &"is is because an intellectual #rocess of reasonin ive s rise to t"e dualism between t"e t"inker and t"e t"ou "t$ ) 7oreover, Zen tells us t"at it is abstract, t"at is, it becomes divorced from t"e day*to*day actual reality$ ) !nstead, Zen #refers a concrete, strai "tforward action$ ) 6ow t"en does Zen recommend to avoid dualism and to ac"ieve onenes s8 ) &"is is w"ere an im#ortance of Zen meditation lies$ ) ,o, let me briefly ex#lain w"at Zen meditation is$ ) &"e #ractice of Zen meditation involves t "ree consecutive ste#s/ ) &"e first is the adjust ent o! the "ody. ) &"e second is the adjust ent o! the "reathing. ) &"e t"ird is the adjust ent o! the ind. II. !o"ture:

) ! will now briefly ex#lain t"ese t"ree ste#s one by one$ ) &"e first, the adjust ent o! the "ody, means to #re#are one's ow n body in suc" a way t"at it can yield an o#timum state of bein fr ee$ ) &o do so, you need to "ave a #ro#er diet and #"ysical exercise, and avoid formin a "abit contrary to nurturin a "ealt"y mind* body condition$ ) ,#ecifically, "owever, w"en Zen mentions t"e ad5ustment of t" e body, it "as in mind seated meditation #osture$ ) &"ere are two #ostures w"ic" Zen reco ni2es3 one is called t"e l otus #osition and t"e ot"er, t"e "alf*lotus #osition$ ) &"ese #ositions are known t"rou " a lon Zen tradition to be effective for stillin t"e mind, alon wit" dissolvin various #syc"olo ical conditions and #syc"osomatic disor ders$ ) &"is is w"ere one learns #ractical benefits of doin meditation$ III. Breathing ) ,ince t"ese benefits "ave to do wit" t"e breat"in exercise, let me move on t o t"e second ste#, namely, t"e ad5ustment of breat"in $ ) 9enerally s#eakin , Zen doesn't recommend any com#licated breat"in exercise as is recommended in yo a's breat"in met"ods$ ) Zen's breat"in exercise is called (o"servation o! "reath #ount$( ) !n t"is exercise, you 5ust breat"e in and out$ ) %"en you breat"e in, you brin air all t"e way down to t"e lower abdomen$ ) And w"en you breat"e out, you brin all t"e contaminated air out of your body system$ ) As you breat"e in, you count one$ ) %"en you breat"e out, you also count one$ ) :ou 5ust re#eat t"is #rocess$ ) ! say t"at you 5ust breat"e in and out in, and in so doin , you observe your incomin breat" and out* oin breat"$ ) !f you actually try it, you will find t"at it is initially rat" er difficult to (5ust breat"e in and out$( ) ! would recommend t"at you try it after t"is talk$

) &"e reason t"at it is difficult is because you will be entertainin all kinds of t"in , and conse;uently you will not be 5ust breat"in $ ) &"is is an instance of dualism Zen recommends one must overcome$ ) !n Zen terminolo y, you "ave not become one wit" t"e act of breat"in $ ) Now, let me briefly mention a #syc"o*#"ysiolo ical meanin of breat"in $ ) 4rdinarily, we breat"e sixteen to seventeen times a min ute$ ) And we do t"is unconsciously or involuntarily$ ) &"is is because under normal circumstances, breat"in is controlled by autonomic nervous system$ ) Neuro#"ysiolo ically, t"e center w"ere breat"in is controlled is t"e re ion called "y#ot"alamus in t"e mid*br ain$ ) As everyone knows, t"e autonomic nervous system functions inde#endently of our will$ ) Zen's breat"in is a s"ift from t"e unconscious, involuntary breat"in to conscious, voluntary breat"in $ ) &"is means t"at Zen meditation is a way of re ulatin t "e unconscious*autonomic order of our bein $ ) +reat" count is a trainin on t"e unconscious mind and t"e involuntary activity of t"e autonomic nerves w"ic" co ntrol t"e function of t"e various visceral or ans$ ) &"is #oint, for exam#le, is very si nificant in learnin to control emotion$ ) 4rdinarily, you are told to control your emotion by exe rcisin your will$ ) &"is is, for exam#le, t"e #"iloso#"er <ant recommends we do$ ) &"is met"od works to a certain extent$ ) &"e #roblem wit" t"is is t"at you s#end your ener y unnecessarily in exercisin one's will$ ) &"ink of a situation w"ere you try to submer e a ball in water$ ) %"en t"e si2e of a ball is relatively small, t"ere is no #roblem$

) +ut if one kee#s usin t"is met"od, t"e si2e of a ball becomes lar er and lar er$ ) %"at t"is means is t"at one must exercises mor e #syc"ic ener y to su##ress one's emotion$ ) &"ere comes a time t"en w"en one can no lon er "old it down$ ) 1onse;uently, one ends u# ex#lodin in various ways, ran in from a fit to a social crime$ ) !f you observe a #erson in an an ry state, you will notic e t"at suc" a #erson's breat"in #attern is s"allow and rou "$ ) 4n t"e ot"er "and, if you observe a #erson in a #eaceful state, it is dee#, smoot", and r"yt"mical$ ) -rom t"ese exam#les, you will understand t"at t"ere is a stron correlation between t"e #attern and t"e r"yt"m of breat"in and a #erson's emotional state, or more enerall y a state of mind$ ) Zen breat"in "as a way of naturally "ei "tenin t"e correlativity between t"e activity of t"e autonomic nervous syste m and emotion$ ) Neuro#"ysiolo ically, it 5ust so "a##ens t"at t"e center w"ere breat"in is re ulated and t"e re ion w"ere emotion is enerated coincide wit" eac" ot"er$ ) &"is means t"at t"e conscious breat"in #syc"olo ically affects t"e #attern of "ow one enerates e motion, and at t"e same time it also "as a neruo#"ysiolo ical effect of "ow t"e autonomous activity of t"e unconsc ious is re ulated$ ) &"ere are more t"in s ! can say about t"is correlation, but now let us move on to t"e t"ird ste# involved in meditation$ I#. The Ad$u"tment o% the Mind ) &"e t"ird ste# is t"e ad5ustment of t"e mind$ ) 4nce t"e bodily #osture, t"e breat"in are ad5usted, you next learn to ad5ust t"e mind$ ) &"is means t"at you consciously tell yourself t"at you are oin into a meditation state$ ) %"en you do so, you disen a e yourself from t"e concerns you "ave of your daily life$

) &"at is to say, you try to sto# t"e o#eration of conscious mind$ ) 6owever, su##ose you try to sto# your mind by t"e mind, t "e mind w"ic" is tryin to sto# t"e mind is still o#erative$ ) &"is tells us t"at we cannot sto# our mind by t"e mind$ ) Zen accom#lis"es it by t"e immobile bodily #osture and t"e breat"in exercise$ ) Meditation is a trainin to sit face*to*face wit" your self, w"ile creatin a #syc"olo ical isolation from t"e external world$ ) %it" t"is, you enter into your internal world of #syc"=$ ) As you attem#t to enter t"e world of #syc"=, various t"in s start sur facin in t"e field of your meditative awareness$ ) &"ese are mostly t"in s of your concern t"at "ave occu#ied you in t"e "istory of your life$ ) 4r t"in s you "ave consciously su##ressed from various reasons$ ) !nitially, you ex#erience a recent desire, a recent concern, a recent idea, a recent ima e you "ave in your daily$ ) :our ex#erience of t"ese various t"in s are due in #art to t"e fact t"at you "ave lowered a level of conscious activity, by assumin t"e meditation #osture, and doin t"e breat"in exercise$ ) &"is mec"anism is t"e same as w"en one "as a dream at ni "t$ ) %"en t"e level of consciousness is lowered, t"e su##ressive #ower of e o*consciousness becomes weakened, and conse;uently t"e autonomous activity of t"e unconscious starts surfacin $ ) &"is is t"e reason you ex#erience various ideas, desires, and ima es$ ) 6owever, t"ese desires, ima es and ideas are distraction insofar as meditation is concerned$ ) &"is is because in meditation you must learn to focus y our awareness on one t"in $ ) 4ne must learn to 5ust observe t"em wit"out ettin involved in t"em$ ) &"at is, one must learn to dis*identify t"em wit" oneself$ ) As you re#eat t"is #rocess over a lon #eriod of time, you will come to ex#erience a state in w"ic" no*t"in a##ears$ ) Zen uses t"e #"rase (no$ ind( to desi nate t"is state$ ) No$ ind does not mean a mindless state$

) Nor does it mean t"at t"ere is no mind$ ) !t means t"at t"ere is no conscious activity of t"e mind t "at is associated wit" e o*consciousness in t"e everyday s tand#oint$ ) !n ot"er word, no$ ind is a free mind t"at is not delimited by ideas, desires, and ima es$ ) No$ ind is a state of mind in w"ic" t"ere is neit"er a su#erim# osition of ideas nor a #syc"olo ical #ro5ection$ ) &"at is, no$ ind is a #ractical transcendence from t"e everyday mind, wit"out de#artin from t"e everydayness of t"e world Conc&u"ion: ) Alt"ou " ! need to say more about w"at t"is (no$ ind( is, let me brin my lecture to a closure$ ) !n t"e state of no$ ind, t"e meditator learns to become one wit" anyt"in "e>s"e c"ooses$ ) Let me illustrate it by usin an exam#le$ ) ,u##ose t"ere is a mot"er and a baby, and t"e baby is b ecomin difficult$ ) &"e baby is cryin because s"e may need a dia#er c"an e, s"e may be "un ry, or s"e may need a slee#$ ) &"e mot"er wants to "el# t"e baby$ ) !n t"is case, if t"e mot"er can become t"e baby, s"e wil l immediately know w"at it is t"at needs to be done$ ) 6owever, if s"e becomes t"e baby, s"e ends u# cryin like t"e baby, in w"ic" case, s"e will also need a "el# from someone else$ ) %"at solution does Zen #ro#oses to deal wit" t"is kind of situation8 ) Zen's res#onse is (not one, not two$( ) 6ere, (not two( is a ne ation of t"e dualistic state, t"at is, it recommends #eo#le to become one wit" an ob5ect, t"at is to ac"ieve a non*dualistic state$ ) !n t"e exam#le used "ere, Zen recommends t"a t t"e mot"er becomes t"e baby$ ) &"is is because w"en t"e mot"er becomes one wit" t"e baby, s"e comes to know w"at t"e baby wants$ ) 4n t"e ot"er "and, (not one( is t"e ne ation of t"is

non*dualistic state$ ) &"at is, if t"e mot"er remains one wit" t"e bab y, s"e ends u# cryin like t"e baby$ ) &"is will not "el# t"e situation$ ) &"is (not one( is not sim#ly a lo ical ne ation, but is a #ractical ne ation one learns t"rou " meditation #ractice$ ) P"iloso#"ically, one can say t"at t"is ne ation is a ne ation w"ic" oes beyond t"e #olarity between dualism and non*dualism$ ) Zen desi nates it as t"e ex#erience of em#tiness$ ) &"e ex#erience of em#tiness is like becomin a #lace in w"ic" t"e mot"er and t"e baby bot" a##ear as t"ey are$

You might also like