Delving Into Zen Meditation By Warren Marion At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

Zazen is known as the art of Zen meditation. It works by helping a person focus on their center and study themselves from within. While Buddha was said to be in the process of attaining enlightenment, he sat in the stillness of meditation. In the present time, practitioners meditate in the same seated position of stillness.

Zen meditation has been practiced for the past 2500 years and has been handed down from one generation to the next. It traces its origins in India, then travelled on to China, Japan, the rest of Asia, and finally to the West.

Zen meditation is heavily influenced by the Japanese technique of singular focus on a certain thought or particular object. It is a type of meditation more commonly attributed to Buddhist monks who practice Zen meditation daily. Because of this, Zen Buddhists are popularly know as “Meditation Buddhists”.

Zen meditation can be practiced on a daily basis for any length of time, although experts recommend an average of five minutes spent on meditation each day for a person to benefit from all the advantages that Zen meditation can bring. Apart from helping get rid of stress, Zen meditation also eases away tensions caused by all the hustle and bustle of everyday life. It is a very simple practice to incorporate into one's daily activities and the meditation techniques are very easy to follow.

As with other types of meditation, all the benefits that are derived from Zen meditation will need patience and persistence to reap. While most people have a tendency to see their body, breath and mind as separate entities, Zen meditation seeks to unite all three into one single unit.

In Zen meditation, the focus starts with the position of a person's body. The body is supposed to lean towards a particular pattern in order to commune with the world as well as communicate with a person's inner self. The position of a person's body ultimately affects the way they breath, and eventually towards the way the mind thinks.

Most Zen experts recommend the sitting position. With the use of a small pillow called a Zafu which serves to elevate the back, the sitting position allows a person's knees to come into contact with the ground. A person sitting on a pillow with their knees touching the ground forms a tripod alignment which provides for a 360-degree angle of stability for the body.

Through closing one's mind to all thoughts and images, a person's breathing rate gradually slows and becomes shallow, and the heart rate slows down as well. Little by little, a person can reach a deep state of reflective meditation.

Creating a synergy of body, soul and mind, Zen meditation connects all the aspects of the body and strengthens them as a whole. This helps a person deal with everyday stress and the chaos of the world surrounding them. Eventually, a person begins to focus only on the present, and ceases to fret about the past or worry about the future.

Zen meditation requires daily practice to perfect a person's ability to focus. A period of time as short as five minutes a day is enough to bring about the many beneficial effects of Zen meditation.

Published At: Isnare Free Articles Directory http://www.isnare.com
Permanent Link: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=339170&ca=Self+Help

Important Notice DISCLAIMER: All information, content, and data in this article are sole opinions and/or findings of the individual user or organization that registered and submitted this article at Isnare.com without any fee. The article is strictly for educational or entertainment purposes only and should not be used in any way, implemented or applied without consultation from a professional. We at Isnare.com do not, in anyway, contribute or include our own findings, facts and opinions in any articles presented in this site. Publishing this article does not constitute Isnare.com's support or sponsorship for this article. Isnare.com is an article publishing service. Please read our Terms of Service for more information.