Posture, Hands and Head in Zazen - Dharma Rain Zen Center

Zazen

Posture > Hands and Head

How to Sit Zazen:

Like all elements of the postures, the position of the hands is a tool, reflecting the state of one’s mind. Maintaining a hand position requires subtle, continuous effort. If our attention fades, the hands slump and drift apart; if we get distracted or tense, we may find we are pressing our thumbs tightly together.

Why sit Zazen?

Noticing the degree of energy in the thumbs can be a signal for regulating the effort of the mind. Steady, gentle pressure, with both the thumbs and the will, is most conducive to meditation. This degree of attention and energy applies to the entire posture — closing but not clenching the jaw, lifting but not forcing the head up, straightening but not straining the spine.

The most common hand position in Soto Zen is called the “concentration mudra.” Put your hands together in front of you. Your forearms may rest on your thighs (or feet, if you are in full lotus), or you may hold them against your body. The hands should be held close to your lower abdomen in a manner that doesn’t tense the shoulders or upper back. The palms are up, fingers are parallel, and the left-hand fingers are on top of, and directly over, the corresponding right-hand fingers. The thumbs lightly touch, forming a bridge over your fingers. This position represents a union of all opposites, with the left and right hands coming together to form an oval.

Keep your head upright, with your ears directly over the shoulders, and your chin tucked in, thus elongating the neck. This will rotate the face slightly down, but keep the head upright, not leaning forward. The lips and teeth stay closed, with the tongue pressed lightly against the roof of the mouth behind the front teeth. Your eyes should remain slightly open, but don’t need to be focused. Gaze toward the floor at about a 45-degree angle. The eyes are not looking down so much as inward, and keeping them partially open anchors one in the present, preventing the tendency to get lost in thoughts, drowsiness or trance states.

Zazen is not about shutting off from sensations and phenomena. It is about our direct experience of the world and mind, taking refuge in a deep, thorough absorption in the present moment. Keeping the eyes open is more conducive to this than meditating with your eyes closed.

 

top