" Within every moment of thought you should see yourself that your fundamental nature is pure. You should cultivate for yourself, pratice for yourself, and accomplish for yourself the enlightenment of buddhahood."
--Huineng [1]

So how do I do Zazen? Part 5: Where

   We sit facing a blank wall. This is helpful because there is nothing extra to be grabbed by the mind, and represents facing our obstacles directly. In the case of meditation, this means facing ourselves, seeing who we are; that clear space in front of us becomes a mirror showing us exactly who we are at that moment. Zazen is a matter of developing the ability to come back to center while seeing ourselves clearly.

   It is helpful to have a designated place, preferably in a clean, uncluttered room. Taking some measures conducive to relative quiet is also helpful. We tend to become entangled in affairs of our lives very quickly, so keeping the environment free from distractions reduces the opportunities to get involved in anything beyond this very moment. This environment parallels meditation itself -- a refuge from the noise and clutter, just as zazen finds peace beneath the loud and busy life of our thinking mind.

   There are several layers of meaning here. An ideal place for retreat might be physically comfortable, socially harmonious, spiritually nurturing. In one sense we can carry this with us, but that is only one side of it. It also helps to have space set aside in the physical home for practice, and time set aside in schedule for practice with a sangha.

Posture
   ---Legs
   ---Torso
   ---Hands and head
Breath
Bowing
Mind
>Where
When


[1]Hui-Neng, pgs 60-61 in The Platform Sutra of the Sixth Chinese Patriarch, trans. by J., McRae. (2000) Numata Center, Berkeley CA.