A monk hit me with a stick

Today I went to my first Zazen meditation class, the word means ‘seated meditation’. Zazen is basically a kind of Buddhist meditation that aims for unity of the mind (by letting one’s thoughts continually flow without lingering on any particular thought for too long) and sitting in a correct posture (the same posture Siddhartha Gautama did when reaching enlightenment).  Overall it was something I have really been looking forward to and really enjoyed. It was definitely a great cultural experience! We had to dress modestly and comfortably, be quiet, walk in certain directions, bow to certain things and squash our pillows in certain ways. The ceremony of it all was really beautiful!

The room itself was quite simple, it was tiled with a raised seating area all along the walls that had tatami mats and many little squashy black pillows. In the middle of the room was a statue of the Bodhisattva Manjusri (who has reached enlightenment). We were instructed to sit facing the wall and begin 15 minutes meditation. We could choose if we wanted to sit cross-legged, half lotus or full lotus. Also Zazen is a type of meditation done with eyes open at a 45 degree angle to the floor. I wanted to choose full lotus from the beginning but didn’t feel confident I could hold it the whole time so I did half lotus position. The monk walked around looking at our postures. My thought pattern revealed something very interesting for me: the habits of my mind. I remember my first train of thought was: am I doing the same thing as the person next to me?, am I allowed to look around?, I wonder what my boyfriend’s doing now, my back is really sore, try not to hold onto that thought, stop thinking about how sore my back is, stop it!, visualise your thoughts as a river, Im so tired, how much longer till the break?, was my back this sore all day?, river, is the river visualisation thing working? Nup, finally break time! Pins and needles.

My thoughts in that short meditation made me realise how often I analyse myself based on those around me, how often my thoughts drift to my boyfriend subconciously and how incapable I am at letting thoughts come without holding on to them. In the second half of meditation I did full lotus and managed to hold it the whole time. Also, I moved my hands to a prayer position and tilted my head left as a signal to the monk that my thoughts were drifting and he came over and bowed holding a stick up with both hands them gave me a lofty hit to the neck with his “stick of compassion”. There was a definite sting but thankfully I didn’t vocalise any pain. It was pretty hilarious to see a monk who has dedicated his life to being compassionate and virtuous hitting me with his stick of compassion! I loved how bizarre the whole situation was and I laughed inwardly for some time! Overall, I still feel more relaxed after my morning yoga then I did after Zazen meditation but I really respect and appreciate it as a cultural practice.

Would you try Zazen meditation? What, if any, meditation do you prefer? Let me know below!

– Bec