Enlightenment Through Zazen

Enlightenment through Zazen

Zen Buddhism is the fundamental belief that all humans inherently have a Buddha-nature inside of them. Through insightful meditation and devotion, one can realize this awareness of the Buddha and attain enlightenment. Philip Kapleau’s The Three Pillars of Zen is a comprehensive guide to the core elements of Zen, encompassing teaching, practice, and enlightenment. The book is divided into three main sections, the first of which includes teaching and practice with predominance on the methods of zazen. The second section is comprised of kensho enlightenment stories or personal narratives of both Asians and Westerners. And, the third section is made up of a variety of supplemental material. Therefore, the book is in a lot of ways a reference manual, and it proves to be a useful tool to any individual interested in Zen Buddhism. The Three Pillars of Zen leads the reader through the techniques of zazen, the experience of kensho, and the degrees of enlightenment.

The first pillar of teaching is necessary in understanding the proper method of meditating. In Zen Buddhism, the concept of zazen is described as sitting meditation in which an individual is able to see through the delusions of the world in order to wake up to one’s inherent purity and wholeness. Yasutani Roshi gives a detailed portrayal of how he thinks zazen should best be practiced. He suggests choosing a room free of distractions and laying out a square mat on the floor. One should sit on a small circular cushion and if possible, in the full lotus posture. The hands should be placed in the lap, facing upwards, with the left palm on top of the right. The body should be erect as to prevent unnecessary aching, and the eyes should remain partly open, yet directed downwards to avoid distraction or strain. After paying attention to these important physical requirements, the person meditating must then learn how to concentrate one’s mind. For beginners, it is easiest to count incoming and outgoing breaths with the goal of freeing the mind of discriminative thought. As one progresses with zazen, only the exhalations should be counted and eventually no counting will be needed at all. The length and time of zazen is up to the practitioner in order to best accommodate one’s daily schedule and zeal in the matter. However, one should keep in mind, it is only after a deep devotion to zazen that an individual usually advances in personal realization.

After perfecting the methodology, a meditator strives toward the ultimate goal of enlightenment. Several personal narratives are given in the second section of the book to highlight the first step in this achievement, the kensho or breakthrough experience. The majority of the enlightenment stories described in the book occur during periods of sesshin, or intensive mediation in a monastery. During sesshin, the basic teaching devices and methods of Zen are combined into a meaningful seven days of seclusion. Although undergone by a number of other practitioners, the central theme of sesshin is sustained self-effort, for in the end one is liberated by one’s own exertions. It is fairly common for “breakthrough” experiences to occur during a sesshin due to the concentrated schedule of zazen in which one is able to collect and unify one’s normally scattered mind with the purpose of discovering one’s true Self-nature.

This breakthrough experience is the first step in enlightenment and termed “grasping the Ox,” or the true attainment of the Way. Throughout the sesshin, people interested in obtaining enlightenment meditate on the entity “Mu.” In one of the accounts, the Zen master describes Mu as a sword which enables you to cut through your thoughts into the realm that is the source of all thoughts and feelings. He goes on to explain that Mu is not a means to enlightenment but enlightenment itself; therefore, one must concentrate fully and only breathe Mu. In the process, it is necessary to become centered through focusing