Zazen Meditation

Sometimes when you look up instructions on Zen meditation, you read that you're supposed to sit on a special kind of cushion, which you have to buy. This is silly; we used the cushions, but a rolled up blanket works just as well. The point is to put something under your tailbone to tilt your pelvis slightly for comfort and proper posture.

Besides posture, here are Greg's instructions:

"Sit with your spine straight, your legs folded, and your hands resting together in your lap like so. Let your arms be like the branches of a tree, hanging from the trunk of your body. Keep your eyes open, and look--don't stare--at a spot about five feet in front of you. This meditation form was developed by samurai monks on guard duty, so your eyes and ears must remain open; be aware of what is around you, but not focused on anything--if you focus on one thing, the attack could come from something else. Count your breath, both in and out, up to ten then start over. If you lose count, start over. If you find your mind has been wandering, start over. If you find yourself worrying about your mind wandering, start over. I will tell you when to stop--it will be two sessions of ten minutes each today, and we will work up from there. If you do this often enough for long enough, you may hallucinate; Siddhartha Gautama did, before he became the Buddha. It is only illusion. Ignore it."

He also taught us walking meditation and several chants. On Fridays he gave short talks on meditation and Buddhist philosophy during part of the meditation period.

Greg was the oldest of the Masters, and the only one left who had been there from the beginning--the founding masters had asked him to teach them meditation. He's part Japanese-American, on his mother's side, but he was always quick to point out that, except for being Buddhist, he's pretty mainstream American, culturally. He also has the distinction of being the only master who was never a student here, and the only one who has never switched religions.