Zen Meditation for Spiritual Wellness

Zen Meditation is a very common spiritual practice that was originally based on Mahavana Buddhism. It is also known called Dhyana in India. It is practiced at least twice daily by billions of people in the Far East and millions of other people across the world that have adopted the practice as a way of maintaining physical, spiritual and psychological equilibrium and health.

Zen is deeply rooted in both the teachings of the Buddha Siddhārtha Gautama who is the creator of Mahāyāna Buddhist thought. The Mahayana is very broad collection of Buddhist scriptures that have been around since the first century BCE that are teachings about how to achieve enlightenment through meditation.

The aim of the Mahavana school of Buddhism is of course enlightenment but in a very personal and practical sense. The metaphor used is usually that of “awakening from delusion.” The goal of Zen meditation is similar to the Platonic idea of “know thyself.” There is wisdom of recognizing the truth of one’s own nature and then acting accordingly. The idea is that error and sorrow come into the picture when you do things and make choices that are against your own nature.

Zen meditation is one of the more populist forms of meditation as it less based on theory and the study of religious texts and is more in favor of direct and individual experience.  However the practice still incorporates the Buddha’s fundamental teachings—among them the Eightfold Path, the Four Noble Truths, the idea of dependent origination, the five precepts, the five aggregates, and the three marks of existence.  It also draws from the oldest form of Buddhism known as “The Way of The Elders” that is also known as Theraveda Buddhist thought.  Most of the practices have the end goal of stripping away delusion so you can live a life that is true to your convictions.

The Zen school of meditation came into existence in China about the seventh century.  By the early 19th century it had spread to Vietnam, Korea and Japan.  By the early twentieth century it was introduced as a discipline into Europe and North America. While “Zen” is the name most commonly known worldwide, it is also known as Chán in China, Seon in Korea, and Thiền in Vietnam.

The very basic tenet behind Zen meditation is the practice of a seated posture known as zazen.  The purpose of zazen is to recall the posture in which the Buddha is said to have achieved enlightenment under the Bodhi tree at Bodhi Gaya. Adopting the same posture as the Buddha helps bestow he blessings of mindfulness and concentration upon the meditator.