Zen GardenI've been in Japan for 10 excellent days and had the opportunity to take a Zen meditation class. The class was at the Shunko-in Temple, Kyoto, with the Rev. Takafumi Kawakami giving the class.
Rev. Takafumi Kawakami said that Zen Buddhism is concern with making the right choices in the moment. Focusing on now, can change your past and your future, with every decision opening up a different set of options. Unfortunately, most people are not focus on the moment but are lost in the past or the future. This is especially true with modern life.
Meditation is one way to help you focus on the moment.
In the class we focused on our breathing in two 15 minutes sessions.
First, we focused on the bridge of the nose when we breathed in. The focus is here because the area is very sensitive. We were told to breath in deeply.
Next we held our breathe for a short time.
Then we exhaled slowly and after we had finished we paused before repeating the cycle again.
After the sessions, I felt very relaxed and energized.
The Rev. Takafumi Kawakami said that it's best to practice often, even for a minute or two a day rather than doing a long session.
Shunko-in Temple website - if you go to Kyoto, you can stay at the temple. They have rooms.
I want one of those sessions also :)
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