Sesshin
A sesshin is a Zen meditation retreat. Sesshins vary greatly in length, from a weekend to several weeks or more. Zazen is usually practiced for ten or more hours a day, broken with kinhin (walking meditation), work practice, rest periods, teisho, and ritualized eating known as oryoki. The sesshin members rise before dawn and do zazen before breakfast and end the day with zazen. Dokusan is held anywhere from one to three times during the day.
Sesshins are periodic intensive practice sessions to augment daily practice. Sesshins are the optimum time to work on koan practice (Rinzai) or shikintaza (Soto) and the dokusan is most helpful and provides encouragement to a flagging spirit. Sesshins are extremely difficult and rewarding. They are wonderful opportunities for practice in a safe environment with no distraction except for your own monkey mind.
Mu
Joshu Jushin was a renowned Zen master of the T'ang period in Chinese history. He is best known for his Mu koan, but appears in many of the koans still in use today. One of the koans most frequently assigned to newcomers to Zen practice is Mu. Mu gained fame from the story of Joshu.
A Zen master said to Joshu, “Does a dog have buddha-nature?”
Joshu replied, “Mu!”
Mu is a negative symbol in Chinese meaning, “no-thing.”
Opening the Gate
Chanting is an integral component to Zen practice, especially the Heart Sutra. It is woven into the ritual fabric of Zen practice. For instance, a formal Zen practice period (in the Soto Zen tradition) will begin with a series of bows followed by the recitation of the Heart Sutra. The Heart Sutra begins (in transliteration), “MA KA HAN NYA HAR RA MIT TA SHIN GYO” that translates to Great prajna (wisdom) paramita (transcendental) sutra. An excerpt from the text can be translated:
Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva practice deep Prajna paramita when perceive five skandas all empty, relieve every suffering. Sariputra, form not different from emptiness. Emptiness not different from form. Form is the emptiness. Emptiness is the form. Sensation, thought, active substance, consciousness, also like this. Sariptura, this is everything original character; not born, no annihilated not tainted, not pure, does not increase does not decrease. Therefore in emptiness no form, no sensation, thought, active substance, consciousness. No eye, ear, nose, tongue body, mind; no color, sound smell, taste, touch, object.
Once the chant is complete, another series of bows are made. These prostrations, while done in front of an image of the Buddha, are not meant as idol worship. The Buddha sits as a symbol of human potential and your nature as an awakened being, and serves as a reminder of that possibility. The ritual of bowing and chanting creates a gate that the participants go through to mark the beginning of the formal practice period. Silence is maintained. While the participants do not talk with one another, the practice of Zen is communal.
Walking meditation in Zen is called kinhin. Zazen is often broken up with a period or periods of kinhin to stretch the legs and give them some relief. The walking meditation is very slow and the steps are usually synchronized with the breath so that you step with the in-breath and step with the out-breath.
At the beginning of each sitting (that may last approximately forty-five minutes), each participant bows to the wall, turns 180 degrees clockwise, and waits until everyone in the room has done likewise. When everyone is standing ready to bow (hand in gassho — prayer position), then everyone bows together, turns 180 degrees clockwise again, and sits down on their cushion. At the end of the sitting meditation period, the bell rings and everyone arises from meditation, first arranging their sitting space neatly, bows to the wall (Zen is practiced facing the wall), and turns 180 degrees as before and waits for everyone to be ready to bow, and then the group bows together as one. A typical meditation period may last two and a half to three hours with alternating periods of sitting and walking (kinhin) and is followed by a group meal known as oryoki.
