This is the most important practice. Traditionally this is called a "hwa tou". If you a question, this question will help you practice. If the question is big enough and intense enough, (the usual ones are "what am I?", "What is-life?", etc.) it will practice YOU and will give you Don't-know Before Thinking Mind. Let go of all thinking, opinions and desires and continually return to the questioning mind.

Using a mantra to calm the mind and strengthen the center is one technique used by students of Zen. The main difference between the Mantras is the length of the mantra used and the mantra's direction. Generally the more incessant the thinking, the shorter the mantra.

The usual technique is to recite the mantra constantly, paying attention to it and allowing all other thinking to drop away. This takes some practice since it is very easy to let one part of the brain 'chant' the mantra while the other part is thinking about dinner or going to the movies. When this happens, gently bring the mind back to the mantra without any judgment.

The most common mantras used for beginners are listed below. Additional ones can be found in the appendix under 'Mantras'.

This mantra is usually suggested to beginners in conjunction with a breathing exercise. Breathe in to a count of 3, saying "clear mind" at each count and breathe out to a count of 7 saying 'dooooonnnn't knnnnooooooow' just once for the whole 7 count. The count may vary with the individual, but the exhalation must be more than twice as long as the inhalation.

This is the Korean name of the Bodhisattva of Compassion, Avalokitesvara. This mantra is commonly suggested for people whose minds cannot be quiet one minute or who cannot concentrate for very long. Because it is short it can be repeated over and over (usually with a set of beads for counting). The usual recommendation is for 3000 to 10000 a day for someone who really wants to clear their mind of a particular problem. It is also used on a daily basis by many people as part of their sitting meditation technique.

Kong-an practice is an ancient form of question and answer. The actual word means "public record". So these are the public records of past Zen Masters. The answers are rooted in the reality that is beyond time and space, likes and dislikes, but is just-likethis. One of their functions is to give you a Great Question if you don't have one. Another is to help you eliminate the "hooks" from your mind. Each Kong- has loops (sort of like velcro) and when you cannot solve it, it is because the hooks of your mind have caught on the velcro of the Kong-an. Sitting with the Kong-an as a question is one of the trademarks of Zen Practice.

Although the individual chants may be done alone as mantras, chanting is used basically the same way as the mantra practice except that it is done in a group. The key to chanting correctly as a meditation is to chant just loud enough to hear your own voice but softly enough to hear everyone else in the room. This allows everyone to follow the Moktak Master for the chant as there is no one voice over-powering all the rest. Also people who have a hard time singing in key can then blend in with everyone and the sound from the chant in group will have a together-action character about-it.

The meditation practice of 'being in the present' becomes apparent during chanting. When the mind is not present in the room, but is thinking about something else, it is very easy to skip parts of the chant, let the voice go up when everyone is singing down the scale, or sing flat and have the chant end up so low that no one can sing it.

  - Technique 5: Prostrations

Prostrations could be likened to the 'emergency measure' for clearing the mind. They are a very powerful technique for seeing the karma of a situation because both the mind and the body are involved. Something that might take days of sitting to digest may be digested in a much shorter time with prostrations. The usual practice here is to do 1000 bows a day (actually 1080). This can be done all at once or as is usually the case, spread out through the day. For instance,

1 set for morning bows,

2 sets before breakfast,

2 sets at lunch time,

2 sets mid-afternoon,

1 set before evening practice,

2 sets after evening practice.

The description of prostrations can be found in the section on bowing and will not be repeated here.

  - Technique 6: Clear Mind meditation

This form of meditation involves just sitting and being aware of what is going on at just this moment. This is moment-to-moment mind. It hears the birds in the trees, the cars going by, the planes overhead, and the children playing outside. To the clear mind there is no such thing as 'noisy', it all just 'is'. This is not a beginning technique, but is an out-growth of the previous meditations.

Form:

1. Place cushion on a mat and sit in a simple cross legged position.

2. Keeping the spine straight, shoulders back and loose, tip head forward slightly, tuck in your chin so that you can see the floor about 3 feet in front of you. Your eyes should be half open, looking down.

3. Place hands in lap in the Maha Mudra. (see "Hands" for full description).

1. Sitting on a chair.

2. Piling 4 cushions on top of each other, turning them sideways and straddling them. This is sometimes comfortable for beginners, but is not a stable position if you have a tendency to fall asleep during the sitting period.

Kneeling on the mat and putting the cushion on the calves of the legs and sitting on it.

Using 'meditation bench' consisting of a slanted board with 2 legs. It is put over the calves of the legs as you kneel on the mat and then you sit on the bench.

Half-lotus.

Full-lotus.

Sitting cross-legged, but without the legs crossing each other. This is a more open position and may be of help to someone who is having trouble with their legs falling asleep.

1. Not sitting with the backbone straight. This may be remedied by using more cushions. Generally the legs must be in a symmetrical position - what one is doing, the other must do.

2. Sitting past one's physical endurance and not standing up so that the mind becomes focused on the physical position instead of its real work.

1. During daily formal meditation practice in the Dharma Room, facing the wall.

2. During chanting when sitting down, facing center.

3. During Yong Maeng Jong Jin, facing the center.

4. During short 5-10 minute sittings, facing the center.

1. If you use beads during sitting meditation, take care to move them in such a way as to make no clicking noises.

2. Once in a particular sitting position, it should be kept until you wish to change positions. Use the standing meditation posture as a transition between different sitting positions. Do a sitting bow, then stand up, do standing meditation until any discomfort disappears, do a standing bow and sit down in the new position.

During regular meditation, sit facing the wall, away from the center of the room. During retreats, and optionally during long sittings, sit facing the center of the room.

Always walk behind those seated in meditation.

5. There are 2 ways to use the stick:

a. During regular daily meditation, the HDT walks with the stick in the middle of the sitting period if there are 6 or more people.

b. During retreats, the HDT may walk as above or the teacher may choose to have everyone walk with the stick. This makes for tighter retreat where everyone takes responsibility to help others stay awake.

6. When someone needs to use a chair for sitting, it must be placed so that their feet do not extend past the front edge of the mats. This usually means the chair is placed slightly back of the row of mats. Fold the mat in half (keeping it in line with the other mats) and place the chair over it so that there is enough room for the person to put their feet on the end of the mat. For the person to be seated properly, their knees should be slightly higher than the chair seat so the edge of the chair does not cut off circulation. A black cushion can be added to the folded mat for shorter people.

Form:

1. Stand behind your mat in an erect posture, feet fairly close together and the head inclined forward slightly, so the eyes see the floor about 6 to 8 feet in front of you.

2. Hands are in Hapchang if you are not using beads. Or hands can be clasped at the waist if you are using beads.

Standing with the feet too far apart.

2. Rocking back-and-forth or side-to-side.

3. Using beads noisily.

1. During chanting meditation.

2. During sitting meditation when sitting has become physically painful and a change in position is needed to keep the mind from focusing on the pain in the legs or shoulders.

1. When changing from standing to sitting or sitting to standing, be mindful of your movement and try to make it as quiet as possible.

2. If you are having trouble with sleeping during meditation, standing meditation is a good alternative to sitting.

Form 1: (follow-the-leader, current form)

1. When the chug-pi is hit once, everyone gets up and lines up behind the senior teacher, or Head Dharma Teacher if no other teacher is present. (Each Zen Center has the option of deciding to follow the person with the chug-pi if no senior teacher is present.) Hands are clasped at the waist with the fingers interleaved.

2. The teacher (who may or may not have the chug-pi) then leads the group around the room in various patterns of walking meditation.

3. The person with the chug?pi must keep an eye on the clock ? walking is for 10 minutes. It is necessary to walk the full 10 minutes so that the people who have left to use the bathroom will have time to get back. (The Dharma Teachers must take off their robes before using the facilities and that takes some time especially if there is a line.)

4. When the 10 minutes are about up, the chug?pi person hits the chug-pi once at the point in transit where everyone (especially the leader) is well past his or her seat. This is the signal for everyone to stop at their seat when they next encounter it. Always face the center. The last person to get to their seat will be the leading teacher.

The people on the 3 sides of the room away from the altar, stop behind their mats. The people who are on the same side as the altar, stop in front of their mats if walking meditation is in front of these mats, or stop behind their mats if walking meditation is behind these mats.

5. When the teacher is in position, anyone who has just come in, may return to their seat by walking behind people standing at their mats.

6.The chug-pi is hit once and everyone sits down.

Advantages and Disadvantage:

1. This technique is especially good when there is a large retreat, or it is summer and walking meditation can be done out of doors.

Form 2: (positional, older form)

1. This form has a predetermined number of cycles around the room. This number is calculated so that it will take 10 minutes to do at a moderate rate of walking.

2. When the chug?pi is hit once, everyone gets up and faces counter-clockwise. Hands are clasped at the waist with the fingers interleaved.

3. When everyone is up and standing in position behind their mat, walking starts with everyone starting together (usually the senior teacher starts slowly to set the pace and the slower people catch up).

4. It is very important to maintain your position relative to the next person. If the next person is 2 mats away from you, they should remain always 2 mats away from you.

5. When the number of cycles around the room has been done, everyone stops behind their respective mats facing the center.

6. At this time, anyone who has just come in, may return to their seat by walking behind people standing at their mats.

7. The chug-pi is hit once and everyone sits down.

Advantages and Disadvantages:

1. This technique is good when there are more experienced people or there are only a few people scattered about the room.

Common Errors:

1. Using beads while walking.

When it is used:

Walking meditation is used as a physical relief period between sitting meditations. During this time people can go out to the bathroom, leave for other reasons, or reenter the Dharma Room. Since this is still considered meditation, it should not be used as a break (to leave the Dharma Room and relax, for instance) but reserved for really necessary reasons.

Special Notes:

1.When returning to the Dharma Room after leaving there are two options for entering walking meditation depending on the position of the door, the shape of the Dharma Room and the number of people:

   A. Enter the Dharma Room and immediately do a standing bow to the Buddha. Wait by the door until your position gets close and then enter the line of walkers. Do not do an extra bow before entering the line as it slows down the line and you have already bowed to the Buddha when you came in the room.

   B. Wait outside the door where you can see the line, as your position gets close, enter the Dharma Room, do a standing bow to the Buddha and immediately enter the line of walkers.

If walking meditation is almost over (last circuit), wait until everyone stops behind their mats and then quickly walk behind them to your mat.

2. Entering and leaving should be done in silence and silence should be kept in the immediate vicinity of the Dharma Room during meditation since the doors will be open and sound carries.

3. When using the bathroom during walking meditation, always remove your robe and kasa before entering the bathroom. This is especially true for Dharma Teachers.

4. When leaving the Dharma Room, go in the direction of the walking until you reach a door. Do not walk against the flow to leave the room.

5. No bow is done at the end of walking meditation before sitting down. You are still considered to be in meditation, so no bow is necessary.

6. If you return after walking is finished, sit outside the Dharma Room until the next walking period or end of meditation when you can re-enter.