7 Principles of Zen

The 7 Principles of Zen are:
1. Fukinsei (Asymmetry)
2. Kanso (Simplicity)
3. Koko (Austerity)
4. Shizen (Naturalness)
5. Datsuzoku (Unworldliness)
6. Yugen (Subtlety or Mystery)
7. Seijaku (Silence)

A couple of the kanji used in these is quite interesting. Shi-Zen for instance is made of the kanji for self and to be, or being. Datsu-Zoku is to take off or strip off, and the other is vulgar or common. Sei-Jaku is is quiet and lonely.

Where did these come from? These ideas all eminate from the notion of Mujo (impermanence). Mujo is our realization that everything changes. We truely understand Mujo when we come face to face with our own mortality.

zazen - seated meditation

Although I am 'Zen Man Walking', I am a big believer in zazen (seated mediation). Afterall at Kanzeonji we follow shikantaza (just sitting) style of zen practice. I think it is best to have zazen has the fundamental practice, then from there find ways of extending this practice into our daily lives. Walking Zen can be a method to help us extend our sitting practice into our daily lives. Tai Chi, Yoga, Kyudo, and other similar practices can be a bridge between our walking practice and our daily activities as well.

But walking is so simple, so basic to our human condition of walking upright, that I really really like Walking Zen. There's nothing to learn, just walk. Of course, mindful...upright...walking is especially nice for bringing our sitting practice along with us.

It's healthy; take a walk around the block today...I did.

Walking around the block

One of my Buddhist teachers, is also my kyudo (japanese archery) teacher (Hirokazu Kosaka Sensei). He once told me that the only exercise you need is kyudo, that the movement, done properly, gives us both a resistance exercise with the bow and without the bow all of our chemicals move and our blood flows smoothly. but later I discovered that dispite this pronouncement he takes a daily walk around the block. I decided to copy this example and take a daily walk as well. It didn't take long to see the meditative mind can be used while walking to a great effect both in speed and efficiency of the walk. Though I hadn't started at the Zen Temple yet, I think this is when I became 'The Zen Man Walking'.

Zen is often thought of as just zazen (sitting meditation). It's thought that zen practitioners only sit. Indeed, Shikantaza (just sitting) is the style of Zen we practice at Kanzeonji in Mt. Washington California. But Master Dogen Zenji had told us that the experience of sitting must be experienced in our daily lives. Kinhin helps us do just that. It's a stepping stone from our sitting to our daily lives.

There is a term Gyo(u)ju-Za-Ga (Walking-Sitting-Lying Down). This means that no matter what we are doing we should do it mindfully; in this way we take our mindful sitting to our mindful lives. If we can live mindful lives, perhaps this will also help us live thoughtful lives as well.

Speed and distance

Kinhin (walking around, about: walking meditation; often done between bouts of seated meditation) can be done at a variety of speeds and various lengths of time, but it is always done mindfully. I've been to sesshin ('collecting the mind': intensive trainings) where we began slowly, but then increased the speed till we were almost running, and then decreased the speed until we we arrived back at our cushions to sit some more.

At our zendo in Mt. Washington we always take a slow pace for Kinhin. We are mindful of every change in pressure on our feet, mindful or our breath, and mindful or our heartbeat. Breathe in and step forward....left..... right, breathe out step forward... left.... right. In some zendo we've gone around the room 2 times, or three times; at our zendo we go around only once. We're in tune with eachother but we don't really 'try' to be. We're in tune with our own breath and heartbeat, and this is similar and tied to eveyone else's in the room, so we draw eachother around the room.

Many think the kinhin is a break from the sitting, and I suppose it can be. But more than that we are taking our sitting into walking, and this is practice for taking our sitting into our daily lives. Sitting alone, is never enough....we must interact in the world in a 'sitting' way, in a mindful way.

Of course, there are spiritual, philosophical, and mystical energies at work in Kinhin, but these are best discussed with your roshi when the two of you are ready.

Zen & Walking

There is a great history between Buddhism and Walking. The 'takuhatsu', carrying the bowl or begging rounds, could be up to 3 hours of walking door to door. 'Angya', going on foot or pilgrimages, are a tradition that also goes back to the beginning of Buddhism with the wandering medicants. Some traveled to follow the seasons, others to find another teacher to guide them on their way.

Also, in Zen we have Kinhin (kin = walking about, hin = around). We usually use this to mean the walk around the sitting area between zazen (za= to sit, zen=mediation). But we contrast this with Ruten (Ru=float, ten=circle) but ruten is floating aimlessly from life to life without ever finding the path from this circle of lives.

So Zen walking, though it has no goal, is not aimless.

Once, when I was having some particular trouble with others, I called Sensei for help. He said 'Just let it go'. I told him he must not really understand what I was going through, and explained it to him again. He said 'Just let that go'. I responded but Sensei you must not understand, see this is what is happening and what will happen if that happens. He said, 'oh I see, well, just let that go' and hung up on me.


We talked a few more times. Each time I repeated the current situation he just said, 'Let it go'. He patiently repeated himself a dozen times. Then something clicked, and I did, and the problem resolved itself.

I repeat this to myself now (though I hear his voice) when any issue comes up about anything, 'well, just let that go', and I do. Then, you know, well... it's gone...