My friend and me outside of the Ekoji Buddhist Sangha
For the extra credit assignment I attended a Zen Meditation session at the Ekoji Buddhist Sangha in Richmond. Normally this consists of 30 minutes of zazen meditation, 10 minutes of walking meditation, and 30 more minutes of zazen meditation, followed by a 10 minute service. However, my friends (that I dragged along with me) and I got lucky and went on a night that the group had a guest teacher - Josho Pat Phelan Sensei, Abbess of the Chapel Hill Zen Center. This turned out to be a really great thing, because not only did we get to hear a lecture from Josho Sensei, but it was done in place of the second zazen meditation, so it made it easier on us (since we had never done any meditation practices before).
I was actually surprised at how comfortable the sitting position for the zazen meditation was, which was contrary to what I had heard before. I have had some experience through colorguard and winterguard with that sort of posture and alignment, so for me it felt very comfortable and natural. I could, at moments when I found the right posture, feel the circulation and energy in my body. What was also very interesting was that, in moments when I lost concentration or my mind began to wander, I felt my posture shifting, and I seemed to lose that balance and relaxedness in my body, and would have to adjust to find it again.
I was also caught quite off guard with how difficult it was to achieve the right mindset for the meditation. In the brief instruction session, we were told to simply watch our thoughts, and to try to bring ourselves back to the present moment when we felt ourselves getting lost on a random train of thought. But at the same time, the practice is not a complete emptying of one's mind. So, I was a little confused as to the goal of the meditation while I was doing it, especially during the walking meditation. It took me a few minutes to get accustomed to the walking meditation; at first it seemed to be far more distracting than the sitting. About halfway through I found myself asking, "What is the goal?" and I realized that there is no goal, that I am doing just to be doing. And this idea was further clarified during Josho Sensei's lecture.
Josho Sensei's lecture was based around the concept of mindfulness (which again, I was really lucky to get to hear, because in retrospect, it is very applicable). Her main point was that Zen meditation, and other practices, such as bows and chants, are all ways in which we can train ourselves to do things with 100% mindfulness. When we sit, we sit; when we walk, we walk; when we think, we think; when we plan, we plan. We should do things one at a time, that way we are not splitting our mind among a number of different things, and therefore giving only part of our attention to everything. Josho Sensei pointed out that one of the best ways to practice this in everyday life is to try to pick up and hold things with two hands, instead of one, and to see how or if that changes your perspective on things. That way, when we pick something up, we are giving it our full attention. This is a very applicable concept in today's world where multi-tasking is a priceless skill, and in my own personal life - the life of a full-time student, part-time chef, part-time orientation leader. It was interesting to me, because even as I was sitting doing my meditation, or walking, or listening, I was thinking about what I was going to write in my reflection. And that's just the point. When I sit, I should just sit. When I write my reflection, I should write my reflection. I should not write my reflection while I am sitting.
Overall, it was a great experience. When studying these concepts in class, I had been able to relate to them somewhat, but had not fully understood the depth of what this type of practice was all about. This experience really brought those things to life, and put things into a new perspective for me. I would definitely do this practice again - hopefully sometime in the very near future.
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