Experience more CALM, FOCUS and EASE
Wake up to what is RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW
At the Spirit of Life Zendo in Somerset West we offer rigorous, yet compassionate training in Rinzai Zen. Prior experience is not necessary to begin your training. Our tools are:
1 – Our Breath
2 – Our Posture
3 – Our Senses
Zen is not an idea or belief system. It is the moment by moment experience (mindfulness) of our breathing, the effect of gravity on our body, and our senses as they create our world.
Our aim is to train until our fear disappear and we realize the fullness of love (unity) here and now and everywhere.
In training we initially focus on the following practices:
1 – Just Sitting
2 – Just Chanting
3 – Just Moving (Martial Arts or Dance)
4 – Just Expressing (Art)
WHAT IS MINDFULNESS?
Mindfulness is a mental state achieved by keeping one’s awareness in the present moment, while calmly noticing and accepting any feelings, thoughts and bodily sensations that may arise.
There are various ways in which one can practice mindfulness. For example sitting meditation (“Just Sitting”), walking meditation (“Kinhin”), meditative chanting (“Okyo”), mindful eating, breath awareness, mindful relaxation, mindful creativity, guided meditation, mindful listening.
At the Spirit of Life Zendo you will experience all these different mindful practices if you stay long enough.
The origin of mindfulness practices can be found in religious traditions. Particularly in the Christian contemplative tradition developed in the Egyptian desert by the so-called Desert Fathers as well as in the Buddhist tradition that originated in India and spread to China, Tibet and Japan.
At the Spirit of Life Zendo we explore Zen through the lens of both the Christian and Buddhist traditions WITHOUT the straight jacket of a particular belief system.
THE BENEFITS OF MINDFULNESS PRACTICE
- Enhance the quality of your sleep and lower stress levels
- Decrease loneliness and manage your weight better
- Increase your attention span and decrease decline in brain function
- Manage chronic conditions, ex. fibromyalgia, PTSD, irritable bowl syndrome
- Help prevent depression relapse and reduce anxiety
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MINDFULNESS AND ZEN?
Zen takes mindfulness to a deeper level. Instead of only aiming to arrive at a state of calmness Zen uncovers the cause of our constant “doing” and our inability to “be”. In doing so, it frees is to be who we are.
Stated differently mindfulness aim for peace and calm while Zen aims for clarity.
Clarity about the state of your mind, your emotions, your bodily sensations and life as it is.
This clarity frees us from the constant demands of our thoughts, feelings and body sensations so that we can experience life as it is instead of what we think or feel it should be.
Don’t force it, flow with it.
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WHAT IS THE GOAL OF ZEN TRAINING?