Great Stour Zen Meditation Group

What’s the Point?

The truth of Zen cannot be described in words. The point of Zen is to simply be present with whatever arises, without judging it as good or bad, pleasant or unpleasant, right or wrong. It is not about changing our thinking, although this often happens. It is about practising moment-by-moment awareness with the still mind realised through steady and regular meditation.

In practising Zen, we begin to express our true nature, to awaken together, and to polish the “three jewels” of our true nature (called “Buddha” in the teaching), seeing things as they are (called “Dharma”), and sharing our experience of awakening (“Sangha”).

To Express our True Nature

In Zen meditation (zazen), we do not need to have any particular thoughts or be in any particular mood. We simply sit in an upright posture, at ease with whatever arises in our minds. In zazen, we express our true nature. This true nature (our Buddha-nature) is unique to each of us as individuals, unique to this moment, includes all living beings, at one with the universe-as-it-is, here and now. 

To Awaken Together

Dogen-zenji, the founder of our Soto Zen school, said that when even one person wholeheartedly sits zazen for even a moment, all beings and the entire universe sit zazen as well. If one person sitting alone wakes up with the whole world, how much better to sit with others? Zazen wordlessly expresses the inherent wholeness of the universe, including each of us exactly as we are, right now.

To Polish Our Lives (the Three Jewels)

Sitting together brings a sense of community in an otherwise solitary and potentially lonely activity. In Buddhism, the community of people awakening together is called “Sangha,” and is one of the Three Jewels. The other two are Buddha (the great teacher, both the historical Buddha and our own Buddha nature) and Dharma (Buddha’s teachings/the way things really are). How wonderful to have the opportunity to sit zazen together in harmony!