Zen is a Buddhist school that was born in India, developed in China and became popular in the Western world.
Zen is a Buddhist school that emerged in India and developed in China under the name of chán. It is a very popular current in the Western world, although the concept includes a fairly wide range of practices and doctrines .
Zen is based on the search for enlightenment through techniques that avoid conceptual schemes. Originally, Buddhism relied on a progression of different states of meditation as the path to elevation. For Zen, there is a direct and spontaneous access to the higher state that precedes nirvana , without the need to experience the previous states.
Zen and meditation
The Zen school focuses on meditation to achieve spiritual awakening, differentiating itself from other schools that dedicate a lot of time to the study of texts. With its expansion to other parts of the world, Zen acquired various influences and added numerous techniques. One of the main changes occurred with its rise in Japan.
One of the most common Zen practices is the lotus position for meditation. The person should adopt this position, keep their back straight and squint their eyes, while letting their thoughts flow without clinging to any of them.
It is important not only to achieve the appropriate posture but also other elements that will contribute to achieving the aforementioned peace. This would be the case, for example, of breathing, which has to be slow, soft and deep.
Both the position and correct breathing are two elements that will be fully achieved over time. For this reason, Zen experts are clear that the main key to ensuring that this discipline achieves its objectives is to practice a lot.
A Zen garden is a space designed to promote meditation and contribute to relaxation.
Benefits of these practices
In the West, more and more people have decisively chosen to practice Zen since they have considered it to be the best tool they have at their fingertips to find the peace, relaxation and tranquility they need in their lives. .
And this commitment to Zen brings with it a large number of benefits, among which are the following:
• The coordination between the neurons we have in the brain is significantly improved.
• It is a very useful instrument for all those people who have chronic diseases and pain as it acts as an adjuvant mechanism.
• Improves mood.
• It has the advantage that it allows anyone to significantly improve their ability to concentrate.
• It allows us to completely disconnect from our lives and place ourselves on another plane. In this way, we will put stress aside and opt for peace and serenity.
The koan and the zen garden
Another method of Zen masters is known as koan . Koans are dialogues that promote reflection based on a question that has no apparent meaning (for example: what sound does the palm of a single hand make when it claps?) and that forces the concentration of the practitioner.
The Zen garden or karesansui , finally, is a space that contains sand, rocks and other elements that help meditation.