My name is Taka Kawakami and actually I am vice abbot of this Shunkoin Temple in Kyoto.
Then, this temple here, we have a history of 420 years.
So, Zen meditation, it's more like conditioning of your mind, so you can keep your inner peace,
and you can keep living in the moment. Because living in the moment is the core idea of Zen buddhism.
I think a common mistake or misunderstanding about meditation is people try to achieve
something during the meditation, people are trying to become something else by doing the meditation too.
But actually the idea is meditation is just the conditioning of your mind right? So it
helps you to achieve something when you do your daily activity in real life. It's not
like, you know, you become some spiritual being or anything like that.
Also, you know, people try to empty their minds but it's not like you have to clear
your mind in this case. You try to eliminate your ego. So that's not the same thing, it's what's important.
So when you do meditation, you don't need to worry about, do you have to go to class
or you know, a temple, you find your place in the bedroom or bathroom any place you feel
comfortable. And not close your eyes or open your eyes, just focus on your breathing. Maybe
5 to 25 minutes, something like that, you know? It's really casual. You know it's
not like you have to do it in any strict manner.
I suppose in Zazen, probably, many people are talking about emptying your mind and Mushin
(無心) and that's probably the key word. But Mushin in this case is not like emptying
your mind, no mind, it's not like that. You have to eliminate your ego, so it's
no ego. So, Mushin means no ego. That's the idea. It's very useful for the Zen practice.