Zazen as an Enactment Ritual
Zen Ritual November 22, 2007 DOI: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195304671.003.0006 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that zazen is not a means to enlightenment but rather the practice-realization of totally culminated awakening, and that this understanding enables meditative awareness in everyday life. |
Abstract
Abstract Chapter 5 addresses what many today would consider the central ritual of Zen—zazen—or seated meditation. Although zazen is commonly understood by way of instrumental logic as a means or method for attaining enlightenment, from the Sōtō Zen perspective initiated by Dōgen and featured in this essay, the order of cause and effect is reversed—zazen is “the practice‐realization of totally culminated awakening.” In developing this approach to meditation, Leighton traces its roots to Vajrayana teachings that were influential not simply in Japanese Shingon, but also in Nichiren, Tendai, Jōdo, and Zen. Upon that Buddhist foundation, the essay develops the “unity of practice and realization” by showing how this theme appears in Dōgen's instructions for meditation ritual (Eihei shingi), in his extended essays (Shōbōgenzō), and in direct teachings to his monks (Eihei kōroku). The essay claims that when meditation is taken as “the expression or function of buddhas,” rather than as a technique of spiritual acquisition, an emphasis on meditative awareness in everyday life is made possible.