For example, one could say that in zazen we cultivate our independence and individual responsibility, whereas in ritual we acknowledge our dependency on the guidance of the buddhas and ancestors and also on our interdependency with all sentient beings. Ritual observances can be seen as an essential counterpart to meditation they complement each other in many ways.
The complete koan curriculum transmitted in the White Plum Lineage involves a series of introductory koans, the collections of the Mumonkan, Hekiganroku, Denkoroku, Shoyoroku, Tozan’s Five Ranks and The Sixteen Zen Precepts. The teacher gives the student a koan as a question and expects a lively response in dokusan (private interview).
In actual practice they are used as meditation devices. These are recorded dialogues between Buddhist masters and students of old that express the teaching in a nutshell. Koan trainingįor deepening the experience of the Four Modes of Meditation, koans have proven to be very effective. As a result, our responses to them become more natural and fitting, which comprises the fourth mode of meditation, Bodhisattva activity. This enables us in the third mode to let life’s circumstances speak to us in a most direct manner-without any interference, projections, and preferences. In the second mode of meditation, we allow our awareness to expand far beyond its usual parameters. Doing so already allows us to notice things within and around us that most often escape our attention. In the first mode, we learn to stop interfering with the natural functioning of the mind and to become aware of our inner spaciousness. This enables us to respond to those situations in the most beneficial way. Together these modes are meant to open and clarify our mind so that we are more in tune with situations we find ourselves in. Over the last ten years, Tenkei Roshi has developed a comprehensive meditation style he calls “The Four Modes of Meditation.” These modes are: 1) Harmonizing body and mind, 2) Turning your own light inward, 3) Clear observation, 4) Bodhisattva activity. The lineage that the teachers of Zen River represent belongs to the Japanese Soto school, but is also influenced by meditation methods of other schools. Meditation is the primary focus of Zen River and serves as a base for all other elements of training. It consists of the following elements of training: Zen River offers a program that, while based on the Chinese/Japanese Zen tradition, allows experimentation and adaptation to suit the needs of our time. The guiding principle is that everyone can share in the wisdom and compassion of the Buddha, and can find ways to manifest those virtues in everyday life situations.
In other words, it champions the practical application of its teaching methods over literary expertise and doctrinal belief. Zen is a school of Buddhism that emphasizes direct personal experience.