The Still Point: A Beginner's Guide to Zen Meditation

by John Daido Loori

The Buddha atained enlightenmnet while practicing setated meditation, zazen. Zen practice constantly returns to that fundamental way of studying the self. This minibook provides insturction in zazen, explaining the differeent sitting positions and breathing techniques, as well as giving suggestions for establishing a practice at home. These guidelines are intended to help us cultivate the still point of body and mind, without which we never fully experience our lives.

Genres: Zen, Nonfiction, Buddhism

53 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

John Daido Loori was a Zen Buddhist rōshi who served as the abbot of Zen Mountain Monastery. He was the founder of the Mountains and Rivers Order of Zen Buddhism and CEO of Dharma Communications.

Reviews

[David Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very good and very short book. It will get someone started in meditation practice with a solid foundation. The reason I don't give it 5 stars is that he sometimes presents his approach as the Zen way to meditate, you he is presenting a very Rinzai approach, stressing building concentration power through focusing on the breath in your hara (a point just below the navel). In Soto, this isn't stressed, as developing joriki (this concentration power) isn't so important, as practitioners aren't trying to use this to penetrate koans the way it is used in Rinzai. It struck me as odd, as Loori was trained in both traditions, and has edited an excellent volume on Shikantaza (just sitting). I know a lot has to do with what the basic instructions you were taught when you were at the beginner stage, and this is clearly the way his lineage (or at least he) teaches/taught basic meditation instruction. But it isn't the only way in Zen, and some find other approaches (like following the feelings of the breath at the nose or focusing on posture) to be less of a struggle at first. So, I bristle a bit at his this is the way it is done style, when other Zen teachers present a range of beginning techniques (for instance breath counting can be unhelpful to some who beat themselves up for failing to make seeming progress - not that they aren't, just that I've known a number of people who really found this method to not work for their personalities, and something that de-activated their hyper critical results-oriented habits to work better).

There are other twists that other Zen masters employ (like Joko Beck's thought labelling) that I'd recommend exposure to at some point. But that doesn't take away from this being a clear, basic instruction that conveys a lot of the reasoning behind the approach. Just, at some point, just as you'll want to connect with a teacher to take your practice deeper, you should be aware that there are other meditation approaches basic to Zen that are worth exposing yourself to.

[Brendan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A nice little book on beginning zazen meditation. A quick read with clear direction.