PFATW: Let's Talk Zen

This post is the first installment of four in my Prayer From Around the World (PFATW) series. I will be participating in and reflecting on Campus Ministry’s four Prayer From Around the World events this year. Check out a sneak preview of all PFATW experiences here!

The first PFATW event was Zen Meditation, which occurred last Thursday and was organized and led by the Mindfulness Club of Notre Dame. The event was scheduled to take place in the Meditation Room in CoMo, but there were so many of us there that it had to be moved to the larger lounge on the first floor. What an awesome problem to have!

Zen has its roots in Buddhism, and is more philosophical than religious. Zen is necessary to attaining enlightenment. Enlightenment occurs when one attains liberation from samsara, the repeating cycle of life, death, and rebirth characterized by suffering. There are lots of tactics used to center oneself during meditation, including a koan, or a short saying used to break the meditator free of thought, which is used in the Rinzai school of Zen Buddhism. Another school of Zen Buddhism is Soto, which rarely uses koans. Instead of a saying, Soto utilizes a specific object of focus during meditation. On Thursday, we explored the Soto type of Zen by focusing on our breathing while meditating.

We tried out zazen, sitting meditation, as well as walking meditation: sitting for ten minutes, walking for ten, and sitting for ten. We crossed our legs one in front of the other while we were sitting, and while we were walking we did so with the image of kissing the ground with every step. Slow. Deliberate. Intentional.

Anyone who has tried out meditation knows that it is hard, unless you are some sort of superhuman – or you have had loads of experience. My thoughts wandered, my eyes drooped, my head bobbed. My attention span, which I typically consider fairly long, lasted for approximately five seconds, which felt like an hour. There is something extremely freeing, though, amidst the struggle of “just sitting.” Or “just walking.” Something prayerful and sacred.

My exposure to Zen Buddhism reminded me how important it is to take time for meditative and contemplative prayer. Prayers of meditation and contemplation are often difficult to engage in, especially when schedules are crazy busy and we do not take the time to “pencil it in” on the calendar, but they are equally as important as having active conversations with God.

Our leader encouraged us to keep in mind that there is beauty in imperfection. She repeatedly stressed the importance of trusting in ourselves. Meditation, taking time to “just be,” whatever shape that takes, can make all the difference in the world regarding our faith and our sense of self awareness (and sanity) while going throughout day to day life. Let’s start with five minutes of simply focusing on breathing, and go from there.

If this is a type of prayer you're interested in exploring, check out Weekly Mindful Meditation every Thursday from 5:15 to 6:15 p.m. in the Meditation Room in CoMo (Room 102, immediately left in the main hallway)!