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Department of Psychology, Komazawa
University, Tokyo, Japan. |
| [ I ] Characteristics of SATORI (enlightenment)
in Zen Zen consists of two main structures. SANSHI-MONBO (attending to the
Law personally under a Zen master) and KUFU-ZAZEN (single-minded Zen meditation)
in which a person uses self-effort to establish their personal ideal situation
and then through trial and error tries to reach it step-by-step. KUFU-ZAZEN
is considered to be one kind of self-control technique. Although different
in character, both SANSHI-MONBO and KUFU-ZAZEN are both necessary for Zen
to be holistically complete. The original purpose for practising Zen was
to reach a spiritual enlightenment called SATORI. Thus, because the original
purpose of Zen was a religious one. Zen practices do not always relate directly
to psychological healing or psychotherapy as European self - control techniques
tend to do. However. through the practice of Zen psychotherapeutic phenomena
are brought about. The process of Zen practice results in an " altered state
of consciousness " (ASC) or the " discovery of one's real self " (reorganisation
of self ) in which the "discovery of one's real self" takes the place of
the "accomplished boundary of self". Simply stated practitioners of Zen
find that their personalities change in positive ways and the process of
these changes brings Zen related closer to psychological healing or psychotherapy
than it's original exclusive purpose of religiousness. |
| Enlightenment in Zen is called "REIDANJICHI" (to feel cold and warm through
one's own experiences) or "FURYU-MONJI" (to free oneself from an attachment
to the letters of a sutra.). What these terms fundamentally mean is that
SATORI, or enlightenment is not something that can be caught, dissected.
and understood through intellectual or analytical means analytical means
like European psychotherapy but rather is an "intuitive awareness" that
can only be experienced and understood through one's own direct actions.
We could say that many self-control techniques aim to get such direct "intuitive
awareness". The purpose of this treatise is to clarify the psychotherapeutic
aspects which Zen practice has. In Japan there already is the Morita Therapy.
which is said to be strongly influenced by Zen practice. This treatise may
make up for insufficiencies that Morita Therapy has. |
| [ II ] Purpose of Zen Practice and
Motivation The Purpose of practising Zen is not just to achieve health of
body and mind. but also to aim for the spiritually highest way of life as
a human being. Zen classics often describe the life styles of Zen priests
who are not attached to anything, accepting everything as it is. and moreover,
live every moment freely in fulfillment. This way of living epitomises Man's
ideal existence under Zen precepts. Zen practices consists of synergism
of two functions : Physical functions like movements, respiration and posture;
respiration and posture ; and psychological functions such as concentration
and meditation. Simply stated. Zen is a practice in which the body and mind
is united indivisibly as one. As previously stated. enlightenment attained
from Zen is not an understanding obtained through intellectual analysis.
but rather it is an "intuitive awareness" obtained through direct experience.
This type of intuitive awareness does not only exist in Zen. It can be found
in many other Asian arts as well and can be considered a common characteristic
of the austere way of thinking that is represented in oriental philosophies
and arts. The ultimate purpose of Zen practice is to reach the same enlightened
state of mind, SATORI. as Buddha did, and to be able to give a clear answer
to the question "What is self". Buddhist philosophy holds that human agony
rises from being restrained to the the twelve-fold links of the chain of
causation. SATORI is reached by cutting off this chain of restraint and
preventing reincarnation from taking place. To accomplish this feat there
are basic Buddist Practices such as "sila. samadhi and prajna" (precepts,
meditation and wisdom ). These are designed to prevent the mind from scattering
and perplexities, achieve wisdom and ultimately reach SATORI. |
| In addition to previously explained terms, enlightenment is also often
referred to as SHOGYO-MUJYO (all conditioned things are impermanent), SHOHO-MUGA
(phenomenal things are in existence only by conditionals; thus they have
no substance) or NEHAN-JAKUJO (The state reached by extinguishing all illusions
and destroying all Karma, which are the causes of reincarnation). Although
in different words. these concepts all teach one fundamental lesson ; that
one should leave behind any clinging or striving toward extinguishable things.
and instead live every moment in a free, natural and fulfilling manner.
The formation of this kind of personality is the purpose of Zen practice,
and it's attainment can be gained through all daily activities including
Zazen performed in a Zen monastery. |
| [ III ] Active Zen (Daily Activities)
Zen Buddhism is said to be the religion of our daily life. Daily activities
are regulated by the regulations for the Zen monastic life. A practitioner
believes and performs daily activities in Zen monastic life to be the Buddha's
Way itself and devote himself wholeheartedly to his activities. Through
this kind of concentration, an acting self as a subject unite with an action
as an object and then a consciousness of self disappears and only the action
remains. By concentrating on his action, his way of experiencing may unconsciously
change little by little. Accumulation of these changes will bring about
a religious awareness. Walking, cross-legged sitting, cooking, having breakfast.
chanting sutras, prostrating oneself to the Buddhas, bathing, going to the
toilet, etc. are all done according to extremely detailed regulations. Also,
although not regulated in detail, fatigue work of a temple. like sweeping
the ground or gathering the firewood. is one of important practices. These
activities all included in the Active Zen. Listed below with brief explanations
are several practices of Active Zen, which are designed to effect psychological
changes : |
|
(1) |
Repetition of actions : many actions can be divided
into two types. that is. simple and monotonous actions like standing,
sitting, walking, lying and rhythmic actions such as chanting sutras
and prostrating oneself three times and nine times, devoting oneself
to these simple, monotonous and rhythmic actions can cause Altered
States of Consciousness (ASC) to be brought about and it makes a practitioner
become aware of a new way of experiencing. |
|
(2) |
Walking Meditation : This is a basic training for learning
how to abdominally breathe while performing all actions. In this exercise.
a walking action is performed with an abdominal breath taken every
half step. Correct abdominal breathing brings about a balancing of
the autonomic system. |
|
(3) |
Bathing, going to the toilet and fatigue work of temple:
Our daily activities are performed automatically and unconsciously.
But in Zen monastery, a practitioner's activities are not automatic
nor unconscious. He concentrates his attention upon these trifling
but immediate daily works and performs these works thoroughly one
by one. It could change his way of experiencing or sensing for these
activities and make him aware of a new meaning for these. |
|
(4) |
Having breakfast : Rules of having breakfast are somewhat
complicated. Ways of using bowls. Chopsticks, small dish-cloths, or
eating rice porridge are regulated in detail. Here I will consider
about the process of changes brought about by concentrating his attention
on his action and the psychological meanings of them. Acquiring mastery
of these rules is very similar to that of acquiring any techniques
in general and follows a sequential procedure. The first stage is
to break down rules into smaller components and master them one by
one. This is done for the purpose of learning the co-ordination of
relationship between cognition and behaviour. The second stage is
to reunite components that had been broken down. As this process progresses.
a practitioner can reach the point where all actions can be performed
automatically without conscious attention paid to them. In the third
stage, a practitioner's intention to accomplish the rules. and actual
accomplishment of them unite completely as one. |
|
| This stage is often called SHUKYAKU-GOITSU (unification of subjectivity
and objectivity), MUGA (selflessness or self-renunciation) or ZAMMAI (this
word denotes a state in which the mind is free from distraction, is absorbed
in intense, purposeless concentration). Concisely stated, in this third
stage one's intention disappears and only accomplishment of rules exists.
As it can be seen in the examples above, chief characteristic of active
Zen is to bring about the new awareness to daily activities through concentrating
his attention upon such action and unifying his subjectivity and objectivity
by intense absorption. |
| [IV] Static Zen (ZAZEN) : Static Zen
(Zazen) essentially does not differ differ that much from Active Zen in
the sense that its goal is to follow the way of Buddha-Way. In daily life,
Static Zen is integrated in active Zen. They affect each other, and together
they deepens the stage of enlightenment. The mental state attained in Zazen
maintains its effect in daily activities. |
| Zazen consists of an interaction between the following elements : CHOSHIN
(regulation of body), CHOSOKU (regulation of respiration) and CHOSHIN (regulation
of mind). Following is a brief summary of these elements : |
| (a) CHOSHIN : Chosin consists of arranging one's posture. Having set
all relations aside and having put everything to rest controlling one's
posture, a practitioner sits in full or half lotus position with eyes open
and hands positioned to form the symbol of Cosmic Mudra (JOIN). A round
cushion is set under the hips. and the back is straight. A right triangle
is formed between both knees with the coccyx as the pivotal Point. and the
center of gravity is placed in the middle of this triangle. |
| (b) CHOSOKU : Chosoku consists of arranging and controlling one's respiration.
In the beginning of this this exercise. the practitioner counts his breaths,
beginning with one-two-three and so forth Once accustomed to this, the practitioner
then changes to long exhalations and short inhalations. when doing this
while seated in a lotus position. the pattern of respiration becomes one
of abdominal breathing with the diaphragm working strongly and stomach pressure
concurrently rising. |
| (c) CHOSHIN : Chosin consists of arranging or controlling one's mind
through a process consisting of several stages. In the first stage this
exercise begins with one's concentration focused upon the respiration. This
focusing upon one point is an active attempt to try to exclude all other
thoughts from entering the mind. However. paradoxically. doing this focused;
concentration actually activates the flow of unrealistic mental phenomena.
Unrealistic phenomena in this case are defined as images, ideas thoughts
and fantasies that enter the mind. When this occurs, the practitioner should
remember that these mental phenomena are unrealistic and the products of
an undisciplined mind. He should then let them flow through the mind while
concentrating upon respiration. |
| The next stage of Chosin differs considerably from the first one. Whereas,
in the first stage, one is encouraged to concentrate on one object and exclude
the other objects, in the second stage the practitioner is encouraged to
concentrate evenly on everything that comes to mind. including physical
sensations, images, ideas. |
| thoughts and fantasies. That is to say, one has to pay attention to this
very moment, the totality of what is happening right now. This state of
attention can be referred to as meditation or mindfulness. As this state
continues, various unrealistic mental phenomena appear for a moment. and
then disappear the next. In the final stage of Chosin the practitioner's
self- consciousness as the one who sees disappear. and is is replaced with
the sense that the one who sees has been united with the one who is seen.
Stated differently MU (non-attachment beyond being and non-being) and KU
(non-substance). This state of mind and body is called HISHIRYOU (to think
beyond thinking and non-thinking) or SHINJINNDATSURAKU (state which body
and mind has dropped out). |
| [V] Physiological Studies on Zazen
The effects on body and mind of the full lotus position have not been fully
clarified. however some effects are known. Results using a gravity meter
show that although a minor amount of pitching and rolling can be seen when
a well trained monk starts zazen, this motion ceases as time passes. However,
when beginners practice zazen this stabilisation does not take place (Ikegami.
1974). This contrast in stability between well-trained monks and beginners
demonstrates that this full lotus position provides the best condition for
the former. In addition, tests conducted on muscles using EMG have found
that in the full lotus position muscle have just the right amount of tension,
they operate more efficiently. and over time receive a beneficial tonic
effect (Nakamura. T. 1975). Sugi & Akutsu (1964), Ando (1978), Nagashima
(1977) have all studied respiration during the practice of Zazen. |
| According to their studies. as seen in table (l), |
|
Table 1 Respiration
During Zazen |
| Respiratory Rate |
decrease |
stable |
| Ventilation
Volume of one respiration |
increase |
|
| Ammount of ventilation
per minute |
decrease |
20% decrease |
| Oxygen Consumption. |
decrease |
20 - 30% decrease |
| Amount of Metabolism
|
decrease |
80 - 85% of Basal
Metabolism |
| Respiration Pattern
(I/E) |
decrease |
Prolonged Expiration |
| Movement of Diaphragm |
increase |
|
| Abdominal Pressure |
increase |
|
| R.Q. (CO2 / O2) |
stable |
|
|
| rate of respiration and I/E ratio decrease and breathing becomes done
abdominally In addition, the amount of air taken per breath increases while
the amount of ventilation per minute decreases. Finally, oxygen consumption
and the rate of metabolism decreases. Table (2)shows measurement of brain
waves and the autonomic nervous system taken during Zazen. |
|
Table 2 Brain
Wave and Autonomic Nervous System During Zazen |
| |
Hirai |
Yamaoka |
Hagino
et al. |
| Technique |
Zazen |
Zazen |
Zazen |
| Appearance of Alpha Wave |
+ |
+ |
+ |
| Amplitude of Alpha Wave |
increase |
increase |
increase |
| Frequency of Alpha Wave |
decrease |
decrease |
decrease |
| Appearance of Theta Wave |
+ |
- |
- |
| Alpha-Blocking to Stimuli |
+ |
+ |
+ |
| Heart Rate |
increase |
increase |
increase |
| Amplitude of Plethysmogram |
? |
+ |
+ |
| Skin Potential Response (SPR) |
increase |
? |
? |
| Skin Potential Level |
? |
Shift to positive |
Shift to positive |
|
KEY: |
Recognisable + |
Not Recognisable - |
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| In Hirai's study (1960), and Kasamatsu and Hirai's study (1969 ) (1984
), a series of level of deepening into meditation phenomena such as appearance
of alpha waves (Stage I), increase in its amplitude (stage II), slowing
down in its frequency (Stage III), appearance of rythmical theta train (StageIV)
were seen in monks with over twenty years of practice, although their eyes
rernain opened. Results of their study also show phenomena like dehabituation
of alpha blocking, some increase in rate of heartbeats and activation of
spontaneous GSR. Usually, alpha waves appear when people have their eyes
closed. However, as for monks, although they have their eyes opened. their
alpha waves appear and increase in their amplitude, and slow down in their
frequency. This indicates that their levels of arousal are getting lower,
But at the same time, the rate of their heartbeats increases a little and
spontaneous GSR activates, which shows that the autonomic nervous system
is rather active. In other words. it is a very peculiar state of sympathetic
nerves effective while parasympathetic nerves are dominant. This, according
to Hirai (1960), is a state in which the level of excitation of the cerebral
cortex lowers and, at the same time, functions of brain stems are rising
as release phenomenon. Also, another characteristic of brain waves during
Zazen is "dehabituation " of alpha-blocking. The alpha-blocking is the turning
of alpha waves into beta waves with the repression from sound stimulus while
alpha waves appear. However, if the stimuli are presented repeatedly. it
becomes habituated and the alpha blocking will not occur. This phenomenon
of habituation could be seen to laymen during Zazen practice but it would
not occur to well-trained monks. They could hear every click clearly. This
is referred to as "dehabituation". Kasamatsu and Hirai (1984) stated "in
Zen meditation, the: slowing of the EEG pattern is confirmed on one hand
and the dehabituation of the alpha-blocking on the other. These indicate
the specific change of consciousness". These are not just a state of body
and mind in relaxation. I think, it is rather a well balanced state of body
and mind accompanied by tension within relaxation and fulfilment. These
are brought about by, as mentioned before, open eyes, suitable tension of
muscle to keep the posture, long expiration. and concentration on respiration
and their effects on each other, to keep the postures. I think, various
psychotherapeutic effects could be produced in this state of body and mind.
For example. Ikemi (1995) observed that "essential role of autogenic self-control
method like Zazen, Yoga. AT and TM is to invigorate inborn homeostasis and
the function of self-control by leading specific psycho-physiological state".
and Shapiro ( 1980) also observed that "the person is in a relaxed, comfortable.
and physically stable posture, he is able to self-observe with equanimity
everything that comes into awareness: fears, thoughts, fantasies, guilts,
decisions and other covert events (global desensitisation)". Recently. studies
of Yamaoka (1988) or Hagino et al. (1987) (1989) (Table 2) indicated negative
outlooks toward Hirai's statement ; the slowing down to the beta train (stageIV)
in frequency of brain wave. Moreover, Taniguchi (1992) stated that "questions
concerning the early studies. such as intra-subject variations and long-termed
alterations were raised not only in Japan but in other countries". These
are the problems to be solved hereafter. |
| [VI] Zen and Health SATORI in Zen
is a kind of personality change. It is brought about by mutual interaction
of Active Zen daily activities) and Static Zen (Zazen, in other words, regulation
of body, respiration and regulation of mind). In other words. It is brought
about by every day activities including Zazen. As it has been mentioned
before the mental stales in SATORI are expressed as 'SHUKYAKU-GOITSU", "MUGA",
"ZAMMAI" etc.. But the personality changes will not occur with just these
kinds of experiences alone. Such kind of experiences of SATORI would affect
his cognition and cognitive pattern and they lead him to look at things
from new angles. Here, the personality changes refer to the changes of one's
cognition. Then what kind of changes in cognition are brought about by these
experiences in SATORI. Detailed explanation will be given afterwards, but
it seems that these can be summarised down to the following 2 points. |
| (1) It enables a person to face and observe the reality and accept it
as it is. |
| (2) One would stop having an egocentric point of view and start seeing
things from altruistic point of view, or would have a wider point of view.
Then. what kind of changes do Zen practices cause to one's personalities
and one's actions? |
| (1) Changes in real life are seen. |
| (a) Inner resource to live every second with all one's energy occurs. |
| (b) One comes to be able to accept thc reality as it is. Tendency to
escape or avoid difficult situations decreases. |
| (c) Feelings of fullfillment and vigor appear. |
| (2) Anxiety or fear decreases. |
| Emotions are released and desensitisations arise in state of dynamic equilibrium
in Zazen. |
| (3) Performing daily acts based on abdominal respiration becomes a habit. |
| (a) Performing physical functions are activated by abdominal respiration. |
| (b) Balances in autonomic nervous systems is recovered. |
| (c)Function of internal organs is strengthened. |
| (d) Tolerance against stress is reinforced. |
| (4) One is released from attachment to the self. |
| A person's energy can all be used in actions in reality in state of MUGA
(selflessness). For example. it is seen in athletic technique, artistic
expression, the perfection of behavior of NO (classical Japanese dance drama)
or SADO (tea ceremony). |
| (5) Ego-centric point of view ceases. |
| (a) Seeing things from other people's, or with wider point of view becomes
possible. |
| (b) Creative ideas will not be restricted by a rigid frame of thinking. |
|
SUMMARY |
| In this treatise. I considered about the relationship between Zen practice
and self-control. |
| Zen practice consists of thc interaction between the Active Zen (concentrating
of one's attention upon individual actions in daily life) and Static Zen
(Zazen : regulation of body, regulation of respiration and regulation of
mind). SATORI is an intuitive awareness which is brought through changes
of the way of experiencing and and accumulation of these changes. A state
in SATORI is psychophysiologically very peculiar. |
| It's a well balanced state of body and mind accompanied by tension within
relaxation and fulfillment rather than than just a state with body and mind
in relaxation. SATORI would influence one's cognitive structure and could
be possible for one to look at oneself and one's world from new angle. These
changes of the way of looking at things can be summarised down to the following
2 points. |
| (1) It will be possible for a person to face and observe the reality
and accept it as it is. |
| (2) One will stop having an ego-centric point of view and will start
seeing things from an altruistic point of view or will have a wider point
of view. |
|
REFERENCES |
|
1 |
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|
2 |
Hagino. G., Mizuhara. T., Nakamura. S., Shinohara. E.,
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|
3 |
Hagino, G., Mizuhara. T., Nakamura. S., Shinohara, E.,.
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|
4 |
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|
5 |
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|
6 |
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|
7 |
Nakamura, T. (1975). Psychophysiological study on Zazen,
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|
8 |
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|
9 |
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|
10 |
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|
11 |
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|
12 |
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