In the same way, eating a meal is also meaningful. Cleaning and zazen have the same effect.”

This is precisely what we mean by focusing on the present. “You move your body before you can begin thinking. To keep the large temple and grounds clean, he cleaned constantly, following specific rules. Yoshimura also spent a great deal of time cleaning during his two years and two months training as an ascetic at Eiheiji Temple, the head temple of the Soto sect of Buddhism. You must approach each one with serious intent and not take shortcuts.”Ĭleaning, an activity often neglected, is actually a practice that lends itself to examining one’s state of mind. “The Zen philosophy is that every movement and every action is a form of practice. Every movement is efficient and done with great care. If, through zazen, you can release the tension in your mind and body and face yourself as you are, in the present moment, you will not get caught up in unnecessary concerns.”Īfter sitting zazen, Yoshimura reads sutras, eats, and cleans. “We all as people tend to dwell on the past, worry about the future, and be disturbed by things that are not part of the reality before us. It is a way of looking at oneself objectively, with all the thoughts and feelings that arise, to look at one’s mind and heart.” Miscellaneous thoughts are not to be swept away there are simply to be accepted. “ Zazen is not for making the mind blank. Sitting zazen gives us a chance to be aware of this,” explains Yoshimura. “What is important in Zen is to focus on the present moment. There is a sense of dignified beauty in his stature as he holds the correct posture in silence. Breathing slowly and gently lowering his gaze, he sits for around 40 minutes, facing a wall. Yoshimura Shoyo, deputy chief priest at Fumonji Temple in Hiroshima, is now ready to do a period of sitting zazen meditation. The sun is rising, and the air is clear and crisp.

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