Gassho

合掌

Gassho

The Japanese word gassho means “to bring the palms together.” It is a form of greeting in Zen, or an expression of gratitude, with the hands joined, palm to palm, fingers pointing upward, as in prayer, and sometimes made with a bow.

The Links on the right will

directly point you  F

to essays and other material about Zen.

Zen

禪

Chan

(in Chinese)

The basic Zen practice is zazen, or sitting meditation.

坐禪

zazen

If this is so, what do you make of this statement by Sawaki Kodo Roshi:

Zazen is good for nothing!

Even though the Roshi is playing around here, this is a statement of penetrating insight, since ”nothing” or “emptiness” (mu in Japanese) is a fundamental idea in Zen, directly pointing back to what old Shakyamuni awakened to as he sat under the Bodhi Tree.

無

mu

Emptiness can be thought about as an idea or concept, yes, but that is only half the story; it is also a concrete actuality. Zazen reveals that actuality. Or better: zazen is that actuality. Just don’t do something—sit there!

The Traditional Four-Phrase Summary of Zen:

Outside the teaching, apart from tradition.

Not founded on words or letters.

Directly pointing to the human mind.

Seeing into one’s nature and becoming a Buddha.

教外別傳

不立文字

直指人心

見性成佛

Zen Master Dogen reconceived the second line of the fourfold summary and expressed his new conception in the following waka:

Not limited

By language,

It is ceaselessly expressed;

So, too, the way of letters

Can display but not exhaust it.

いひすてし　

そのことの葉の　

外なれば　

ふでにもあとを　

とゞめざりけり