{"id":484,"date":"2007-07-06T09:17:00","date_gmt":"2007-07-06T09:17:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/treeleafzen\/2007\/07\/sit-a-long-with-jundo-fukanzaz-55.html"},"modified":"2007-07-06T09:17:00","modified_gmt":"2007-07-06T09:17:00","slug":"sit-a-long-with-jundo-fukanzaz-55","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/treeleafzen\/2007\/07\/sit-a-long-with-jundo-fukanzaz-55.html","title":{"rendered":"SIT-A-LONG with JUNDO: Fukanzazengi XLVII (Just Breathe)"},"content":{"rendered":"


In the Fukanzazengi, Master Dogen did not have much to say about breathing during Zazen …<\/span><\/p>\n

Let the tongue spread against the roof of the mouth. Let the lips and teeth come together.<\/span> <\/span> Let the breath pass imperceptibly through the nose. <\/span>[NISHIJIMA]<\/span><\/p>\n

But in his Eihei-koroku he wrote: <\/span><\/p>\n

In our zazen, it is of primary importance to sit in the correct posture. Then, regulate the breathing and calm down. In [lessor practices], there are two elementary ways [of beginner’s practice]: one is to count the breaths, and the other is to contemplate the impurity [of the body]. In other words, a practitioner of [these lessor practices] regulates his breathing by counting the breaths. The practice of the buddha-ancestors, however, is completely different from the way of <\/span>[these lessor practices, and they should not be followed]<\/span>. <\/o:p><\/span> <\/div>\n

There is also the Mahayana way of regulating breathing. That is, knowing that a long breath is long and that a short one is short. <\/span>The breath reaches the tanden [the area just below the navel] and leaves from there. Although the exhalation and inhalation are different, they both pass through the tanden. When you breathe abdominally, it is easy to become aware of the transciency [of life], and to harmonize the mind.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

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My late teacher Tendo said, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The inhaled breath reaches the tanden; however, it is not that this breath comes from somewhere. For that reason, it is neither short nor long. The exhaled breath leaves from the tanden; however, it is not possible to say where this breath goes.<\/span> For that reason, it is neither long nor short.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/span> My teacher explained it in that way, and if someone were to ask me how to harmonize one’s breathing, I would reply in this way: although it is not Mahayana, it is different from [the Lessor Practices]; though it is not [the Lessor Practices], it is different from Mahayana. And if questioned further regarding what it is ultimately, I would respond that inhaling or exhaling are neither long nor short.<\/span> [Emphasis Added]<\/span>
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In the Fukanzazengi, Master Dogen did not have much to say about breathing during Zazen … Let the tongue spread against the roof of the mouth. Let the lips and teeth come together. Let the breath pass imperceptibly through the nose. 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