To talk about zen practice, we first need some experience of the silence within sound. Sounds exotic, yes? Zen is simply the practice of falling into the Witness consciousness silently watching all happenings within oneself.

To begin, find a comfortable seat with the spine straight, shoulders slightly back, pelvis tucked slightly forward. Breath normally, yet fully. Beyond this, the position of the practice- lotus posture, half-lotus, Siddhasana, simply cross-legged – these ae side notes. Whatever allows one to sit with relaxed ease, do that. My zen teacher long ago would say, “It’s not the shape of the pot, it’s what’s cookin’.”

With this established, notice your breath. In and out through the nose is perfect. Feel your breath expand and contract your check and abdomen. Notice and feel without interference; not controlling, not modifying – practice simply feeling.

Thoughts will come. Play with suppressing them forcefully. Does that feel natural?
Play with following them. Does that allow awareness in this moment?
Play with watching them; not suppressing, not following. Allowing them to come, to go.

Zen is natural meditation. Noise is outside – okay.
Noise is in the mind – okay.
As we go deeper, gaps in the thoughts naturally emerge.
No worries whether they come, when they come.
Just allowing the flow of natural.
Holding space for awareness to be.

‘And then what?’
This is the mind; this is the ego.
This is indeed part of the Whole.
Meditation is not sleep.
Meditation is not thinking.
And yet, meditation is the awareness – even during sleep.
Even during thinking.
Just underneath it all.

Zen teaching is not about a lesson.
About a doctrine of belief.
It is an invitation into silence.
Undoing the addiction to logic and knowledge.

Into experience and knowingness.
Into bliss.