The Journey from Yoga to Zen and Back
Nanzenji Temple complex, Kyoto
Before my visit to Japan, I had heard the term zen several times, but I never really knew what it meant, let alone its connection to yoga. Walking along the Nanzenji temple complex in Kyoto, I was in awe of the perfectly manicured gardens, the way the stones had been thoughtfully raked, each pebble finding its place in presence. During my trip, I came to learn that Zen Buddhism influences several aspects of Japanese culture. Zen, which is a translation of the Chinese word chánnà, has its roots in the Sanskrit word, dhyana, or meditation.
Inside the garden at Nanzenji Temple Complex, Kyoto
The timeline of the expansion of Buddhism from India to Japan is long and complex. Buddhism began to spread in India in around the third century B.C.E, hundreds of years after the Buddha’s life. Although Buddhist monks began to share Buddhist teachings in China as early as the second and first century B.C.E, it is not until later into the Common Era that Buddhism begins to establish itself in China. After the arrival of the Buddhist monk, Bodhidharma, around the fifth century Chan Buddhism would spread and develop in China, and eventually find its way to Japan around the Fourteenth century, where it became Zen Buddhism.
One of the main teachings of Bodhidharma that has remained at the core of Japanese Zen Buddhism was the idea that we all have the possibility to awaken our Buddha-nature, our true nature that transcends ignorance and the ego. Bodhidharma encouraged his students to examine the simple movements of everyday life around them—the way that a stick floats in the river, the way that animals such as tigers and cranes move. He believed that practicing these normal routines in life can lead to awakening. In the Nanzenji temple in Kyoto, all of this can be observed in the way that temple is built and decorated, and of course, in the tea ceremonies.
The Tea Ceremony Room at Nanzenji Temple, Kyoto
In yoga teacher training we were introduced to the Zen idea of kensho - a learning moment, an awakening that derives from pain. The traditional Zen teachings doesn’t necessarily emphasize pain as a prerequisite to kensho, but it does state that kensho is possible precisely while doing mundane, everyday tasks. Kensho goes hand in hand with satori, which is a type of deep awakening through dhyana (meditation). Dhyana comes from Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra, a foundational text for anyone who studies yoga. In it, dhyana is placed alongside other “limbs” or principles of yoga, such as asana (physical seat) and pranayama (controlled breathing).
In Zen and other Buddhist schools, anapanasati, or controlled breathing is also taught as part of the meditation path to awakening. Finding the seat, the za-zen, breathing mindfully, the anapanasati, and being mindful of the self are all facets of the yogic tradition that have made their way to Japan. And kensho and satori teach us to live life mindfully, on purpose, to appreciate stillness as we go about our days. In any moment, whether it be one of pain or joy, we can be awakened from our egos and shift into our true nature.
It’s true. Sometimes you have to travel across the world to return to yourself, and that is exactly what happened during my journey.
Nanzenji Temple Complex, Kyoto
Are you interested in learning more about Zen Buddhism and the teachings of Bodhidharma? Let me know, and/or, read these texts:
Teachings of Bodhidharma, Red Pine https://www.amazon.co.uk/Zen-Teachings-Bodhidharma/dp/0865473994
Nagatomo, Shigenori, "Japanese Zen Buddhist Philosophy", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Spring 2024 Edition), Edward N. Zalta & Uri Nodelman (eds.), URL = <https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2024/entries/japanese-zen/>. The Zen