Zen is a Buddhist sect of meditation, mostly practiced in Japan. When it was the first time introduced, then it was known as the most modern way of meditation. Zen is also known as Zazen. The meaning of Zen is “just sitting, doing nothing”. It seems very easy while listening to the meaning of Zen, but it is very difficult to practice. One can sit without a slight movement and say that s/he sat for an hour without doing anything. But what about the mind?
Was your mind not functioning? Was your mind stopped? No, it was not stopped. Your body might have stopped, there was not even a slight shake in your body, but your mind was still functioning. While you were sitting your mind was wandering here and there. Your mind was either in the future or in the past. That is why defunctioning your body organs are possible but stopping the mind is difficult enough. All the methods of the meditations are to stop the function of the mind.
In the Zen technique, one has to keep watching the mind.
That means one has to just sit, with a straight backbone, and become watchful to mind. This is the only way to stop the mind. You can’t fight with the mind to stop it. The more you fight, the more your mind goes strong. So keep watching the mind is the best way to stop it. It is like, while you are walking through a jungle, you are much thrust, and you see a pool of gray water. What will you do? Will you start using your hand to set the dust? If you do so you will never get the clean water. To get the clean water you can do nothing else than watching the dust setting down. It is the same with the mind; you can’t do anything with it. All you can do is to keep watching it.
The mind is the womb of the feelings.
All the feelings come up from the mind. The mind is the source of the feelings. Once you start watching your mind, the very first thing happens is, your feelings evaporate. Then for the first time in your life, you start feeling empty. That emptiness makes you light and you feel as if you can fly in the air. All the joy will come up and sorrow will disappear. All this can happen just witnessing your mind.
Then the question is if Zen means “just sitting, doing nothing” then “watching mind” is a doing, then how can it be Zen? Watching with your eye is doing something, but here who is watching? This is not your body watching your mind. This is not any part of your body watching your mind. This is you who is watching your body, mind, and feelings. When practice goes deeper and deeper you will discover that you are nither the body nor the mind. You are something different than these. This is why the Zen method of meditation is so important in the spiritual world.’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQFLmvb2-Rg
