There is a particularly exaggerated interest in a certain type of breathing among zazen practitioners. This is about how relevant it is to the practice of zazen and whether it is actually worth the effort.
If you have ever been in the company of people who practice zen, you would not help but notice how obsessed they are with how you breathe as per its teaching. This kind of “Samurai breathing” is really a part of zen and is actually a part of martial arts.
This kind of breathing actually involves applying increased pressure in exhaling or pushing out air. The concept is to focus on the hara or the solar plexus while doing so and it requires avoiding any distractions such as disturbing thoughts or feelings. The zen practitioner destroys these distractions as a karate expert would break down tiles.
While it sounds nothing out of the ordinary, this technique actually offers a perception of empowerment and achievement. This is probably because all the effort makes you feel that you have been struggling very hard. However, this satisfaction is superficial as there really are no gains in the end. But probably the very realization of its pointlessness is a part of the learning process.
This breathing technique does not really take you anywhere but makes you feel like it is doing so. This breathing exercise is hardly any different to a person walking on a treadmill imagining that he has reached a point 5 miles away from where he started.
I really want to feel like walking up to them and telling them that they are not achieving what they think they are. Because no matter how hard you try, you cannot get something through a certain method. It is just like people spending their lifetimes practicing zazen, or seated meditation, to become a Buddha, only to realize that they already are ones.
But to be honest I was not any different when I started practicing zen years ago myself. I was learning to meditate in Japan when I learned about all these fancy breathing techniques and needless to say that I was impressed. I heard fellow students talking about it enthusiastically and I was dying to get these breathing techniques right.
In the process, I subjected my torso to all sorts of twists and contortions to find the right touch of zen breathing. I was fortunate enough to rub shoulders with zen master Kabori Roshi there, who put me out my misery with a simple advice. Breathe naturally. At the time I was baffled and disappointed at those words. Is that what it is all about?
As a matter of fact, the soft-spoken master took the liberty of shocking me by stating that all my calories spent on the stationary bicycle were actually taking me nowhere. Well, like everyone else, shocked and a little disappointed, it took me a while to gulp down the simple but strong message from the wise man.
But at that time, I was still determined to achieve more with a greater effort. This tendency is widely prevalent among zen practitioners. They are taught that there is nothing to attain, but continue their quest for it given their devotion to materialism. They would tell the other practitioners the same thing, but would not believe or practice it themselves.
To be continued…
