Zazen (Zazen)

Japanese: 座禅(坐禅) - ざぜん

A Buddhist practice. It is the practice of Zen while seated. Zen is a transliteration of the Sanskrit dhyana or Pali dhyana, which means concentration of mind. Of the four postures people use in their daily lives - walking, standing, sitting, and lying down - the sitting posture is the most appropriate for practicing Zen, and so the name zazen came about. The way of doing zazen has remained almost the same since the time of the Rig Veda, and is based on the full lotus position, in which the legs are crossed and the hands are placed together on top of the legs. In China and Japan, the method is explained in detail in several zazen ceremonies, but in later times, emphasis was placed on the mental attitude rather than on the physical posture, and Zen was not necessarily limited to sitting, but came to include all postures of walking, standing, sitting, lying down, speech, silence, and movement.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

仏教の修行法の一つ。座って禅を修すこと。禅は精神統一を意味する，サンスクリットのディヤーナ，もしくはパーリ語のジュハーナの音訳で，人々の日常生活の姿勢を，行･住･坐･臥の四つに分けるうち，禅の実践には，坐の姿勢がもっとも適当であるため，特に座禅の名称が起こる。座禅の仕方は，《リグ･ベーダ》の時代からほぼ一定していて，両脚を組んで座り，その上に両手を揃えておく結跏趺坐（けつかふざ）を基本とし，中国と日本では，いくつかの坐禅儀にその方法を詳説するが，後代はしだいに身体の姿勢よりも，精神的な心構えを重視するようになり，禅を必ずしも坐に限らず行住坐臥，語黙動静のすべてをその姿とするに至った。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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