All sections under "All about Zen" are by Kenichi Matsumoto, translated by Madoka. Please read the sections in the order they appear.

 

INTRODUCTION

 

Knowing what Zen actually is will transform your practice

 

Knowing what Zen really is enables you to know what zazen (sitting Zen) is, as well as how to practice in everyday life outside of zazen. And if one does zazen, there is the possibility of enlightenment. 

​

Several people who participated in my Japanese zazenkai concluded their practice and realized Truth after they began practicing zazen with the correct understanding of what Zen is.  

 

Please read the sections in the order they appear. Skipping sections will lead to misunderstandings. 

 

Reflecting on my time when I practiced zazen, I think it took me too long to learn to sit in zazen correctly. The reason it took so long was because it was hard for me to understand what correct sitting actually was. I was under the mistaken impression that something was insufficient about the way I was, and I needed to attain some special state in order to know what was real. I also had preconceived ideas about what Zen and satori were, so even though enlightened teachers pointed out what was actually real and told me such effort was unnecessary, it was a while before I stopped trying to create what I thought was a Zen state.

 

Eventually I understood that what is real (the real thing itself) = Zen = zazen = satori. That was when my zazen practice became true zazen. And when satori happened, it was absolutely clear that what is real = Zen = zazen = satori.

 

Having had such experience, the purpose of this website and zazenkai is to enable you to learn to sit in the shortest time possible, so that you too can become clear on Truth.

　

I use clear explanations while showing you what is real. I do this to stop practitioners from getting lost in concepts and to prevent misinterpretations or misunderstandings. During zazenkai, I also check to make sure that practitioners are not misunderstanding and observe practitioners’ mental tendencies in order to explain in ways they can understand most easily. 

​

I often get this kind of feedback from practitioners:

 

• “I am able to sit now.”

• “I’m now confident that I should just continue my practice like this.”

• “I realized I’m doing so many unnecessary things.”

 

Please read these pages, and you too can understand that what is actually real = Zen = zazen = satori.

 

There is a limit, however, to what can be conveyed in writing, so I hope you will attend my online zazenkai, get clarity on your questions, turn your zazen into real zazen, and conclude your search for Truth.

​

Next Section:  Zen