The Practice of Zen

An interview with Fr. Roger Brennan, SFM

January/February 2000

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Q: What is Zen meditation?

A: The practice of Zen meditation involves both the mind and the body. In order to still or stabilize the mind we must first stabilize the body.

The purpose of meditation is to still the mind or to free the mind of the thoughts and distractions which are constantly with us. These thoughts and distractions prevent us from being truly present to the moment and from realizing the ‘oneness’ of all reality. In the practice of meditation, we seek to arrive at a state of habitual awareness, always fully present to what we are doing.

Meditation has been central to the practice of Buddhism since the Buddha himself. He adopted it from the practice of religious teachers of his time. We are told that Siddharta Gotama, whom we know as the Buddha, was sitting under a bodhi tree meditating when he achieved enlightenment. Meditation—one step of the Eightfold Path of Buddhism—ultimately leads to contemplation and to freedom from egoism and desire.

“Dialogue with the great religions of Asia recalls for us the universal value of self-discipline, silence, and contemplation in developing the human person and in opening hearts to God and neighbour.”

John Paul II on dialogue with Hindus and Buddhists, June ‘91

In Zen meditation, one usually sits in a cross-legged position (the lotus position) on a small cushion on the floor. This can be extremely uncomfortable for beginners. Yet it is the most stable sitting position and brings all of the body’s energy sources, as understood in traditional Eastern physiology, to a central point. If the lotus position is not possible, any stable sitting position can be used.

Once the body has been stilled the next challenge is to still the mind. There are various techniques for this. The simplest is to focus on one’s breath, breathing in and out deeply and regularly, counting the inhalations and exhalations from one to four.

A Zen teacher may also give the student a koan or riddle to work on. These riddles cannot be solved by logical thought but by intuition only, thus preventing the sitter from engaging in discursive thought or trying to figure out the answer. The koan that many people in the West would be familiar with is, “What is the sound of one hand clapping?”

Zen practice also involves teaching sessions called teishos. As well, there are dokusan meetings with one’s teacher or roshi in which the student is challenged and encouraged to deepen his or her practice.

Q: For some years now you have been practicing Zen meditation. What got you started?

A: I had been interested in meditation since my days in the seminary. However, it was not until 1975 that I happened to pick up a little book on Zen Buddhism. As I read the section on Zen meditation I became really excited. It was as if this text had been written for me, reawakening the desire for a more contemplative prayer life.

At about this same time, I was assigned to Scarboro’s mission on the island of Leyte in the Philippines. Shortly after, I learned that Sister Elaine MacInnes of Our Lady’s Missionaries had also been assigned to Leyte. Sister Elaine had been studying Zen meditation for many years in Japan and was almost a fully qualified Zen teacher. She and I were both assigned to the town of Hinunangan in Southern Leyte, thus proving the adage, “When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.”

As soon as Sister Elaine arrived in Leyte she began instructing me in the practice of Zen meditation. In time I became a student of her teacher, Yamada Roshi from Kamakura, Japan. Yamada Roshi came to the Philippines several times to conduct Zen retreats and I was able to participate in two of these events. In 1986 I was given the opportunity to go to Kamakura to spend a period of concentrated Zen practice with Yamada Roshi.

Q: Can you talk about your daily Zen practice?

A: It’s very simple really. I try to do 30 minutes of meditation each day. I do a little reading in the areas of spirituality, Zen and meditation. I try to live simply and practice awareness. Of course, as a Christian and a priest I also say my Breviary and offer Mass.

Q: How is your Zen practice influencing your experience of Christian prayer?

A: The purpose of Zen meditation and Christian prayer forms such as ‘centering prayer’ is to facilitate an encounter between the individual and what I would call Ultimate Reality. For the Christian that Ultimate Reality is God, a personal God revealed in Jesus Christ. In Zen Buddhism the Ultimate Reality is the oneness of all reality. The practice of meditation in Zen can lead to the experience of this oneness and the extinction of all duality.

“Every religion and culture has its distinguishing characteristics. For Tibetans, the emphasis for many centuries has been on developing and upholding inner values such as compassion and wisdom...We are all aware of the inner peace that can be found in prayer and meditation, but our Christian friends may have a richer experience of bringing that inner peace to bear in practical ways in generous service to others.”

His Holiness the Dalai Lama

One might ask if this is the same as the experience of God for a Christian, and if not, what is the difference between these two experiences. This is one of the major areas of exploration in Buddhist-Christian dialogue, a dialogue which can only enrich both traditions. For me, Zen meditation presents a practical method to dispose myself to enter into an encounter with the Divine.

Q: How do you respond to people who feel that this combining of traditions is wrong; they argue that it involves a syncretism, an unreflective blending of two traditions?

A: I don’t see it as an unreflective blending of the two traditions. In my experience of the Buddhists and Christians who practice Zen with Yamada Roshi, there is an awareness of the need to maintain the integrity of both traditions. Yet, there is a desire to discover by experience what we share in common and what insights one tradition might bring to the experience of the other.

Q: How do you explain the popularity of Buddhism, particularly Zen Buddhism, in the West?

A: First of all, I think there is great spiritual hunger in the West, but many Christians have been unwilling or unable to satisfy that yearning within traditional Christianity. This may be so because people are unaware of the rich tradition of contemplative prayer in Christianity. They are unaware of the call to live in intimacy with God here and now.

Some people, too, are drawn to Zen meditation because it is different and new. I was drawn to Zen because it offered a practical prayer method with an explanation I could understand. At that time I had not discovered any such method in manuals of Christian prayer.

Q: Are you familiar with developments in Buddhist-Christian dialogue?

A: Interreligious dialogue takes place at many different levels. If you are referring to official dialogue between scholars accredited by their various faith bodies and producing official documents, no, I do not keep up on those developments. However, there is a constant stream of material published by people of Buddhist background and Christian background who are reflecting on each other’s tradition and practice. They are discovering what Buddhists and Christians share in common and how the two religions can learn from one another.

Of course, I think the most important dialogue takes place at a more informal level, when people actually get together to pray and share life, and are affected by that experience. These kinds of encounters are happening in many places.

Q: How does your practice of Zen fit with your understanding and commitment to Christian mission?

A: Well, first of all I think the practice of Zen meditation has made me a more prayerful person and thus, I hope, a better Christian. That is a first step in being a Christian missionary. As Marshall McLuhan said: “The medium is the message.”

It is also the role of the missionary to recognize and proclaim the presence of God; to point out and rejoice in the way God works in the history and culture of all peoples. If, as I believe, God has been present in the development of Zen, then Zen can be considered a gift of God to the world through Buddhism.

Can Christianity bring anything to Zen Buddhism? I believe it can bring the message of Jesus Christ. How this will happen and what it will look like, I don’t know. I think it will be a long process of dialogue and sharing of experience. In the end I think everyone will be enriched by this process. As a missionary it is a privilege to be even a small part of this interfaith journey.

Scarboro missionary Fr. Roger Brennan has been practicing Zen meditation for almost 25 years. He now serves as Director of Scarboro’s Mission Information Department at its headquarters in Toronto.

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