The Zen diet: A physiological study of Zen meditation

• Main Author: Nicolas, Nathaniel A.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 1998
• Subjects: Zen meditations; Zen Buddhism; Nihilism (Philosophy); Diet; Zen Buddhism > Psychology
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_bachelors/1622
• Institution: De La Salle University

This study focuses on the physical aspects of Zen training as opposed to the psychological studies done mostly in the past. The principal question for consideration concerns why a nutritious and sustaining diet is compatible with the Zen monastic life. The thesis rests on the assumption that there is no such distinction as body and mind from the perspective of Zen. The key principles of Zen Buddhism are examined: not-self (Anatman), impermanence (anitya), interconnectedness of things (paratantra) and enlightenment (satori). Discussions are then made on Zazen and its is justified to be the most essential of all Zen practices towards attaining enlightenment. The thesis then proceeds to examine the physiological factors involved in Zen meditation-correct posture, proper breathing, adequate sleep and most especially the right diet. All of the variables mentioned contribute greatly to reaching the state of intense concentration (Samadhi) necessary in zazen. The issue of vegetarianism is introduced in relation to diet and justified to be what is most appropriate for the anatomical faculties. Another subject of this work concerns moderation versus indulgence in Zen. The Middle Way of Buddhism is analyzed via a comparison between the commonly held notion of a nihilistic Buddhism and the philosophy of Zen. The art of swordsmanship which many perceive to be nihilistic is explained as a unique response to life by detachment from the self. Killing done by the Samurai warriors is not murder in the usual sense because it is done in complete concentration wherein the meditator sees no distinction between it is done in complete concentration wherein the meditator sees no distinction between his opponent and himself but is able to react in a manner wholly appropriate to the circumstance. This thesis expounds on the Zen principle of nonduality between the body and the mind. This contends that the mental and physical faculties are one and the same, distinctions merely an artificial creation of the ego-self. This further holds that one faculty cannot be neglected without doing harm to the other. Through this argument, the study concludes that the physiological factors in Zen training simultaneously creates the favorable mental conditions. A good diet produces the proper mental state in zazen. The implication of this is that attention and care should be given to the body as well as the mind. With the influx of various alternative lifestyles concerned with wholistic health rapidly gaining popularity and attention, the western health sciences are slowly recognizing an inherent relationship of the mind to the body. Characteristic of these lifestyles is the incorporation of different meditation techniques derived from all of these since it does not rest on a metaphysical system or any psychological abstraction. Zen Buddhism veers away from the traditional forms of Buddhism in that it seeks to recapture the same spiritual experience as Buddha's, the experience which surpasses the dogmas, creeds and rituals associated with all religions. Zen meditation or zazen require no objects, visions, images, or thought-forms for contemplating, and aims to bring the mind to a state of absolute emptiness from which it may perceive the true nature of reality.