Walking meditation

Members of Kanzeon Zen Center during kinhin

Walking meditation, also known as kinhin (Chinese: 経行; pinyin: jīngxíng; Japanese pronunciation: kinhin, kyōgyō; Korean: gyeonghyaeng; Vietnamese: kinh hành) is the walking meditation that is practiced between long periods of the sitting meditation known as zazen.[1] The practice is common in Zen, Chan Buddhism, Korean Seon and Vietnamese Thiền.

Practice

Practitioners walk clockwise around a room while holding their hands in shashu (Chinese: 叉手; pinyin: chā shǒu): one hand closed in a fist while the other hand grasps or covers the fist.[2] During walking meditation each step is taken after each full breath.[3]

The pace of walking meditation may be slow (several steady steps per each breath) or brisk, almost to the point of jogging.[2]

Etymology

The terms consist of the Chinese words 經 "to go through (like the thread in a loom)", with sutra as a secondary meaning, and 行 "walk". Taken literally, the phrase means "to walk straight back and forth." The opposite in Japanese to kinhin is zazen, "sitting meditation".

See also

References

  1. ↑ Maezumi 2002, pp. 48-9.
  2. 1 2 Aitken 1999, pp. 35-6.
  3. ↑ "Kinhin". Empty Bowl Zendo. Retrieved April 1, 2015.

Bibliography

  • Aitken, Robert (1999). Taking the Path of Zen. North Point Press. pp. 35–36. ISBN 0-86547080-4.
  • Maezumi, Hakuyu Taizan; Glassman, Bernie (2002). On Zen Practice: Body, Breath, Mind. Wisdom Publications. pp. 48–49. ISBN 086171315X.
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