intersting artlicle from NIkkei Japan.

[Simon]

Need Refreshment After Work? Try Zen Meditation
TOKYO (Nikkei)--It is common these days to find company workers going
to sit in Zen meditation at nearby Buddhist temples after work or on
weekends, seeking to regain the composure they tend to lose in their
busy everyday affairs and discover new aspects of themselves.

In early afternoon one Saturday, I visited a temple in Minato Ward in
central Tokyo to experience Zen meditation myself. In the temple --
which, thanks to ample greenery, seemed far removed despite its
location in an office block -- there were already four people who
looked to be in their 20s or 30s and who all said they were beginners
in meditation.

Upon the signal of three tolls of a bell, meditation began. As
instructed by the priest, we straightened our spines and slowly
breathed from our lower abdomens with our eyes open. During
meditation, various thoughts occur to you, but the priest told us not
to pursue them. Rather, one should wait for them to pass -- just like
watching clouds drifting across the sky.


People practice Zen meditation at Jouganji Temple in Tokyo's Nakano
Ward.

The difficult part of the meditation is the way of breathing. The
moment a thought came to me, it disturbed my breathing. I hurriedly
focused my attention back to breathing and concentrated on the
movement of the lower abdomen. Some minutes later, an idea again
leaped to my mind and I tried again to concentrate on breathing. I
repeated this process again and again. In the meantime, however, I
found myself becoming somewhat relaxed and comfortable.

Explaining the reasons why they came to practice meditation, the
participants said that they were stressed out over work or that they
wanted to consider their way of living.

Tozen Nakano, a priest who wrote many books on Zen, said that one does
not need to take it seriously to do Zen meditation, but he added that
it is important to think about why one feels like doing so. "That you
take interest in meditation means there is something essential in the
practice which resonates with you," he said. "Continue meditation
while ascertaining that and you will begin to feel that you are
different from what you have been in everyday life and you will be
filled with composure."

Recently, many temples hold Zen meditation gatherings on weekday
nights, attracting company employees after work, among others. One
such temple, Rinsenji in Tokyo's Bunkyo Ward, has a wide range of
attendants at its Zen meditation sessions -- from men and women as
young as their 20s to senior citizens.

A man in his 50s who regularly participates in the temple's meditation
gathering said that he has "no particular aim in practicing
meditation, but I make it a rule to do so on every Wednesday." He also
attends tea ceremony lessons given by the temple.


Enjoying chatting time


Temples that hold Zen meditation
gatherings after 5 p.m.
Jouganji
2-26-6, Honmachi, Nakano Ward, Tokyo
Tel: 03-3372-2711
6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. every Friday
Fee: 1,000 yen a month
Kohoin
1-17-3, Chuo, Nakano Ward, Tokyo
Tel: 03-5338-9220
7 p.m. to 9 p.m. every Friday
Fee: 1,000 yen (on a voluntary basis)
Rinsenji
4-7-2, Kohinata, Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo
Tel: 03-3943-0605
7 p.m. to 9 p.m. every Wednesday
Fee: 500 yen (on a voluntary basis)
Rittoji
1-7, Yorikicho, Kita Ward, Osaka
Tel: 06-6351-5639
6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. every Friday
Fee: Free
Sokichiji
1-8-27, Shinei, Naka Ward, Nagoya
Tel: 052-241-6362
6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. every Friday
Fee: Free

One female corporate worker in her 30s said jokingly: "I come to the
meditation session because of the chatting time after it, which I
enjoy very much." After the meditation, the temple opens a room for
attendants so that they can have a chat over tea or alcoholic drinks.
"I think everyone seeks community," noted a woman company executive in
her 40s.

Zen meditation is said to be designed to rectify posture, breathing
and mental state. Nakano said: "Worldly thoughts come up because your
inside reacts to stimulation from outside. Take a long breath with
concentration on abdomen and your mind is automatically directed
toward your inside." To breath in this way, the posture of Zen
meditation which relaxes the lower abdomen is suitable.

In Reijuin temple, also in Bunkyo Ward, chief priest Sozen Masae
individually instructs people how to practice Zen meditation. "You
should not forcefully remove thoughts that spring to your mind," he
said. "Concentrate on what you are doing at the moment -- meditation
-- then you and your inner self become one."

The effect of Zen meditation can be explained scientifically.
According to Hideho Arita, a professor of medicine at Toho University,
the practice activates serotonin neurons, refreshing a person mentally
and physically by eliminating anxiety and tension. "The point is the
breathing method in Zen meditation," he noted, "and we found that
consciously moving abdominal muscles rhythmically invigorates the
serotonin neurons."


--Translated from an article written by Nikkei staff writer Junko
Fukuzawa

(The Nikkei-Plus 1 July 19 edition)