{"id":1881,"date":"2018-01-25T09:16:42","date_gmt":"2018-01-25T09:16:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/goodnights.rest\/?page_id=1881"},"modified":"2018-08-13T21:24:09","modified_gmt":"2018-08-13T21:24:09","slug":"what-is-zen-buddhist-meditation","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/goodnights.rest\/meditation-for-better-sleep\/what-is-zen-buddhist-meditation\/","title":{"rendered":"What is Zen Buddhist Meditation?"},"content":{"rendered":"
Why do you meditate?<\/p>\n
Most people take up meditation in a quest for inner peace, balance—or, as some might put it, a state called “zen.” In popular culture, Zen <\/em>has become shorthand for a transcendent state of being, often portrayed as achievable only by grizzled old masters with a penchant for sitting under waterfalls and calling people “grasshoppers.” Zen <\/em>implies stillness, in body and mind. For the chronically sleepless<\/a>, reaching a state of Zen <\/em>is the dream, literally and figuratively!<\/p>\n But how do you get there? Zen meditation can sound like a daunting practice, and if you’re new to meditation, it can be hard to figure out where to begin. While we at Good Night’s Rest aren’t experts, we do <\/em>have a longstanding personal interest in meditation<\/a>, and we’re happy to help you nurture your <\/em>interest<\/a>, too. You can’t go wrong with a solid understanding of what you’re getting into, and when it comes to Zen meditation, that means starting with some history.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The practice of Zen meditation comes from Zen, <\/em>a school of Mahayana Buddhism that began in East Asia. Most of us know Zen as a Japanese tradition, but its roots actually go back to China, from where it spread to nearby countries like Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.<\/p>\n The term Z<\/em>en <\/em>itself, however, is Japanese: it means “meditation,” from the Chinese ch\u00e1n <\/em>(“quietude”) and the Sanskrit dhyana <\/em>(“meditation”). This emphasis on meditation comes from the Zen school’s belief in practice, experience, and direct understanding. In Zen, spiritual awakening—that transcendent “peace” or “balance” that practitioners strive for—isn’t an ethereal piece of knowledge that you acquire; instead, it’s an attitude <\/em>that you cultivate and express through the flow of actions that constitute your daily life.<\/p>\nWhat is Zen Meditation?<\/h2>\n