The Za Zen of the Empty Mind

The Empty Mind is a meditation technique from within the Buddhist teachings of Za Zen, “seated meditation”. It takes a bit of time to get good at, but it is one of the most grounding, centering meditations of all. Regular practice will calm you, increase your confidence, boost your concentration, and help pave the way for lots of other techniques, both meditative and psychic.

Ze Zen requires no preparation, and the Empty Mind is extremely simple in principle. Make sure you won’t be disturbed for a few minutes, sit down comfortably, half-close your eyes, and take several slow, deep breaths. Many meditation techniques ask you to observe your breath, but that is not necessary for this one.

Now, continuing to breathe slowly and easily, silence your mind and hold it silent.

"Zen", by Karolina Michalowska

It’s easy to say, but much harder to actually put into practice. We all vocalise thoughts to ourselves almost all the time; make a conscious effort to stop. Clear all mental images from your mind’s eye. If you are imagining any sounds, get rid of those too. It will require an act of concentration to cease any one of the three; initially, you may have to actively invoke silence by picturing blankness, speaking spaces to yourself (”     “), and so on. Thoughts and images will intrude, almost immediately, because the mind rebels against unusual restrictions. Accept that they have done so, and banish them again. Do not allow yourself to react mentally or emotionally to them, just keep at it calmly, for the time you have allotted yourself

Don’t expect too much from yourself. For the first week or two, even managing to get a second’s mental silence over the course of a daily five minute session is a major victory. You will get better however – and keeping a record of how you’re doing is a vital aid in keeping your morale up. Vocalised thoughts such as “Wow! Four seconds! I’m doing great!” are particularly irritating! When you can still your mind for ten seconds at a time, you can continue to build longer periods, which come quickly. Alternatively, you can try to advance to doing the practice with your eyes fully open or, if you want a real challenge, out in public in a busy setting. If you have the time in your schedule, keep practicing daily until you can keep your mind quiet indefinitely. It sounds nearly impossible, I know, but once you can do a ten-second stretch, complete silence follows fairly easily.

As well as giving your mind a much-needed break and refreshing you on several different levels, the Empty Mind meditation is a great weapon if you want to overcome fear, anger or other negative moods. It can also make sure that your conscious or subconscious minds are not cluttering up your meditations and other exercises with static, and helps build willpower, calms and relaxes you. When you get good at the exercise, it becomes possible to act in the world from this point of stillness, freeing you from all distration and tension — a position of ultimate skill and proficiency.

"on the beach II" by entelpentele