Zen Meditation & Drinking Traditional Matcha in Myoshin-ji Kyoto

Last February when I was in Japan, my partner and I booked a Zen meditation and traditional matcha drinking experience by Denei Japan Tour in Myoshin-ji, Kyoto. To my surprise, Myoshin-ji was a stunning complex of 46 pagoda temples and pristine gardens with over 400 years of history. Myoshin-ji is considered as the largest Zen Buddhist temple complex in Japan, yet it was the quietest destination we’d been to in Kyoto, with minimal tourists. 

We were first greeted by Joondai, a local in Kyoto and one of the founders of Denei Japan. We were then introduced to his team and a Bhuddist monk named Eitetsu Nishida, a 16th generation abbot of one of the temples- the Jushō-in. This was where Eitetsu taught us the basics of Zazen meditation.

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What is Zazen Meditation?

My basic understanding of Zazen meditation is that it is a form of seated meditation derived from Zen Bhuddism. It has an overall holistic objective in integrating the body, breath and mind into one. What makes it different to other types of meditation like visualisation and transcendental meditation, is that Zazen meditation is a controlled focus form of meditation. Some features include being in a seated position with the correct posture, hand positioning and belly breathing.

How to Practice Zazen Meditation

We were first guided to bring our attention to our mind. When the mind is overactive, it prevents the harmonious integration of the mind, body and the breath.

Some of the steps in Zazen meditation include:

  • Sitting cross legged and putting each foot on top of the opposite thigh, if possible.

  • Placing the left hand on top of the right hand’s palm, with both thumbs lightly touching the other.

  • From this position, the hands are placed below and in front of the belly button, and resting there.

  • The eyes remain half open with the gaze slightly looking down at a particular point in the distance.

From here, we were instructed to breathe from the belly and inhale for 5 seconds and exhale for 10 seconds through the nose. The meditation consisted of two rounds, with each round lasting for about 10-15 minutes. The main goal of the meditation is to focus on the breath count while remain focused on the point in the distance and avoid the mind from wondering.

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The Zen Slap

During the meditation, if our mind drifted, we were to inform Eitetsu that we lost focus by bowing from our seated position. Eitetsu would approach and respectfully hit us with a long wooden stick called a ‘keisaku’. He would hit twice, one on each side of the upper back. This is also referred to as the ‘Zen Slap’ and commonly performed when student monks would meditate and lose focus.

The Zen slap is not to be seen as a form of punishment; rather, the physical sensation of being hit, breaks the train of thought and helps to reset and refocus the student for the rest of the meditation.

In the first round, Cameron and I were too afraid to let the monk know that our mind had wandered during the meditation. However, in the second round, we were encouraged to experience the Zen slap. Therefore, we ended up getting slapped more than a couple of times. The slap was not very painful, however, it was surely firm and it made us aware of how often our mind drifted off and motivated us to focus longer for the rest of the meditation.

Practicality in Everyday Life with  Zazen Meditation 

Since learning Zazen meditation, I’ve found this most helpful to calm an overactive mind in the evenings and aid with sleep. How I see Zazen benefitting our lives is that it helps us to focus on what is important, to do things one at a time and at our own pace. This is particularly helpful in today’s fast paced society. 

Other Delights

After the meditation, we were served warm matcha tea and taught how to drink it the traditional way. The matcha tasted rich, velvety and balanced. From our mental training, this was very rewarding. We were also taught how to traditionally cut and eat a Japanese sweet dessert. The dessert tasted like mochi, a Japanese glutinous rice cake filled with sweet red bean paste flavoured with cherry blossom essence. The dessert balanced our earthy matcha beautifully.

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“From exploring the immaculate temple grounds, meditating whilst overlooking perfect Zen gardens, drinking tea and conversing with Eitetsu and the locals, the whole experience felt like food for the soul.”
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A Memorable Conversation

As the experience came to a close, Eitetsu and the locals asked us what it is like living in Australia. I described my city Perth, mentioning the beaches, spaciousness and the fertile towns that one can find in the of South of Western Australia like Yallingup and Margaret River. 

Eitetsu and the others looked as if I took their minds to paradise and expressed their eagerness to come to Australia. I found it ironic because there I was, in their hometown, relishing in the beauty and peacefulness of Myoshin-ji, a place which I considered as paradise.

I am reminded that no matter who you are, we are often wanting things that we don’t have. And what we do have, others would love to have. Therefore, appreciating the things that we are blessed with is important as we work towards our dreams. 

Thank you Eitsetsu, Joondae and the team from Denei Japan for this memorable experience and for giving us a taste of traditional Japanese culture.

References

Note- This is article is not sponsored. Unknowingly, a professional photoshoot was included in the this experience which further inspired me to write about it.

Cherie Hazen meditation, meditation, zen, kyoto, kyoto japan, japan blog, travel blog, mindfulness, zen garden, myoshinji temple, kyoto temples, kyoto travels, kyoto secrets, matcha, traditional matcha, japanese culture, matcha ceremony