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Combining Zen and Vipassana in walking meditation

“Buddhism originated in South Asia around the 5th century B.C.E. with Siddhartha Gautama, and over the next millennia it spread across Asia and the rest of the world. Buddhists believe that the human life is one of suffering, and that meditation, spiritual and physical labor, and good behavior are the ways to achieve enlightenment, or nirvana.”
(Nat. Geo.)

Zen Buddhism, which is generally the practice of monastics in the East, came to the US in the late 19th and early 20th centuries from Japan. It became popular in the 1950s with the Beat Generation and is well established around the country, including Upaya and Mountain Cloud zen centers in New Mexico. Vipassana or Insight Meditation which has its roots in Theravada came to the US in the 1970s with the founders of the Insight Meditation Center in Barre, Massachusetts.

In this month’s column, we will compare Zen meditation with Vipassana, which is the style that I guide in the classes and workshops of my meditation studio, Mindful Frontiers. Both traditions are grounded in mindful awareness of the present moment. “The main emphasis in Vipassana is on using mindfulness in such a way that we develop insight, wisdom, and, ultimately, inner freedom. In Zen, the primary emphasis is on being present for the sake of being present — their perspective is that inner freedom is found right here, so we should just focus on the actual act [of what] we’re doing”. (pathofsincerity.com)

The fundamental difference between these two styles is the attitude that we bring to meditation practice. Using a daily routine such as driving, one may understand the difference. “The purpose of driving is to get from point A to point B. The purpose of driving is to drive.” (pathofsincerity.com). Both Zen and Vipassana agree that you need to have a sense of direction, but you also need to be present for the ride. Taking these concepts further, “Zen driving” would emphasize being present for the ride, which helps you increase your capacity to be in the moment, just driving the car. “Vipassana driving” emphasizes the practice of driving during which we acknowledge that there are many possible routes as well as being open to any potential complications along the way. We are still just focusing on the drive but we also realize there could be a traffic jam, a flat tire, and so forth. Vipassana driving would help us tap into the process of driving and be aware of what is actually happening; it’s like the process of driving from A to B while also enjoying the ride.

In the following meditation practice, we will use both styles to deepen our awareness of walking. This can be done on a long or short walk or even just walking around the house.

Zen and Vipassana Style Walking Meditation

Gather up your family or group in an area that allows enough room for each person to have a clear path on which to walk. If you are walking indoors, it may be nice to remove shoes and walk either bare-footed or sock-footed. The basic practice is to walk without a goal or destination. Just walk forward until you need to turn around, or walk in a circle so you are walking without having to change directions.
The beginning practice is to simply notice that we are walking (Zen style). Notice the foot coming off the ground behind you and then stepping in front. Each foot is doing the same motion, alternatively.
Traditional Zen walking meditation asks us to synchronize the breath with the feet movements. We breathe in as the footsteps off the ground, and we breathe out as the foot settles in front of the body and the weight shifts to the other foot. The movement of the feet with the breath continues as slowly as is comfortable and for as long as possible.
Vipassana walking meditation adds another dimension. As we synchronize the breath to the walking movement, we may also notice how the body feels, and what sounds are around us, and when the mind starts to analyze what we are doing, we bring our awareness back to walking and breathing.
Taking the insight further, we can notice the feeling of the floor in contact with the feet, the texture, and the temperature of the flooring. Maybe we also notice the color of the flooring and whether it is carpet, wood, or tile.
We can also bring awareness to the rest of the body. What are the arms doing? Can we relax our shoulders? Is my back straight? What if I closed my eyes while walking?
In both styles, we also notice when the mind takes over. When we catch ourselves contemplating what’s for dinner, where we would rather be right now, we come back to the movement of the breath and the feet.
Some people have told me that walking, hiking, and biking are their meditation practice. That is wonderful! For these activities to be truly meditative, we need to be aware of disconnecting the mind from the movement so that we are in the present moment, engaged in the act of just moving and breathing.

Originally published in The Taos News, March 14, 2023

Photo credit: Photo by Alberto Casetta on Unsplash

Mindful eating practice for families

Gratitude is the theme for November with Thanksgiving and Chanukah holidays coming up. Practicing gratitude is an extremely important skill because it brings joy and appreciation to our life through the power of the heart. It’s mental health and a daily attitude that helps us connect with that which brings us joy. Mindful eating is a perfect mindfulness activity for the month of November and one that can be practiced any time that food is available.

“Piglet noticed that even though he had a very small heart, it could hold a rather large amount of Gratitude.”
– A. A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh

Appreciation through kindness

Gratitude is defined as “readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness” (Webster online dictionary). What’s important in this definition is the willingness to appreciate and to incorporate kindness. We may be appreciative of what we have, what we don’t have, how we feel, or how we are experiencing life and we relate to this with kindness. Being grateful helps us alleviate suffering by bringing our awareness to the positive instead of the negative. It is also a way to practice open-hearted kindness towards others and ourselves.

Daily gratitude practices can be a way to focus on the positive

During this global pandemic, mental health has been affected by stress, worry, and a general malaise that we are all experiencing. As a long-time meditation practitioner and teacher, gratitude practice is a staple in my daily routine. I keep a gratitude journal in which I write what I’m grateful for either at the start or end of the day. I find that practicing gratitude brings present-moment awareness and a way to wind down the mind.

Parenting is challenging so gratitude is a family activity that reaps benefits for everyone.

As a parent to a teenager, I try to model being grateful to remind my family of the benefits of this practice. We often ask each other what we are grateful for at the dinner table or before retiring for the night. We say a gratitude prayer before we eat, thanking all that had a part in the meal. My daughter and husband are getting better at training the mind to focus more on the positive aspects of the day. My family has learned about the power of attraction and when we think positive thoughts, we attract more gratitude and positivity and feelings of well-being. It doesn’t take a lot of time to practice this and can be as simple as pausing, taking three long deep breaths, reflecting on the present moment, and then choosing something or someone for which to be grateful. The practice does take repetition to become routine and it is well worth the effort. That’s why it is called “a practice.”

Some aspects of life for which we can be grateful:

A place to live
Work that sustains
Food that nourishes the body
Feelings that bring awareness to the self
Pets who bring unconditional love
Family with whom we can communicate
A mind that can choose what to think about
A heart that can be open to compassion and empathy
A body that is healthy and able to move freely
Open spaces in which to exercise
Talents we can share with others
The present moment in which reality is positive

This gratitude practice is inspired by Thank the Farmer from Mindful Games by Susan Kaiser Greenland and is a mindful eating practice that is perfect for the holiday season.

Choose a person to “lead” the meditation practice. This person will read the instructions as well as participate. This is a slow practice so make sure to take your time.

Start by picking one item of food. A raisin is commonly used. I have also used popcorn or a piece of cookie. It must be small as this is not a meal or even a snack. It is a mindfulness practice and using our 5 senses, we will explore the story of this food.
With the food in your fingers, notice what it feels like. Smooth, rough, squishy, hard, etc.
With your eyes, notice what it looks like. A cloud, a shape, a bumpy glob, etc.
With your nose, notice what it smells like. Sweet, strong, weird, etc.
With your ears and fingers, notice what it sounds like. Crackles, squeaky, etc.
With your mind, consider where this food grew. A farm, a forest, a garden, etc.
Consider who picked this food? A person, a machine, a family, etc.
Ask yourself how it gets to the store? A truck, a car, a person brings it, etc.
How did it get from the store to your home? Your parent, friend, sibling, etc.
Now, we take a moment to feel gratitude for having this food to eat. Say, “thank you” to everyone who had a part in growing and bringing the food to your home. The farmer, the picker, the truck driver, etc.
Now we put the food on our tongue and notice what it tastes like, before actually eating it. Don’t chew yet! Just let it sit there momentarily.
Finally, we get to chew it… what does it taste like now, after all that mindful awareness?
Have you thought about your food this way before? Do you think it tastes differently now?

Thanks for trying out this practice. I’d love to hear what your family experienced. Email me at mindfulfrontiers@gmail.com.

Anne-Marie Emanuelli is the founder and Creative Director of Mindful Frontiers LLC, an education-based mindfulness meditation center in northern New Mexico offering classes, workshops, and coaching to children, families, and individuals of all ages and meditation experience. Anne-Marie’s credentials are from Mindful Schools and Sage Institute for Creativity and Consciousness as well as an 8-week MBSR course. She is a retired NM level 3 licensed classroom teacher and has taught mindfulness to students since 2016.

For more information on Mindful Frontiers and meditation, see our website at MindfulFrontiers.net.

Tag: mindfulnesspractice

Meditation Styles are Different Yet the Same