ZEN

 Zen is a Buddhist school that emerged in India and developed in China under the name of chán. It is a very popular current in the Western world, although the concept includes a fairly wide range of practices and doctrines.

Zen is based on the search for enlightenment through techniques that avoid conceptual schemes. Originally, Buddhism relied on a progression of the various states of meditation as the path to elevation. For Zen, there is direct and spontaneous access to the higher state that precedes nirvana, without the need to experience the previous states.

The Zen school focuses on meditation to achieve spiritual awakening, differentiating itself from other schools that spend a lot of time studying texts. With its expansion to other parts of the world, Zen acquired various influences and added numerous techniques. One of the main changes occurred with its boom in Japan.

In the West, more and more people have made a strong choice to practice Zen since they have considered that it is the best tool they have at their fingertips to be able to find the peace, relaxation and tranquility they need in their lives.

And it is that this commitment to Zen brings with it a large number of benefits among which are the following:

• It is possible to significantly improve the coordination between the neurons that we have in the brain.

• It is a very useful instrument for all those people who have chronic diseases and pain as it acts as a coadjuvant mechanism.

• It manages to improve the mood.

• It has the advantage that anyone can improve their ability to concentrate dramatically.

• It allows us to completely disconnect from our life and place ourselves on another plane. In this way, we will put stress aside and bet on peace and serenity.

One of the most common Zen practices is the lotus position for meditation. The person should adopt this position, keep their back straight and squint their eyes, while letting their thoughts flow without clinging to any of them.

It is important not only to get the proper posture but also other elements that will contribute to achieving the aforementioned peace. This would be the case, for example, with breathing, which has to be slow, smooth and deep.

Both the position and the correct breathing are two elements that will be fully achieved with the passage of time. For this reason, it is clear to Zen experts that the main key to making this discipline achieve its objectives is to practice a lot.

Another method of Zen masters is known as koan. Koans are dialogues that promote reflection based on a question that makes no apparent sense (for example: what sound does the palm of one hand make when clapping?) And that forces the practitioner's concentration.

The zen garden or karesansui , finally, is a space that contains sand, rocks and other elements that help meditation.