Introduction to Zen Training

Written to provide a solid grounding in the physical nature of Zen meditation training, this text discusses breathing, pain, posture, state of mind and physiology, drowsiness and benefits, as well as the context in which zazen training takes on meaning.

Omori Sogen (1904-1994) was a respected teacher and advisor to the Japanese Cabinet. After WWII, he entered the priesthood in the Tenryu-ji Rinzai lineage. For 40 years he taught swordsmanship, calligraphy and Zen meditation, while writing 20 books and serving as a court magistrate, eventually becoming president of the principal Rinzai university in Japan, Hanazono Daigaku. He established the International Zen Dojo in Hawaii and founded Chozen-ji in Honolulu—the first headquarters temple for Rinzai Zen outside Japan.
Foreword by:
Sayama Daian, the Abbot of Chozen-ji. He has trained at Chozen-ji for 44 years, starting sanzen (koan training) with Omori Sogen and then received inka (mind stamp) from Tanouye Tenshin in 1996. He graduated from Yale summa cum laude in 1975 and received his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Michigan in 1982. He is the author of Samadhi, Self-Development in Zen, Swordsmanship, and Psychotherapy, Focused Psychotherapy with Nicholas Cummings, PhD and Ten Shin Myo, The Mysterious Wonder of the Universal Mind: The Way of Zen Master Tanouye Tenshin.
Michael Kangen is the head priest of Chozen-ji Zen Temple. He has trained at Chozen-ji since 2003, receiving inka from Sayama Daian in 2019. Beyond Zazen, his Zen training has included Kendo, shakuhachi, Hitsuzendo and Hojo.
Introduction by:
Trevor Leggett is author of A First Zen Reader, Zen and the Ways and many other books on Zen, Taoism and Asian philosophy.