Zen has the same implication in Tibetan, Chinese and Japanese that 'Dhyana' has in the Yoga dictionary of India.
This method was followed by the Zen monks to meditate.
It is a simple way of evacuating your mind from inside and sit in a still posture on a round cushion.
Emptying the brain of all kinds of thought is a tough task to accomplish which is almost impossible for a layman.
But with a little practice you can perform Zen Meditation.
What is Zen meditation? Zen Meditation requires functioning of the right brain in order to remove the cobweb of thoughts.
To know the reason we need to know the physiology of brain first.
We know that brain has two hemispheres, right and left.
Left brain looks after the thought processes associated with logic, mathematics or science.
While right brain takes care of feelings, emotions, music, art etc.
Right brain can feel and create but can not think.
So, in Zen meditation, right brain is worked upon to empty it of thoughts.
In this type of meditation, sit in a lotus position so that your body weight is evenly distributed on three points: both your knees that should touch the base along with your buttocks.
With spine straight and hands on laps, lift left hand palm slowly and stare at it.
Don't let any thought cross your mind.
Gradually, you'll feel that your mind is blank, and though your eyes are fixed on left palm you cannot think of anything.
Now your right brain has started functioning and you will become conscious of the left side of your body.
Inhale and exhale deeply for ten counts and then restore the breathing in normal pace for half an hour.
Do this for the first week.
In second week, repeat the same procedure but count only the inhalations.
In third week, don't count but feel the breathing.
In fourth week, don't count, just sit straight and still and feel the emptiness.
This is Zen meditation- taming your mind.
Emptiness of mind There are certain differences which make Zen unique and stand apart from other techniques.
Zen emphasizes on emptiness of mind whereas Vipassana stresses on conversion of negative energy to positive through meditating.
Contrary to the popular notion of Yoga meditation, Zen is performed with half eyes closed.
The former type regards outer world as 'Maya' or illusion but Zen aims at bridging the gap between inside and outside world.
Binaural Beats Binaural beats are also a fantastic way to mediate quickly and easily with little learning on your part.