“Well-Down” Private Zazen and Organic Tea Leaf Smoking Experience at a Japanese Meditation Room in Kyoto

Zazen: Sitting in Silence While Observing Yourself and the World

Meet Tosei Shinabe, your instructor for this experience. A Kyoto-based Zen monk who teaches zazen, Shinabe trained at the monastery of Kenninji, the oldest Zen temple in Kyoto, after which he taught zazen at Ryosokuin Temple, a sub-temple of Kenninji. Today, he is active both in Japan and abroad, teaching zazen while striving to promote it as a technique that anyone can practice anytime, anywhere.

Tosei Shinabe teaches zazen around the world

“Though zazen may seem to just involve sitting still, it doesn’t mean that you’re doing absolutely nothing," explains Shinabe. He says that zazen is all about observing two things: yourself and what’s going on around you. You will not be able to know and understand something without observing it. Thus, zazen is about observing to find the answers to the questions of “What am I?” and “What is the world?”

Observe yourself and the world as you ​​sit with Shinabe

Sit in silence, and carefully observe your thoughts and feelings, as well as the sounds and signals around you. In doing so, you may gain profound realizations from little things that you normally do not notice. Shinabe will accompany you throughout this zazen experience, so do not worry if you are new to zazen.

A Space to Face Your Inner Self in Seclusion from the World

This experience will be held in the meditation room of Ochill Kyoto in the Nishijin district. Running this space is Ochill, an art collective engaged in an array of experimental activities centered on redefining items for indulgence and rediscovering spiritual practices such as prayer — reconstructing and reinterpreting these as opportunities for self-discovery and spiritual awakening. With the belief that genuinely understanding yourself as you are is a way of being, Ochill created this space for visitors to encounter their inner selves. Thus, many come here seeking profound experiences that cannot be found anywhere else.

Go all the way past Ochill Kyoto’s long, narrow entrance to find its meditation room

Ochill Kyoto’s traditional building is built in a style known in Kyoto as “unagi no nedoko” (eel’s bed) for its long, narrow, and deep hallways. Passing through the noren curtains at the gate, you will feel as if you are stepping into another world that is isolated from the outside. At the end of the hallway on the first floor, you will find the meditation room: a dimly lit and quiet space with minimal light, wood, stone, and water. There is nothing extraneous here to distract you, so surrender yourself and face your inner self to the fullest.

Sharpen your senses in this simple, no-frills space

The waiting room on the second floor is strewn with vintage furniture and play equipment, giving it an old-school Japanese ambiance. Ochill founder Wataru Kiruta, an artist himself, says, "Touching old objects and feeling the accumulation of time can sometimes be an opportunity to engage with your own past and present. I hope that this space can also serve as a gateway for visitors to face themselves.”

Think Thoroughly Instead of Stopping All Thought

For optimal enjoyment of your experience, smartphones and other electronic devices are not allowed in the meditation room, and you must leave your belongings at the second-floor waiting room. Once you are ready to begin, Shinabe will ask whether you have tried zazen before and how you would like this experience to go. Whether you are a first-timer who wants to learn more about how to practice zazen, or if you would like to spend most of the experience actually practicing zazen, please do not hesitate to let Shinabe know. You can also spend more time talking to Shinabe to learn more about Zen Buddhism, if you like.

This is a precious opportunity to talk directly to a monk about Zen

What matters in zazen is creating a state of calm. If an object falls into rippling water, it may be difficult to notice the changes to the surface. However, if the water’s surface is still like a mirror, an object falling into it will create ripples, which will be easily noticeable, however small. The same is true for the human mind. Shinabe will introduce the basic posture to create a state of calm, but the first priority is to make sure your posture is comfortable and stable, and that you can breathe comfortably.

Maintain your stability more easily by kneeling in such a way that your buttocks and both knees are on the floor

When doing zazen, you do not need to force yourself to stop thinking. “If something is bothering you, don't push it aside or put a lid on it. Rather, center it and think about it thoroughly,” says Shinabe. By pondering something until you are at ease, you will enhance your understanding of it. If you keep asking questions about what you do not understand and think about it deeply, you will be able to understand it.

In this dimly lit space, focus your mind as you face yourself to the best of your abilities

The renowned Zen monks of ancient times were said to isolate themselves in caves or holes dug in rocky mountains to focus on their zazen meditation. These places were called “zazen-kutsu” (literally “zazen cave”). This silent, dimly lit meditation room at the far end of a building, away from the street, can be considered a modern-day zazen-kutsu as well. Here, where there is little to distract your eyes and ears, you can easily enter a calm state of concentration and sharpen your senses, thus deepening your understanding of yourself and the world.

Enter a Deeper State of Concentration with Zazen and Chako Combined

We recommend Ochill’s unique activity, chako, as an optional add-on to complement your zazen experience. Literally translating to “tea aroma,” this innovative and indulgent experience is basically tea hookah (shisha) — a cultural fusion and reconstruction of the tea ceremony and hookah (shisha) smoking. It involves heating tea leaves with charcoal, then drawing vapor through the mouth as your nose takes in the aroma of Japanese tea. Completely nicotine-free, chako only uses tea leaves, allowing you to fully enjoy the fragrance of tea.

An indulgent new experience using tools designed to match the atmosphere of a traditional tea room

Zazen and tea actually share a deep connection, as the two were introduced to Japan at the same time. When you drink tea then practice zazen, the caffeine from the tea can help you reach a deeper state of concentration. With this in mind, Ochill Kyoto offers an experimental experience combining zazen and aromatic tea smoke called “Sa-en Shizukanari,” which derives its name and takes inspiration from a Zen phrase describing smoke silently wafting from a boiling kettle at a tea ceremony.

Taking in the aroma of tea will elevate your concentration

If you wish to experience chako, first calm yourself with zazen, then try chako and resume practicing zazen. Inhaling the aroma of tea will awaken your mind, enabling you to practice zazen in a heightened state of consciousness — an exclusive, one-of-a-kind experience that you can only partake in here.

Take the First Step Toward Living Freely as Yourself

In these busy times, we rarely take a pause. Many of us find it difficult to even just stop our activities and do nothing. This shows just how much we, as humans, are prone to living our lives by unconsciously going with the flow. Consequently, Shinabe advises, “Try to pause for a while and do zazen. Just by doing so, you’ll be surprised at how much you’ll notice around you. Pause, observe, and make a choice that’s acceptable to you. I hope that you will use zazen as a technique toward this end.”

There are plenty of things that you can notice just by pausing

Naturally, a single zazen session alone will not drastically change your life. However, by learning zazen, you can practice it at your own pace and use it to deepen your understanding of things as necessary. Understanding, accepting, and living with conviction will pave the way for a more free and enjoyable life, so take that important first step by experiencing zazen at Ochill Kyoto, under Tosei Shinabe’s guidance.