Shikantaza.

Quoting 'The Three Pillars of Zen' by Roshi Philip Kapleau.

Shikan means: 'nothing but' or 'just', while ta means: 'to hit' and za: 'to sit'. So shikantaza is a practice in which the mind is intensely involved in just sitting. In this type of zazen it is all too easy for the mind, which is not supported by such aids as counting the breath or by a koan, to become distracted.

The correct temper of mind therefore becomes doubly important.

In shikan-taza the mind must be unhurried yet at the same time firmly planted or massively composed, like Mount Fuji let us say. But it must also be alert, stretchedlike a taut bowstring.

So shikan-taza is a heightened state of concentrated awareness wherein one is neither tense nor hurried, and certainly never slack. It is the mind of somebody facing death.

Let us imagine that you are engaged in a duel of swordsmanship of the kind that used to take place in ancient Japan. As you face your opponent you are unceasingly watchful, set, ready. Were you to relax your vigilance even momentarily, you would be cut instantly. A crowd gathers to see the fight. Since you are not blind you see them from the corner of your eye, and since you are not deaf you hear them. But not for an instant is your mind captured by these impressions.

This state cannot be maintained for long - in fact, you ought not to do shikan-taza for more than half an hour at a sitting. After thirty minutes get up and walk around in kinhin and then resume your sitting. If you are truly doing shikan-taza, in half an hour you will be sweating, even in winter in an unheated room, because of the heat generated by this intense concentration. When you sit for too long your mind loses its vigor, your body tires, and your efforts are less rewarding than if you had restricted your sitting to thirty-minute periods.

Compared with an unskilled swordsman a master uses his sword effortlessly. But this was not always the case, for there was a time when he had to strain himself to the utmost, owing to his imperfect technique, to preserve his life. It is no different with shikan-taza. In the beginnin tension is unavoidable, but with experience this tense zazen ripens into relaxed yet fully attentive sitting. And just as a master swordsman in an emergency unsheathes his sword effortlessly and attacks single-mindedly, just so the shikan-taza adept sits without strain, alert and mindful. But do not for one minute imagine that such sitting can be achieved without long and dedicated practice.


Shikantaza on Wikipedia.

The term shikantaza is attributed to Dōgen's teacher Tiantong Rujing (1162-1228), and it literally means, 'nothing but (shikan) precisely (da) sitting (za).'

In other words, Dōgen means, 'doing only zazen whole-heartedly' or 'single-minded sitting.'

Source: Shikantaza on Wikipedia.


Martial Arts & other Practices.

I've practiced Karate Kyokushinkai for about 4 years. Before and after a lesson, we were to sit in zazen position for a short while. At this short time we could meditate for a while, count breaths, calm down etc. It could be shikantaza or other form of meditation. In shikantaza one does not count or imagine breaths, it's just sitting, nothing more. Other forms of meditation use different means.

We could use mantra: 'HUNG' as a Kiai, as a battle shout. This mantra transforms anger into fearlessness, and we could 'let out' our angers and frustrations while transforming these into something beneficial that way.

I've read a book about Qi Gong, energy practices of the Shaolin. I imagined energies flowing through my body as I've trained. I felt like I could direct these energies to some degree, by the means of imagination.

... also, our Teacher made us perform a practice borrowed from Yoga - a practice of drawing energy from the universe.

At some point this resulted in feeling of energy being generated from effort and tiredness (perhaps it was more than just energy of a body's heat), energy that i could 'direct' to where it was needed the most at the moment... and this resulted in more intense and longer training, in better shape and combat efficiency.