Page 6 - Walking Meditation
P. 6
Kinhin is the extension of the stillness of zazen into the action of walking. In
your mind, you should strive to eliminate any distinction between the two-
they are more alike than different.
There is a famous Zen saying, "Stillness in Action- Action in Stillness". We
have this calligraphy by the late Reverend Dr. Soyu Matsuoka-roshi of this
expression. It also connotes "Silence is Thunder- Mokurai." This is the more
essential meaning of walking meditation- it brings the strength of
meditation into the everyday act of walking.
It is also symbolic of the Buddha's walking round and round the bodhi-tree
following his Enlightenment. So it likewise represents your 'wandering
about in the world of enlightenment', in the words of Dogen-Zenji, the
founder of Soto Zen Buddhism, for the first time.
