Zen Breath Counting Meditation

On the subject of Zen Breath Counting Meditation:

"Following the breath while counting (breath-counting) is simply counting 1 to 10, which can be exhalations (most typically), inhalations, or even both (1 on inhalation, 2 on exhalation, 3 on inhalation, etc.). The idea is to keep returning to 1, and notice where you mind was. If you get to where you can't remember whether it was 5 or 6, return to 1. If you get to 35 or 47 (the mind having gone off on its own parallel track)—return to 1. Again, that noticing is the point of perfect awareness."

—Genko Rainwater

This quote is taken from an interview with Genko Rainwater at MeditationHow.info.


This six part meditation testimonial and interview features Genko Rainwater who speaks on Shikantaza Meditation, Breath Counting Practice in Meditation, Following the Breath, Kindness and Compassion, Meditation Teachers, and Zen Buddhist Meditation Experiences.

Christian turned Zen Buddhist (Christianity, Buddhism)

Christianity, Buddhism

"Sometime in 2007, it fully dawned on me that I did not, and indeed, could not believe some of the things that, more or less, one is required to believe to call oneself a Christian, and that no amount of deciding or effort was going to change that. Additionally, I realized that I actually never had. One of the ideas that my mind would not sit still for was an externalized, interventionist God. I simply didn't buy it.

Now that was troublesome, having been raised a Christian, and it took some time to actually admit what I had already realized because of fear of damnation inculcated since childhood in the church. Once that admission was made, though, I let go of Christianity. I decided that I wanted a spiritual life that would work for me, not the other way around, and for the first time felt free to look outside the faith I was brought up in."

—Will Collum

This quote is taken from an interview with Will Collum at MeditationHow.info.


This four part meditation testimonial and interview features Will Collum of Columbia, South Carolina, who shares his experiences shifting from Christianity to Zen Buddhism, cultivating Inner Awarness, Zazen Shikantaza (Sitting Meditation), and his process of Letting Go.