I, too, enjoy japa. Your description of the following silence speaks to my heart. In my personal routine, I practice japa before zazen. I consider myself a "non-denominational buddhist." The Dalai Lama says the order of practice is morality, concentrated meditation and wisdom. He equates concentrated meditation to calm abiding (sounds a lot like zazen, eh?). Indeed, calm abiding or zazen is the desired state. I particularly like this passage from How to Practice:
"With a conscious mode of behavior, concentrated meditation, called calm abiding, can be accomplished. Still, your mind is too scattered for increasingly effective meditative practice which requires full concentration. Even a small noise here or there can immediately distract you... it is absolutely necessary to make the mind much more focused so wisdom can take hold..." He goes on to describe methods of meditation not typically found in Soto Zen, ending with "To be endowed with calm abiding, the mind must have the stability to hold fast to one object, but this alone is not sufficient. The mind must also be clear, but this, too, is not enough. Its clarity should be intense, alert, and sharp; the mind cannot be even a little dull."
I find japa and other forms of meditation prior to zazen extremely helpful sometimes. At work, my mind is constantly engaged. I am frequently staring at screens, answering difficult questions or leading education programs... It can be hard to relax. Of course, I can just sit, but on a rough day it takes a very long time before I feel the mental "give" as I slide into just sitting. Sometimes, my meditation timer goes off and I feel like I didn't even spend a whole minute just sitting! Japa meditation helps me reach that state in a fulfilling and satisfying way; zazen is then easier to access. I do practice zazen throughout my day, without japa, in small increments but I recite mantras at the beginning of a longer sit.
Thank you for sharing this wonder Tara mantra!
Deep Gassho,
Seizan
Sattoday
"With a conscious mode of behavior, concentrated meditation, called calm abiding, can be accomplished. Still, your mind is too scattered for increasingly effective meditative practice which requires full concentration. Even a small noise here or there can immediately distract you... it is absolutely necessary to make the mind much more focused so wisdom can take hold..." He goes on to describe methods of meditation not typically found in Soto Zen, ending with "To be endowed with calm abiding, the mind must have the stability to hold fast to one object, but this alone is not sufficient. The mind must also be clear, but this, too, is not enough. Its clarity should be intense, alert, and sharp; the mind cannot be even a little dull."
I find japa and other forms of meditation prior to zazen extremely helpful sometimes. At work, my mind is constantly engaged. I am frequently staring at screens, answering difficult questions or leading education programs... It can be hard to relax. Of course, I can just sit, but on a rough day it takes a very long time before I feel the mental "give" as I slide into just sitting. Sometimes, my meditation timer goes off and I feel like I didn't even spend a whole minute just sitting! Japa meditation helps me reach that state in a fulfilling and satisfying way; zazen is then easier to access. I do practice zazen throughout my day, without japa, in small increments but I recite mantras at the beginning of a longer sit.
Thank you for sharing this wonder Tara mantra!
Deep Gassho,
Seizan
Sattoday
. 
(i.e., when at retreats) but felt my integration of zen with all other things I learned was good enough. Many years ago I read alot about buddhism, listened to others alot, and then fell into a routine of listening some (mainly Jundo now) and focussing on sitting. Your words have made me rethink where I should venture. Thank you, I like rethinking things, takes me out of a groove into the "great wide open." Hey, a New Year's Resolution.
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