Clothes for Zazen

[Onkai]

I also like Johnny Cash Black! I seem to remember when this subject came up in the past, that someone suggested medical scrubs, which also come in JCBlack, and are suitably loose, plain and very economical.

https://www.amazon.com/Sivvan-Unisex-Classic-Drawstring-Available/dp/B01E9G9NY4/ref=sr_1_28?crid=24ZLHBXDQF2N&dchild=1&keywords=black+medical+scrubs+for+women&qid=1599776703&sprefix=black+medical+scru%2Caps%2C581&sr=8-28

Amazon also has samue for around $60, full disclosure though, the mens largest size only just fit me!
Gassho
Meitou
sattoday lah

Thank you, Meitou, for the information and link. I'm going to try both the Samue (for winter) and the scrubs (for warmer weather). They look like what I was hoping for. Thank you all for your ideas. I'm looking forward to more comfortable zazen.

Gassho,
Onkai
Sat/lah

[Jundo]

Amazon also has samue for around $60, full disclosure though, the mens largest size only just fit me!

Just a footnote that, in Japan, "Samue" with pants bottom are not typically clothes for sitting Zazen, especially for priests, although I have seen times when some lay people might. They are work clothes for, for example, cleaning the temple (the name means "clothes for work/samu"). I sometimes where a kind of Samue for our Treeleaf Zazenkai, but I am definitely being a bit Western. It is maybe more common to see Japanese lay people, men and women, sitting in a kind of "Hakama" which is more of a long, divided skirt-like lower half, a little different from what is worn for Aikido but similar.

[


The Zazen robes for lay folks can be quite skirt-like too ...



Gassho, J

STLah

[Naiko]

Thank you for asking this question, Onkai, and thank you to all for your helpful suggestions. As the weather grows cooler I too will need comfortable long pants. Does anyone know if there are sewing patterns available for samue? Would this do for the top? https://www.folkwear.com/products/ja...30918199050306
Gassho,
Krista
st/lah
Sorry for running long.

[Onkai]

Just a footnote that, in Japan, "Samue" with pants bottom are not typically clothes for sitting Zazen, especially for priests, although I have seen times when some lay people might. They are work clothes for, for example, cleaning the temple (the name means "clothes for work/samu"). I sometimes where a kind of Samue for our Treeleaf Zazenkai, but I am definitely being a bit Western. It is maybe more common to see Japanese lay people, men and women, sitting in a kind of "Hakama" which is more of a long, divided skirt-like lower half, a little different from what is worn for Aikido but similar.

[


The Zazen robes for lay folks can be quite skirt-like too ...



Gassho, J

STLah

Thank you, Jundo. Some teachers at The Village Zendo in New York City wore clothes like yours and I thought maybe they were only for sensei's and roshi's wear. Those skirted robes look complicated.

Gassho,
Onkai
Sat/lah

[A.J.]

A lot of folks have said it already but I prefer to keep it simple with sweats or shorts. Other than looseness no need for anything special.

Gassho,

Andrew,

Satlah

[Amelia]

I have often sat in jeans, but this is not recommended! Not bad for seiza on the fly, though.

Gassho
Sat today, lah

[Kyoshin]

I actually wear my work slacks. Normal pants such as jeans and chinos with a little bit of stretch material (97% cotton and 3% spandex, for example) are becoming increasingly popular and easy to find in many clothing stores. I can sit very comfortably in them, even when I'm in full "professional" dress to go to work.

Gassho
Kyōshin
Satlah

Sent from my moto g(7) power using Tapatalk

[Seishin]

Gassho, J

STLah

Thank you Jundo for bringing back some wonderful memories. I could have done with that How To Wear set of diagrams 25 years ago. My beloved Hakama is the one piece of my MA clothing I kept. As a traditional Karate Association we were expected to wear the Hakama for Iaijutsu, Iaido and Kobujutsu and I recall it was an art dropping into sieza to bow, numerous times during a training session. The sitting was the easy part, getting back up into Musubidachi needed a health and safety warning And wearing one for Iaido produced some comical moments but we fortunately used bokken for training.

sat/lah

[Jundo]

Thank you Jundo for bringing back some wonderful memories. I could have done with that How To Wear set of diagrams 25 years ago. My beloved Hakama is the one piece of my MA clothing I kept. As a traditional Karate Association we were expected to wear the Hakama for Iaijutsu, Iaido and Kobujutsu and I recall it was an art dropping into sieza to bow, numerous times during a training session. The sitting was the easy part, getting back up into Musubidachi needed a health and safety warning And wearing one for Iaido produced some comical moments but we fortunately used bokken for training.

sat/lah

Another aspect of Hakama, as well as lay and priestly robes that people sometimes neglect (I must confess that I am sometimes a bit too "just hang it up" than I should be) is the time and procedure of folding, its own beautiful ritual ...

This is worth watching, as an area where "what is just Japanese culture" and "what is Zen culture" is hard to separate ...

https://youtu.be/7Yk1uqDV7So

Gassho, J

STLah

[Seishin]

Another aspect of Hakama, as well as lay and priestly robes that people sometimes neglect (I must confess that I am sometimes a bit too "just hang it up" than I should be) is the time and procedure of folding, its own beautiful ritual ...

This is worth watching, as an area where "what is just Japanese culture" and "what is Zen culture" is hard to separate ...

https://youtu.be/7Yk1uqDV7So

Gassho, J

STLah

Beautiful.

The first part was oh so familiar as we were taught to folder our Gi jackets exactly like that and something similar for the bottoms. However, I was never shown how to fold the Hakama and we were advised to use one of the trouser hangers with the two sprung grips. This puts me to shame, as my Hakama is hanging in the loft with some of my old bike leathers and waterproofs and bits of hiking gear that's not seen the light of day for a decade ! I must admit the black "outfit" you sometimes wear for Zazenkai always reminds me of my old Gis and I regret giving them up.

Thank you for sharing.

Sat/lah

[Koki]

I have a robe I wear. I also have a gi and a samue.
I use the robes for more formal sitting, the samue for everyday, and the gi in the dojo.

��
Koki
Satoday

[Meitou]

Another aspect of Hakama, as well as lay and priestly robes that people sometimes neglect (I must confess that I am sometimes a bit too "just hang it up" than I should be) is the time and procedure of folding, its own beautiful ritual ...

This is worth watching, as an area where "what is just Japanese culture" and "what is Zen culture" is hard to separate ...

https://youtu.be/7Yk1uqDV7So

Gassho, J

STLah

Why is watching something like this so satisfying and fulfilling?!. It's a meditation in itself.
Gassho
Meitou
Sattoday lah

[Tai Shi]

I found dark brown peach skin lay robe Japanese Zen for less than $35 . I cannot sew looks good to me. Something I can think about.
Gassho
sat
Tai Shi

[Kendrick]

I typically sit in gym shorts or loose lounge pants. Sometimes I drape a meditation shawl around me as well.

Gassho
Kendrick
Sat

[Jundo]

If someone is going to acquire "Lay Robes," they are very similar to a priest's "Koromo" (the black, long sleeved robes worn under the Kesa).



Again, as far as I am concerned, there is -not- particular reason to wear such robes unless ... like an incense, a statue ... they help the heart somehow to recognize the sacred moment. However, if you are going to have such a robe, the art of folding the robe (just like folding the Hakama above) is itself "Zazen in motion," care and mindfulness, an excellent practice that I might recommend. A Soto priest (he is the "mystery priest" online, as he is always wearing a mask long before Covid to keep anonymous) demonstrates careful folding of the priest's Koromo, but basically the same (this is not black, but even priests in their temple have a little fashion and color sometimes ):

https://youtu.be/GHuptPpO6CQ

(Sorry, ran long like those sleeves!)

Gassho, J

STLah