Hara Meditation
What is Hara? Hara in the Zen tradition of meditation denotes the stomach, abdomen and solar plexus, the area of the body in which the system of nerves helps the body digest, absorb and eliminate. This area is where we typically experience “butterflies” in the stomach. Neuroscientists have pointed out that the system of neurotransmitters in this area is so extensive that they call it the “second brain”. Although we don’t use Hara to think, and we don’t generate thoughts like we do with our brain in our head, we get feelings and signals from our gut that help us make decisions and connect us to our feelings. These sensations are what we refer to when we speak of “having a gut feeling.”
Why is Hara important? Sogaku Harada Roshi, one of the most celebrated Zen masters in his day, would urge his students to focus their full attention in their Hara and would declare, “that the center of the universe is the pit of your belly!” Focus on the belly? Yes, because this allows you to integrate your mental awareness (thoughts) with bodily awareness (sensations), and enables you to use both brains. The gut rarely steers you wrong, therefore, someone functioning from the second brain is not easily disturbed. Hara keeps you from narrow thinking and only relying on your thoughts, and helps you see things from a broader perspective or from the whole. Why use one brain when you have two?
How to do Hara meditation:
- Close your eyes, allow the body to settle, and gently bring your attention to your breath. Take one big breath and then release. Notice how your body naturally relaxes on the exhalation; sink into that feeling of letting go.
- Now, bring all your attention and focus to the body’s center of gravity below the navel and try to relax any habitual tensions, hunching or even squeezing in of the stomach. Rest in that area (Hara) and notice what bodily sensations are there with a gentle and kind awareness. Don’t try to change anything, just simply notice with curiosity.
- Rest in Hara awareness and notice if the stream of thoughts in your head diminishes and whether the sensations in your body subside. Expand and stay with any sense of rootedness that arises when you learn to soothe the autonomic nervous system by relaxing and accepting what is arising without resistance.
- When you are ready, gently bring your awareness back to your breath and the sensation of breathing. Rest in breath until you are ready to open your eyes.
* Adapted from The Three Pillars of Zen; Teaching, Practice, Enlightenment by Philip Kapleau