At Kourinin, a temple in Shibuya, zazen sessions are held at 7:00 a.m. on weekdays. Zazen is a Buddhist practice where you sit up straight and focus on your mind to face yourself. Many office workers come to the temple to calm their minds before going to work. Many foreigners also participate.
The tense atmosphere lasts for about an hour, with not a single sound except the chirping of birds. Absolutely, the smartphone does not ring.
The temple master thinks that the participants try to balance the amount of time they spend using digital devices every day with taking time to not use them. A participating office worker said, “I need time to distance myself from my phone and other digital devices because when I have my phone, I end up touching it even if I don’t want to look something up, and time passes by.”
Introduction of how to do zazen and 25 minutes of zazen practice by a monk from Kourin Temple
