Kinhin

Kinhin (経行; Japanese: kinhin or kyōgyō, Chinese: jingxing), in Zen Buddhism, is the walking meditation that is practiced between long periods of the sitting meditation known as zazen.
Practitioners walk clockwise around a room while holding their hands in shashu (one hand closed in a fist, while the other hand grasps or covers the fist). During walking meditation each step is taken after each full breath. The beginning of kinhin is announced by ringing the bell twice (kinhinsho). The end of kinhin is announced by ringing the bell once (chukaisho).
In Chinese Zen, walking meditation is done with a wooden fish whose rhythm one's footsteps follows. Each strike of the wooden fish is a step.
Kinhin (経行) is formed from the character 経 (meaning classical works, or religious teachings) and 行 (meaning "walk"). Therefore, 経行 if taken literally meanings "religious teachings walk" or better translated would be meditative walk, or walking meditation. It is erroneously translated by some westerners as "to go straight".
==See also==
* Zen
* Zazen
* Shikantaza
Category:Buddhist terms
Category:Zen terms
Category:Buddhist meditation
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