by Sally Baggett, MFA Fiction Student and Writing Center Tutor

As part of the September Fall for the Book Festival, the University Writing Center hosted Don Gallehr’s Meditation and Writing workshop, which Don generously offered on two different days. A good thing, too, as 15 people attended each session.

A member of the English department, Don is a veteran writing teacher and long time director of the Northern Virginia Writing Project. For years, he has used mediation in the classroom to help students become more thoughtful writers, drawing from an ancient meditative problem-posing and problem-solving technique to help students relax and free their writing.

In the workshops, he led participants through a koan puzzle and also demonstrated other meditation techniques that can be helpful in clearing the mind for writing. He began the workshop with a “worry sheet” exercise.

Worry Sheets

Have students jot down the things they are worried about using a webbing or mapping technique by drawing a circle on a piece of paper and connecting each worry to the middle of the circle. This is a private writing, one they do not share with the teacher or with other members of the class.

Then let students sit for five minutes and watch their thoughts, identify each one, and let them go. Students notice that their minds relax, and they feel calm and focused and are ready to begin writing.

Koans

In Rinzai Zen, masters used the koan as a meditation device. The literal meaning of “koan” is the public record of the puzzling questions and sayings Zen masters used to bring about enlightenment. One of the most popular of these is “What is the sound of one hand clapping?” It is only through the “process” of meditating and clearing the mind that a Zen master can arrive at the correct answer and correct state of mind to solve the puzzle of the koan.

In the case of “one hand clapping” the rational answer is, of course, that “there is no sound.” The meditative answer is a state of being in which the discursive mind has stopped and the meditator just “is.”

Although koans cover a range of sayings, specific koans as part of the writing process may be something like, “What does this piece of writing want to become?” It is the illogical nature of the question that forces the writer to shift from discursive analytical thinking to a more holistic approach.

How to Use Koans:

1. Begin by quieting the mind. Try to sit without thinking. If thoughts arise, let them go in order to quiet the mind.


2. Focus your attention on the koan. Repeat it several times, allowing the mind to come to rest on it. If your mind wanders off, bring it back by repeating the koan. Make friends with doubt. Let doubt grow until it seems like it will overpower you. It won’t, of course, but you may fear that it will.


3. After focusing your attention on the koan, simply stop trying to do anything. Be receptive to whatever comes into your awareness, regardless of whether it seems relevant or not. Don’t try to change anything or judge anything.Simply notice whatever you are aware of. Don’t be afraid of being wrong or making a mistake.


4. Once you solve the koan, note the physical sense of certainty, as well as the feelings, sensations, and thought that accompany your answer.

Don has written about his years of study and use of koans in the article, “What Is the Sound of No Hand Writing? The Use of Secularized Zen Koans in the Teaching of Writing,” which appeared in Spiritual Empowerment and Pedagogy.