Monja Coen at CasaFolha: meditating is exercising neurons – 10/01/2024 – Power
Anyone who goes to a gym knows: you can choose which part of your body will be developed during training. Those who practice meditation do something similar with the mind: “It’s as if you were exercising your neurons, because you choose the neural connections you want to make”, says Monk Coen Roshi.
“Do I want to develop anger, revenge, fights, war? Or do I want to develop peace, harmony, respect for life in its plurality? These are choices that we make”, says the nun. “And that’s what neuron bodybuilding is. I choose what I want to develop in myself.”
Official missionary of the Soto Shu Zen Buddhist tradition, based in Japan, Monja Coen leads the course “The Power of Meditation”, on CasaFolha, a streaming platform with exclusive classes recently launched by the newspaper.
All videos are now available to subscribers at casafolhasp.com.br. The initiative started with ten complete courses from prominent personalities in different areas, and new content will be included every month.
Through “masterclasses”, renowned professionals share their knowledge, share experiences and explain the paths they took to achieve success.
In her classes, Monk Coen recalls her monastic training, discusses the history and principles of Buddhism, teaches techniques for meditation and explores the benefits of zazen — the practice of sitting meditation.
According to her, among the major changes brought about by meditation are increased perception and improved concentration.
“It’s an unfocused focus. It’s a wide angle, which takes in everything that’s happening,” she says. “Everything is part of it: the sound, the smell, the people who may pass by. Nothing hinders the meditative process if you are able to penetrate the essence of your being.”
Founder of the Zendo Brasil community, Monja Coen has more than 300 disciples and has published more than 30 books, including “Aprenda a Viver O Agora” and “O Sufrimento É Opcional”.
She states that, to achieve these benefits of meditation, it is necessary to exercise correct posture and conscious breathing — processes that she teaches at CasaFolha and which can result in a greater ability to deal with thoughts.
But be careful: dealing with thoughts does not mean controlling them, as the nun emphasizes in her course.
“People think they have to control their mind. But it’s not controlling. Do you know what we can do? Choose what we think and what we don’t think”, he says.
Thus, she says, it is possible to choose positive thoughts and leave negative thoughts aside, as well as favoring one memory or feeling over others. “We choose which seeds we want to water.”
As a consequence, it becomes easier to develop empathy with people, have compassion, understand others in a personal relationship or even make decisions in the workplace. All because, she says, the mind gains clarity and balance.
“It’s fascinating to know your own mind and understand how it works. For what? For you to use it in the best way. For it to be your partner, not your enemy”, says the nun.
Although she teaches a technique associated with Buddhism, she argues that no one needs to change their own spiritual orientation to practice meditation, nor even to initiate themselves into aspects of the Eastern tradition (she trained in Japan and stayed there for 12 years before returning to Brazil). .
“It’s interesting to get to know the culture of other countries. I really like it. But it’s also interesting that you get to know your culture. And [saber] how do you apply this [a meditação] in your daily life.” For example, she says, if in Japan and China they serve tea at the altars, here in Brazil you can very well offer a cup of coffee.
The nun defends, on the other hand, that the principles of Buddhism are known: do not do evil, do good, do good to all beings. A proposal that she recognizes is difficult, as it involves doing good not only for herself or her friends, but for everything that exists.
That’s why, paraphrasing Paulo Freire, she maintains: “Meditation changes people, and people change the world.”
“When I’m talking about Zen Buddhism, I’m talking about a great social, political and economic revolution and transformation.”
Another principle she teaches in the course is the law of causality, whereby things are always the cause and effect of each other, in a great tangle.
“It’s as if it were a web of luminous threads, where at each intersection there is a jewel, which expands light in all directions. This is what the interpretation of Buddhist cosmology would be.”
How to subscribe to CasaFolha
To subscribe to the platform, simply go to casafolhasp.com.br/assine. The subscription, with a 67% discount at launch, costs R$ 19.90 per month in the annual plan (R$ 59.90 without the promotion) and includes unlimited access to all the news from Sheet on the website and in the app.
Anyone who is already a subscriber to the newspaper can upgrade under special conditions to have all CasaFolha content available. Just access casafolhasp.com.br/upgrade.
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Monja Coen is an official missionary of the Soto Shu Zen Buddhist tradition, based in Japan. Founder of the Zendo Brasil community, she has more than 300 disciples and has published more than 30 books, including “Aprenda a Viver O Agora” and “O Sofrimento É Opcional “
=> Course – The power of meditation
Monja Coen Roshi teaches zazen techniques, the practice of sitting meditation. She also talks about the principles of Zen Buddhism and gives tips on how to deal with suffering, improve decision-making and learn to live in the now.
Vera Iaconelli She is a psychoanalyst and holds a PhD in Psychology from USP. Director of the Gerar Institute of Psychoanalysis, she wrote the books “Raising Children in the 21st Century” and “Manifesto Antimaternalista”. He is a columnist for Sheet
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