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Walking meditation ( Chinese: 經行;
Pinyin Hanyu Pinyin, or simply pinyin, officially the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet, is the most common romanization system for Standard Chinese. ''Hanyu'' () literally means 'Han Chinese, Han language'—that is, the Chinese language—while ''pinyin' ...
: ''jīngxíng'';
Romaji The romanization of Japanese is the use of Latin script to write the Japanese language. This method of writing is sometimes referred to in Japanese as . Japanese is normally written in a combination of logogram, logographic characters borrowe ...
: ''kinhin'' or ''kyōgyō''; Korean: ''gyeonghyaeng''; Vietnamese: ''kinh hành'') is a
meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique to train attention and awareness and detach from reflexive, "discursive thinking", achieving a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state, while not judging the meditat ...
practice done while
walking Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined as an " inverted pendulum" gait in which the body vaults o ...
common in
Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
. It can be done as a standalone practice or as a break in between long periods of sitting meditation. In different forms, the practice is common in various traditions of both
Theravada ''Theravāda'' (; 'School of the Elders'; ) is Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school's adherents, termed ''Theravādins'' (anglicized from Pali ''theravādī''), have preserved their version of the Buddha's teaching or ''Dharma (Buddhi ...
and in
Mahayana Buddhism Mahāyāna ( ; , , ; ) is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices developed in ancient India ( onwards). It is considered one of the three main existing branches of Buddhism, the others being Thera ...
. The term ''kinhin'' consists of the Chinese words , meaning "to go through (like the thread in a loom)", with "
sutra ''Sutra'' ()Monier Williams, ''Sanskrit English Dictionary'', Oxford University Press, Entry fo''sutra'' page 1241 in Indian literary traditions refers to an aphorism or a collection of aphorisms in the form of a manual or, more broadly, a ...
" as a secondary meaning, and , meaning "walk". Taken literally, the phrase means "to walk straight back and forth."


Theravāda

In Theravāda Buddhism, walking meditation is frequently performed in conjunction with seated meditation. Walking meditation is particularly emphasized in forest monastic traditions and in vipassana traditions, where meditators alternate between sitting and walking to sustain mindfulness and balance energy levels. In Theravāda, walking meditation involves walking a straight path back and forth, often around 30 to 40 feet long. The meditator may walk slowly, placing attention on the sensations in the feet as they touch the ground. In the Vipassana movement traditions, the meditator silently notes the various walking sensations with phrases like "lifting", "moving", and "placing" (the foot). The goal is to develop sati (mindfulness) by staying present through the act of walking. This practice cultivates concentration and calms restlessness while training the mind to observe phenomena without attachment or aversion. In Vipassanā, or insight meditation, walking is used to deepen awareness of impermanence ( anicca), suffering ( dukkha), and non-self (
anattā In Buddhism, the term ''anattā'' () or ''anātman'' () is the doctrine of "no-self" – that no unchanging, permanent self or essence can be found in any phenomenon. While often interpreted as a doctrine denying the existence of a self, ''ana ...
). The sensations experienced while walking—such as the contact of the feet, the rise and fall of the body, or environmental sounds—are observed as fleeting and insubstantial. Walking meditation thus becomes a tool for observing the arising and passing of phenomena, leading to direct insight into the nature of reality.


Mahāyāna

East Asian Mahāyāna Buddhism integrates walking meditation with devotional and
samādhi Statue of a meditating Rishikesh.html" ;"title="Shiva, Rishikesh">Shiva, Rishikesh ''Samādhi'' (Pali and ), in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, is a state of meditative consciousness. In many Indian religious traditions, the cultivati ...
-oriented practices. Among its many forms, devotional
circumambulation Circumambulation (from Latin ''circum'' around and ''ambulātus ''to walk) is the act of moving around a sacred object or idol. Circumambulation of temples or deity images is an integral part of Hindu and Buddhist devotional practice (known in ...
and specific methods such as the Tiantai four samādhis, and the Pure Land practice of walking nianfo hold significant importance for specific traditions. In the Tiantai (Jp: Tendai) school, they follow the '' Móhē zhǐguān'' of patriarch Zhiyi as the main meditation guide. This tradition practices two kinds of walking meditations: "Constantly Walking Samādhi" (''chángxíng sānmèi'' 常行三昧) which consists of 90 days of mindful walking and meditating on Amitabha and "Half-Walking Half-Seated Samādhi" (''bànxíng bànzuò sānmèi'' 半行半坐三昧) which includes numerous practices like chanting, penance, prayer, reciting the Lotus sutra, etc.Fa Qin
The Śamatha and Vipaśyanā in Tian Tai
Poh Ming Tse Symposium 2013: One Master Three Meditative Traditions. Singapore, August 30, 2013; pp.30-47
In the Pure Land school, there is a common practice of circumambulating a Buddha statue of Amitabha and reciting his name during nianfo retreats. In
Zen Buddhism Zen (; from Chinese: '' Chán''; in Korean: ''Sŏn'', and Vietnamese: ''Thiền'') is a Mahayana Buddhist tradition that developed in China during the Tang dynasty by blending Indian Mahayana Buddhism, particularly Yogacara and Madhyamaka ph ...
, kinhin is often done in between stretches of sitting meditation ( zazen) as a break from prolonged sitting. The idea is to maintain the same meditative Zen mind throughout the walking period. Practitioners typically walk clockwise around the meditation hall or zendō while holding their hands in a gesture with one hand closed in a fist while the other hand grasps or covers the fist (;
rōmaji The romanization of Japanese is the use of Latin script to write the Japanese language. This method of writing is sometimes referred to in Japanese as . Japanese is normally written in a combination of logogram, logographic characters borrowe ...
: ''shashu''). During walking meditation each step is taken after each full breath. The pace of walking meditation can be either slow (several steady steps per each breath) or brisk, almost to the point of jogging.


See also

*
Ānāpānasati (Pali; Sanskrit: '), meaning "Sati (Buddhism), mindfulness of breathing" ( means mindfulness; refers to inhalation and exhalation), is the act of paying attention to the breath. It is the quintessential form of Buddhist meditation, attribute ...
*
Anussati (Pāli; ; ; ) means "recollection," "contemplation," "remembrance," "meditation", and " mindfulness". It refers to specific Buddhist meditational or devotional practices, such as recollecting the sublime qualities of the Buddha, which lead to ...
*
Buddhist meditation Buddhist meditation is the practice of meditation in Buddhism. The closest words for meditation in the classical languages of Buddhism are ''bhavana, bhāvanā'' ("mental development") and ''Dhyāna in Buddhism, jhāna/dhyāna'' (a state of me ...
*
Circumambulation Circumambulation (from Latin ''circum'' around and ''ambulātus ''to walk) is the act of moving around a sacred object or idol. Circumambulation of temples or deity images is an integral part of Hindu and Buddhist devotional practice (known in ...
* Jarāmaraṇa * Samatha * Shikantaza * Vipassanā


References


Sources

*Smith, L. (2023). 28 Meditation Statistics: How Many People Meditate? The Good Body. https://www.thegoodbody.com/meditation-statistics/ *Team, M. (2022). How Many People Meditate? Mindworks Meditation. https://mindworks.org/blog/how-many-people-meditate/ *Wise, J. (2023). Meditation Statistics 2023: Popularity, Industry & Market Size - EarthWeb. EarthWeb. https://earthweb.com/meditation-statistics/#:~:text=Meditation%20Statistics%202023-,Approximately%20200%20to%20500%20million%20people%20across%20the%20globe%20partake,reduce%20school%20suspensions%20by%2045%25.


Bibliography

* * * doi.org/10.1016/0022-3999(92)90072-A *Prakhinkit, Susaree "Effects of Buddhist Walking Meditation on glycemic control and vascular functions in patients with Type-2 Diabetes." ''Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine'' doi.org/10.1016/j.ctim.2016.03.009 *Prakhinkit, Susaree "Effects of Buddhism walking meditation on depression, functional fitness, and endothelium-dependent vasodilation in depressed elderly." ''Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine'', vol. 20, no. 5, 2014, doi.org/10.1089/acm.2013.0205 *Chatutain, Apsornsawan “Walking Meditation Promotes Ankle Proprioception and Balance Performance among Elderly Women.” doi.org/10.1016/j.jbmt.2018.09.152 *Smith, Alison. “Walking Meditation: Being Present and Being Pilgrim on the Camino De Santiago.” ''Religions'', vol. 9, no. 3, 2018, p. 82., doi:10.3390/rel9030082 {{Meditation, state=collapsed Zen Buddhist meditation Walking Zazen