ABSTRACT
In a Zen temple compound, formal zazen is practiced in a building set aside for this purpose, called the zendo. However, it soon becomes apparent that there is another kind of 'sitting', which might be called informal zazen and awareness of this fact helps the student with his zazen. Informal zazen can be performed in any position and during many simple activities. Zazen gets more formal, so to speak, as the lotus position is approximated. The Japanese have a toy called Daruma. The name is the Japanese version of 'Bodhidharma', the name of the founder of Zen Buddhism in China. A Daruma is a small round doll with a weighted base. It is in effect a figure of Bodhidharma seated in meditation and it has within it a bell that sounds whenever the doll is moving about and not settled in the upright position.
