Pitfalls of Shikantaza practice

[vanbui]

Hello to all my sangha friends, I hope your practice is going well. I have a question on how do we avoid turning Shikantaza into an exercise of mere quietism and stress release? I believe this is a major criticism of silent illumination from the Rinzai sect. Whereas I am not a fan of koans as I believe it can be goal-orientated and must require regular dokusan with a teacher to test understanding. I think in the book "Circle of the Way" from Barabra O'Brien, she mentions after trying formal koan contemplation she realised that dokusan is the real point of the whole exercise. Maybe it's a question we can ask her directly tomorrow.

I have been practising for almost two years, and I have become very comfortable with sitting Shikantaza. Perhaps, this is what causing me some anxiety that my practice is turning into mere quietism. I actually enjoy the peace and silence of sitting, although I do understand from Jundo's teachings that is not the goal of practice. Perhaps it's a beneficial side effect of sitting in silence. However, how do we avoid turning our practice into mere quietism and stress release? I would be grateful for your wisdom and guidance.

Gassho
Van
Sat _/\_



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[Juki]

For me personally, I make sure to add rituals to every session. I walk slowly to my sitting area in shasho, I always bow to the statue of Buddha, then to my cushion, then to the room - even though nobody is there physically. I don't always recite the Heart Sutra, but most days I do. I always recite the robe verse, the verse of Atonement and the 4 vows. I think these actions allow me to keep zazen zazen, and not just an exercise in quietude. By coming to it wholeheartedly, you remind yourself of why you're there.

Gassho,
Juki

Sat today and lah

[Bokucho]

For me personally, I make sure to add rituals to every session. I walk slowly to my sitting area in shasho, I always bow to the statue of Buddha, then to my cushion, then to the room - even though nobody is there physically. I don't always recite the Heart Sutra, but most days I do. I always recite the robe verse, the verse of Atonement and the 4 vows. I think these actions allow me to keep zazen zazen, and not just an exercise in quietude. By coming to it wholeheartedly, you remind yourself of why you're there.

Gassho,
Juki

Sat today and lah

I've found that a small ritual helps me as well, I do the incense offering and generally do the Heart Sutra, dedication, and end with the 4 vows and All Buddhas. Altars and statues and all that aren't necessary for the practice, but a little ritual keeps me in the mindset that I'm on a path with all other beings, and having a nice little separate space away from the world definitely helps with stress relief as well. Just one of the many shikantaza benefits! [emoji120][emoji120][emoji120]

Gassho,

Joshua
SatToday

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[Tairin]

I agree with what Juki and Joshua say about rituals helping. For me I think it is about the intention to sit Shikantaza rather than just sit quietly. For my daily Zazen I don’t include much in the way of reciting verses or incense or an altar but my ritual definitely involves my form while sitting. I am continually bringing myself back to my form and thus reminding myself of my intentions to sit. For me that helps formalize my daily Zazen.

I am not sure that’s clear but I hope it is.


Tairin
Sat today and lah

[Seikan]

I also agree with others that keeping some basic rituals (bowing, lighting a candle, even how I fluff my zafu, etc.) help to add structure to what is a relatively "structure-less" practice.

Also, having been raised Catholic (I no longer practice), I still have a strong appreciation for ritual.

Participation in the weekly Zazenkai and weeknight group practice sessions has also inspired me to add some basic chanting into my solo Zazen practice.

Ultimately, if your current practice is very calm and quiet, then just let it be such. Accepting the "scenery" of Zazen for what it is (calm, agitated, sleepy, boring, etc.) Is something I have had a difficult time with myself, but I'm slowly coming around.

Gassho,
Rob

SatToday


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[Onka]

It sounds like I'm missing out haha.
Shikantaza is never an exercise in stress relief or quieting for me.
For me Shikantaza hurts. A lot. So Shikantaza for me is purely about sitting with what is. Right there/here. Right then/now.
The only thing I get out of it is acceptance of each moment as it presents itself but that extends far beyond the zafu. It has to.
Gassho
Onka
Sat today

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[Jundo]

Hello to all my sangha friends, I hope your practice is going well. I have a question on how do we avoid turning Shikantaza into an exercise of mere quietism and stress release? I believe this is a major criticism of silent illumination from the Rinzai sect. Whereas I am not a fan of koans as I believe it can be goal-orientated and must require regular dokusan with a teacher to test understanding. I think in the book "Circle of the Way" from Barabra O'Brien, she mentions after trying formal koan contemplation she realised that dokusan is the real point of the whole exercise. Maybe it's a question we can ask her directly tomorrow.

I have been practising for almost two years, and I have become very comfortable with sitting Shikantaza. Perhaps, this is what causing me some anxiety that my practice is turning into mere quietism. I actually enjoy the peace and silence of sitting, although I do understand from Jundo's teachings that is not the goal of practice. Perhaps it's a beneficial side effect of sitting in silence. However, how do we avoid turning our practice into mere quietism and stress release? I would be grateful for your wisdom and guidance.

Gassho
Van
Sat _/\_

This is an excellent question. It is vital to sit with the subtle conviction deep in the bones that Zazen is the whole universe sitting, a jewel of sitting, a sacred ritual of sitting, the pinnacle and purpose of life attained simply in the simple act of sitting, all destinations reached just by sitting, all goals achieved by sitting, all Buddhas and Ancestors sitting as your body sitting, not one drop missing from sitting nor atom to add to this moment of sitting, no before or after sitting, with nothing more required than crossing the legs and sitting upright here and now, letting thoughts go and in equanimity. Yes, that's a lot to say and keep in mind, so no need to say or keep it all in mind , and enough to have an unspoken trust deep within. It is so on those days when our sitting is peaceful and quiet, but also on those days in which life might be storming and the world on fire.

Why?

Because human beings live our days feeling that the world is broken into pieces, fractured, to be measured by our wants, consisting of wins and losses and in betweens, the only jewels in life but those which are signs of financial gain, the pinnacle never reached as we wander birth to grave through endless hills and dark valleys, always somewhere else to be and more work to do, ever something to add and much to take away, caught in memories, regrets or longing for yesterday, entranced by dreams or fears for tomorrow, convinced that we are rarely good enough, that life consists of those things and times we want and those we do not, the peace we want hidden in a world smashed into sharp pieces, with the equanimity, wisdom and compassion of a Buddha rarely sensed. We are driven by excess desires, anger, jealousy and other "me vs. you, me/not me" thinking in the mental divisions of ignorance.

The Buddha, after years of searching, saw the simplicity of the morning star shining just to shine, and realized the natural wholeness and completion of it all. There are no separate pieces, all flows into all else flowing, every instant is all instants, and all the instants are fully held inside each one instant.

In fact, it is not just sitting Zazen, for all things, people, places and seconds, from sunrise to sunrise, is and are the whole universe, a jewel with scars and all, a sacred doing just for its doing, a pinnacle unto itself, its own destination reached, its own goal achieved of being what it is itself, not one drop to add or take away from just what this is, no before or after its flash of existence, nothing more needed. Yes, that includes the things we love and the things we don't, the things we want and those we run from, the good times and bad, the beautiful and ugly to our eyes, the places of life and the places of death, war and peace ... if we can come to know something so whole and unbroken that it shines right through all small human judgments of love and loss, want and rejection, good and bad, even birth and death, sickness and health, violent human acts of war and temporary lulls of peace. It is a Light and Beauty which shines through all worldly light and dark, beauty vs. ugliness, a sacred that is both golden temples and the most ordinary rusty tin can. We sit for a moment simply to realize that it is not just about the moment of sitting, but about EVERYTHING and ALL MOMENTS.

Then, getting up from the cushion, we might return to a life and world where, this time, there are still places to go yet also no place but here, things to do but nothing more in need of doing, wins and losses while not one drop lacking or possible to lose, suffering sentient beings yet no suffering nor separate beings, the ticking clock of past and future timeless, wars to end in a cosmos beyond conflict, diseases to cure though no sickness, death to mourn and babies to bounce yet so much more than birth and death. Like that. There is so much work which we have yet to do to fix this often unjust world of poverty, hungry children, loneliness and burning fires ... and yet it still shines right through all this even as we set to work. Likewise in our own lives where we must continue to strive to improve, be better people, avoid the choices of excess desire, anger, violence and division ... yet there is nothing ever lacking, even our flaws just the priceless jewel. Striving yet not striving as one, at once. This is Master Dogen's vision of Practice-Enlightenment in each act, word and thought of each moment.

So, no, Shikantaza Zazen is not quietism.

Gassho, J

SatTodayLAH

[Jundo]

PS - And what about Koan work and Dokusan? Can it truly help one realize more? What more is there to realize than the completion and wholeness that is this?

I am sure that it can be well done by some. Yet, I have seen Koan shenanigans more times become a silly dance of mannerism and psycho-babble, people talking in mysterious ways that they think is Zen talk, making strange motions with teachers who fake it as they go along, acting in stylized ways as they assume Zen adepts must act, pulling wisdom out of their nose, leaving people more confused and more deluded. Frankly, the Koans are teachings with real meaning, not some mysterious target to pull apart and turn into a bone to chew on.

We will be looking at some Koans for the next few weeks in our study of the Book of Serenity. I will post a link here, and you can see how Soto folks usual approach the Koans.

[Meitou]

I had never come across the word quietism before, it's an interesting concept. Here's one of the dictionary definitions that I found ..

Noun : quietism
1.
(in the Christian faith) devotional contemplation and abandonment of the will as a form of religious mysticism.
2.
calm acceptance of things as they are without attempts to resist or change them.
"political quietism"

There is also a whole slew of definitions within the Catholic church philosophy.
I'd be interested to know what the posters here understand by the term as I also saw it described as 'calm OR passivity', ( Mirriam Webster) , which I found odd as I personally believe those two words don't mean the same thing.

Thank you
Gassho
Meitou sattoday lah

[Jundo]

We took a Koan today, and you can see how generally Soto folks take Koans as real teaching stories. There is a logic too them, although "Zen logic," which is not always the same as our ordinary logic (for example, in today's Koan, the "flawless" answer is one that leaps through small human measures of "flawed vs. flawless.") ...

BOOK OF EQUANIMITY - Case 86

https://www.treeleaf.org/forums/showthread.php?17892-BOOK-OF-EQUANIMITY-Case-86

Gassho, J

STLah

[vanbui]

Thank you everyone for their word of wisdom.
Juki and Joshua - I will endeavour to add ritual to my daily zazen. At the moment I'm doing a bit of metta after my zazen, but perhaps reciting the heart sutra and the verse of atonement will help with my practice.

Tairin - My intention is always to sit Shikantaza, and when I get lost in thoughts, I always return to the open spacious awareness as instructed by Jundo, and thus my intention to sit zazen. I think there is always an inherent risk when practising Shikantaza that we turn this into an exercise of quietude. The longer I sit, the more apparent this risk appears to me. I think Jundo's explanation of deep trust in the completeness of zazen is absolutely essential to avoid turning Shikantaza into an exercise of mere quietism. However, cultivating this deep trust is another matter.

Thank you Jundo for your insightful answer to my question. Although, to be honest, it will take me a couple of readings before it slowly seeps through my thick skull. Naturally, how do you cultivate deep trust? I believe you have mentioned this in one of your previous teachings, and I did try to sit as you have taught, but my discriminating mind and thoughts always make me doubt or forget the completeness of zazen. Perhaps I need to sit longer.

I find studying Koans very hard but productive. There is so much wisdom in the Koans. I will join you in studying the Book of Equanimity.

Gassho,
Van
satlah _/\_


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[Jinyo]

I had never come across the word quietism before, it's an interesting concept. Here's one of the dictionary definitions that I found ..

Noun : quietism
1.
(in the Christian faith) devotional contemplation and abandonment of the will as a form of religious mysticism.
2.
calm acceptance of things as they are without attempts to resist or change them.
"political quietism"

There is also a whole slew of definitions within the Catholic church philosophy.
I'd be interested to know what the posters here understand by the term as I also saw it described as 'calm OR passivity', ( Mirriam Webster) , which I found odd as I personally believe those two words don't mean the same thing.

Thank you
Gassho
Meitou sattoday lah

Hi Meitou - I think the term 'quietism' tends to be used in a specifically derogatory way re meditation - not so much in regards to actual sitting but the follow on effect of kind
of zoning out - 'nothing in need of fixing' attitude in a skewed way. I can see the danger of it and possibly relates to connecting problem of spiritual by-passing?

Hi Van - in regard to the above you don't mention that your peaceful sits are having the above effect in the external world. If that's not the case I think it's fine if your meditation is
peaceful just now. A lot depends on what life is throwing at us - so we just sit with what is and that can vary at lot!

I do think an at home liturgy can be helpful at times - I normally begin with some chants I find grounding and as an a reminder that we sit to 'save all sentient beings' and are not
just practicing relaxation. But sometimes I need to challenge myself to simply sit because observing how racing my mind can be is important.

Gassho

Jinyo

sat today

[vanbui]

Hi Jinyo,

Hi Van - in regard to the above you don't mention that your peaceful sits are having the above effect in the external world. If that's not the case I think it's fine if your meditation is

peaceful just now. A lot depends on what life is throwing at us - so we just sit with what is and that can vary a lot!

That's a very interesting perspective. I honestly feel there has been no major difference, although I often feel like life is too short to obsess about trivial things. My wife has mentioned I'm calmer than before, so I suppose zazen has had an effect on my temperament. We certainly bicker less often than before :-)).

Gassho
Van
Satlah


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[Kokuu]

I had never come across the word quietism before, it's an interesting concept. Here's one of the dictionary definitions that I found ..

Noun : quietism
1.
(in the Christian faith) devotional contemplation and abandonment of the will as a form of religious mysticism.
2.
calm acceptance of things as they are without attempts to resist or change them.
"political quietism"

There is also a whole slew of definitions within the Catholic church philosophy.
I'd be interested to know what the posters here understand by the term as I also saw it described as 'calm OR passivity', ( Mirriam Webster) , which I found odd as I personally believe those two words don't mean the same thing.

Meitou,

The notion of quietism stems from the Chinese Linji (Rinzai) monk Dahui Zonggao (1089–1163) who cast this criticism at the Caodong (Sōtō) method of Silent Illumination developed by Hongzhi:

The term silent illumination was first used in Chinese Chan (Korean, Sŏn; Japanese, Zen) circles in the first half of the twelfth century, probably introduced by the great Chan master of the Caodong tradition, Hongzhi Zhengjue (1091–1157). However, the term was made infamous by Hongzhi's contemporary Dahui Zonggao (1089–1163) of the Linji Chan tradition, who vehemently attacked what he called the "heretical silent illumination Chan" of his day as a quietistic form of meditation, lacking in wisdom and enlightenment.

https://www.encyclopedia.com/religio...umination-chan

It has lingered ever since but, to my mind, it is based on a total misunderstanding of the Sōtō way and is suggesting that people sitting shikantaza are merely sitting quietly rather than any kind of practice.

Morgen Schlütter goes into detail about it in his book How Zen Became Zen.


Gassho
Kokuu
-sattoday/lah-

[Tairin]

Tairin - My intention is always to sit Shikantaza, and when I get lost in thoughts, I always return to the open spacious awareness as instructed by Jundo, and thus my intention to sit zazen. I think there is always an inherent risk when practising Shikantaza that we turn this into an exercise of quietude. The longer I sit, the more apparent this risk appears to me. I think Jundo's explanation of deep trust in the completeness of zazen is absolutely essential to avoid turning Shikantaza into an exercise of mere quietism. However, cultivating this deep trust is another matter.

I think I don’t really understand the distinction you are making. The definitions that Meitou posted of quietism don’t feel like a trap I would be at risk of falling into while sitting Shikantaza. Perhaps I am fortunate (or deluded).

I pulled this from the link Kokuu posted with my bold added. Is this the quietism we are talking about?

However, in this poem and elsewhere, Hongzhi stresses that although there is no need to strive for an enlightenment experience, the meditator must not fall into a murky and unthinking state of mind; transcendent wisdom will naturally manifest itself only in an alert mind.

I would very much recommend joining us in the study of the koans from the Book of Equinimity. I’ve don’t some small amount of Koan study in more a Rinzai tradition but this study here in not like that.


Tairin
Sat today and lah