‘This is an interesting subject. Just sitting. Shikantaza. Are they the same? Interestingly, a scholar assures me that Dogen does use the word Shikantaza within his writings. I am yet to come across it. Conversely, he regularly refers to established Koans and speaks in the tongue of Koans. He does make reference to an attitude of just sitting on multiple of occasions then, in the next breath, will come out with a Koan - like question to his students. As Jundo says, he speaks from out both sides of his mouth. I have no doubt that he constantly prods his students trying to instigate a break-through. He does this harshly at times. This is far more apparent in the Eihei Koroku than in the Shobogenzo. I personally value the Eihei Koroku more highly than the latter, as it brings me face-to-face with Dogen’s teaching in the Zendo. This brings me to pro-active vs. passive methods.
As I see it, Koan and breath practice are pro-active. When we realise that we are diverted into thinking we drop it and go back to the focus. Just sitting, when we take the term literally, is passive. As I interpret this it means letting everything come and go in its own time. Noticing a thought, dropping it and returning to, I have no idea what, is not passive i.e. not just sitting. It is proactive. But, according to some interpretations it can be Shikantaza.
The problem we have is that Shikantaza is not defined with any degree of consensus. It is commonly referred to as ‘following the moment’. I interpret this as (kind of) listen, feel, absorb. When in an everyday mind-state I find this requires a pro-active effort. When I find myself thinking I have to consciously come back to the moment. Staying in the moment for any length of time is difficult and takes effort. The simplest form of this is ‘just listen’ – a highly regarded method in some Yoga schools. Even ‘just listen’ is not easy to maintain when in an everyday mind-state. How does the passive ‘just sit’ (don’t try) fit in with all this?
‘Just sit’ comes in for a lot of historical and contemporary criticism. Hakuin ,and even Dogen at times, are scathing of students that sit like blobs in the knowledge that they are already Buddhas and enlightened. It is all very confusing. It is foolhardy to quote Dogen in support of a rigid theory on practice as anyone can immediately find a Dogen quote that contradicts it. So, is ‘just sitting’ a waste of time?
I feel that we cannot resolve any of these enigmas in an everyday mind-state using everyday logic. We need Zazen and the mind-states it develops. While just sitting is something we/I can do right from the beginning of a sit, Shikantaza is something that comes naturally as sitting progresses over minutes, hours, and months. We/I can follow the moment for extended periods of time without effort (no-thought). Furthermore, within just sitting is the potential for natural, personal koans to develop. We can be in a situation of koan practice without trying. Classic Koans like, ‘who am I” can arise naturally. We/I can also slip into following the breath for extended periods of time without effort. A personalised kind of practice develops as of its own accord. This is the power of Zazen.
I mentioned in an above post my personal method of embracing/immersing into emotions that arrive. Often these were everyday koan-like problems. This came about through practicing alone quite intensively far away from any group or teacher. My method was just sit. Zazen was utterly dependable in quietening the mind over time, on every sit. Just sit gave me the freedom to immerse in anything that came along. I was simply being with the emotion.
But then, one of those really gut-wrenching problems came along, of the type that we cannot let go of for days. It was a horrible feeling. All I could do was keep sitting with this feeling. The end result of this gave me a new appreciation of the just sit method. Koan practice confronts the mind with an ever-increasing impenetrable wall that can - or may - in one moment in time come crashing down. Life, combined with regular just sitting can do the same.
I have no idea if these experiences could apply to anyone else.
Sharing – not lecturing
Sorry that this is a long post
m
sat -2-day
As I see it, Koan and breath practice are pro-active. When we realise that we are diverted into thinking we drop it and go back to the focus. Just sitting, when we take the term literally, is passive. As I interpret this it means letting everything come and go in its own time. Noticing a thought, dropping it and returning to, I have no idea what, is not passive i.e. not just sitting. It is proactive. But, according to some interpretations it can be Shikantaza.
The problem we have is that Shikantaza is not defined with any degree of consensus. It is commonly referred to as ‘following the moment’. I interpret this as (kind of) listen, feel, absorb. When in an everyday mind-state I find this requires a pro-active effort. When I find myself thinking I have to consciously come back to the moment. Staying in the moment for any length of time is difficult and takes effort. The simplest form of this is ‘just listen’ – a highly regarded method in some Yoga schools. Even ‘just listen’ is not easy to maintain when in an everyday mind-state. How does the passive ‘just sit’ (don’t try) fit in with all this?
‘Just sit’ comes in for a lot of historical and contemporary criticism. Hakuin ,and even Dogen at times, are scathing of students that sit like blobs in the knowledge that they are already Buddhas and enlightened. It is all very confusing. It is foolhardy to quote Dogen in support of a rigid theory on practice as anyone can immediately find a Dogen quote that contradicts it. So, is ‘just sitting’ a waste of time?
I feel that we cannot resolve any of these enigmas in an everyday mind-state using everyday logic. We need Zazen and the mind-states it develops. While just sitting is something we/I can do right from the beginning of a sit, Shikantaza is something that comes naturally as sitting progresses over minutes, hours, and months. We/I can follow the moment for extended periods of time without effort (no-thought). Furthermore, within just sitting is the potential for natural, personal koans to develop. We can be in a situation of koan practice without trying. Classic Koans like, ‘who am I” can arise naturally. We/I can also slip into following the breath for extended periods of time without effort. A personalised kind of practice develops as of its own accord. This is the power of Zazen.
I mentioned in an above post my personal method of embracing/immersing into emotions that arrive. Often these were everyday koan-like problems. This came about through practicing alone quite intensively far away from any group or teacher. My method was just sit. Zazen was utterly dependable in quietening the mind over time, on every sit. Just sit gave me the freedom to immerse in anything that came along. I was simply being with the emotion.
But then, one of those really gut-wrenching problems came along, of the type that we cannot let go of for days. It was a horrible feeling. All I could do was keep sitting with this feeling. The end result of this gave me a new appreciation of the just sit method. Koan practice confronts the mind with an ever-increasing impenetrable wall that can - or may - in one moment in time come crashing down. Life, combined with regular just sitting can do the same.
I have no idea if these experiences could apply to anyone else.
Sharing – not lecturing
Sorry that this is a long post
m
sat -2-day
Thanks!
Comment