shikantaza, "just sitting", is the zen practice of sitting-meditation when done only for its own sake. "just sitting" with no purpose other than sitting, with no other ulterior motives attached to the deed itself. it is the same concept in jewish religion known as "l'shma". l'shma means the performance of the religious commandments only for their own sake, without regard or conscious consideration to any other divine providence that might accrue to the fulfillment of the sacramental duties. by performing a task in a disinterested fashion, with no other mental content attached to it other than the performance of the deed itself, one is able to reach ever higher levels of meditative mindfulness, and mindfulness, it is argued, is key to inner peace. as such, any action performed "just for its own sake" is recognized to be of great spiritual value and benefit to the practitioner. and therein lies the paradox. if indeed it is of great value and benefit to the practitioner to practice for its own sake, then it is no longer the case that the deed is done "just for" the sake of the deed itself.
In our conscious experience of attempting an act unfortunately for its own sake, and not for the benefits that will accrue to us, unfortunately 'Thous' are always destined to become 'its.'
ReplyDelete"Just sitting" is a practice not a philosophical mental exercise. To say, "it is the same concept in jewish religion known as "l'shma"." is fairly bold unless one has deeply practiced both. At the mental level zen and most mindful practices are at the apparent level filled with paradoxes.
ReplyDeletemental exercises (mental activities in general) are not separate from practice. there is no duality mind-body. in practice one uses the contents of one's mind. before starting a practice, practitioners are aware of its philosophical meaning and purpose and on that basis they chose it. the creator of the practice arrived at it through his/her own reflective experiences. and even the concept of "no-purpose" is a philosophical concept. indeed one cannot speak "of" practice unless one is in it, but we can speak "about" it to some extent. the rational paradoxes in the concept of practice does not diminish its inherent intuitive value, quite the contrary.
ReplyDeletethous do always become its, therefore we need to remain conscious of the effort to approximate thou in quotidian life to the utmost we are able to.
ReplyDelete