At the heart of the Soto Zen practice of zazen, sitting meditation, is shikantaza – usually translated as, ‘just sitting.’ Shikan, is a Japanese word meaning, ‘nothing but,’ ta means ‘just’ and za means ‘sitting.’ Shikan also means ‘suchness’ or ‘as-it-is.’ This form of zazen, or zen meditation, is what I have done since 1965. When ‘just sitting’ we are no longer counting breaths or focusing on any object in particular. We are simply being here, being present, being aware – paying equal attention to the whole field of consciousness. Dogen describes it in this way: ‘resting in a state of brightly alert attention that is free of thoughts [meaning non-attached to thoughts], directed to no object, and attached to no particular content.’ (Scott 2021)
Zen teacher, Sekkei Harada, (1998: 45) refers to shikantaza as, ‘sitting in a single-minded way’ – that is, of one mind, unified, whole. Harada adds: shikantaza means ‘to sit in a dignified manner, without being moved by what is seen, heard, or thought.’ The mind isn’t jostled or disturbed by our experiences. When just sitting it is important not to dwell on thoughts, feelings or sensations. No need to add to, prolong or cling to thoughts, feelings, moods and perceptions – instead practice ‘non-dwelling mind.’ In this way thoughts, feelings and perceptions do not stick to us. Harada (1998: 100) also reminds us that the word, ‘shikan,’ is ‘suchness’ or ‘as-it-is.’ In other words, to sit in shikantaza, is to realise and manifest suchness or tathata.
When we have settled, and are fully present to our body, and our breathing is calm and relaxed, then we can just be aware, alert and clear-headed. In the Fukanzazengi, Dogen spends a lot of time writing about posture and breathing but very little time telling us what we should be doing mentally. All we have is the following enigmatic statement – a statement that many readers, and most translator’s struggle with – ‘neither think, nor not think.’ Some translate this as ‘non-thinking.’ It seems to me that Dogen is advising us to let any thoughts that arise to come and go as they will. Do not hang on to them or dwell on them. Treat emotions, itches and aches in a similar fashion. Just sit – neither shutting out thoughts nor encouraging them. We are not trying to eliminate, or repress, thoughts and feelings – nor are we encouraging them. If a thought arises, step back, take note of it, acknowledge it. It is just a thought. Do not interfere with it, or cling to it. No need to react or add comments or judgments – let it be, let it go. Do likewise with feelings and sensations and any other bodily or mental activity.
There is no need to chase thoughts or feelings or hopes or regrets or memories or plans. As we sit, we are neither doing this, nor that; neither thinking this, nor that. Thoughts, feelings and perceptions become like clouds moving across the sky – brief, ever-changing, without fixed substance or identity, always merging and becoming something new. In zazen we experience the ungraspable, indefinable, empty nature of just being here, being present. No picking or choosing – no naming or categorising. No extras. No clutter. Simply be here.
The influential Chan teacher, Sheng Yen (1931-2009), urged his students ‘to sit and let go of everything without allowing the mind to ‘abide’ anywhere, whether it be in sight, sound, smell, taste, touch or thought.’ (Yen 2008: xx) This is what is called in Japanese, mushin – ‘non-dwelling mind.’ Stepping back and letting go is a vital part of effective zazen. It is as if we are unburdening ourselves of all that is unnecessary to simply being here – this is the radical simplicity of shikantaza.
To practice shikantaza is to be aware of the activity of the mind, without getting caught up in the activity and being carried along by it – not being pulled this way and that by the seductive power of thinking, sensing, feeling. Instead of dwelling on particular thoughts and feelings, and identifying with them, we can shift our attention to the mind as a whole and identify with this boundless liberating creative space – what Bodhidharma referred to as ‘beholding the mind.’ (Pine 1989: 77) There is a big difference between identifying a thought or feeling and identifying with a thought or feeling – the former is liberating, the latter is confining.
So, shikantaza is the activity of just being here, being awake, being aware – stepping back and letting go of everything else: thoughts, feelings, sensations, opinions, beliefs, ideas, labels, desires and even intentions to attain enlightenment or become a ‘better’ person. It is about ‘unlearning’ rather than learning. This is what Sheng Yen calls the ‘method of no-method.’
Remember we are not trying to gain anything and we’re not trying to achieve some transcendent, other-worldly state of mind. Indeed, we aren’t ‘trying’ to do anything – other than to sit and be aware. When just-being-here we realise the indefinable, nameless self – what the Zen teacher, Bankei, calls ‘the unborn.’ Also, it may be that this is what the thirteenth-century Christian mystic, Meister Eckhart, (c.1260-1328) refers to as ‘the ground of being.’ To me, to practice shikantaza is to experience, the river of being, flowing in, and through, all beings. In this way, to just sit, to just be here – is to experience with great clarity the miracle of life and consciousness in all its richness and vitality. It is a transformative experience of unity, interrelationship, insight and transience.
NB Meister Eckhart speaks of God as ‘the fullness of existence and full existence [plenitudo esse et plenum esse]’ and ‘nothing else but pure existence [nihil aliud nisi purum esse].’ (Griffioen 2023) Perhaps, expressed in Christian terms, Eckhart is reminding us that experiencing the sheer fact of existence – being here – is to experience the divine. In this sense the radical simplicity of shikantaza can be considered as the most sacred and profound of experiences.
NB. Gary Snyder and others have argued that shikantaza is an ethically neutral practice. This is also how it appears to me. Keep in mind that some Zen monks in the Second World War were trained to fight for the Nationalist cause in Japan – some were recruited as kamikaze pilots – wholly focused on killing themselves and anyone in their target zone. To be a force for good, it can be argued, shikantaza needs to be practiced within the framework of, or underpinned by, a mindful ethics of kindness, non-violence, tolerance and respect.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Griffioen, Amber L. 2023. Meister Eckhart. Online at: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/meister-eckhart/ – accessed 21 April 2024.
Harada, Sekkei. 1998. The Essence of Zen: Dharma Talks Given in Europe and America. Tokyo: Kodansha International.
Loori, John Daido. 2002. The Art of Just Sitting: Essential Writings on the Zen practice of Shikantaza. Boston: Wisdom.
Red Pine, trans. The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma. 1989. New York: North Point Press.
Scott, David Keizan. 2021. Shikantaza. Stonewater Zen website. Online at: https://www.stonewaterzen.org/shikantaza/ – accessed 19 April 2024.
Suzuki, Shunryu. 1970. Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind. New York: Weatherhill.
Yen, Sheng. 2008. The Method of No-Method: The Chan Practice of Silent Illumination. Boston: Shambhala.