No Lofty Objectives

The word “Zen” means meditation, and meditation is certainly the best-known Zen practice. But meditation is not mere spiritual contemplation. In the Soto Zen tradition that I follow, teachers continually stress the actual mechanics of sitting on the cushion. We are not given lofty objectives, mantras, or deep koans on which to meditate. Instead the instructor talks about the details of physical posture, the alignment of ears and shoulders, the correct position of hands and arms, the placement of hips and knees. The instruction is so physical, so specific, that one might well wonder when the “Zen” part begins. But this is the Zen part. To pay attention to the body in all its details, to be present with the body in its physical immediacy, — THIS is the practice, and the depth of the practice derives from it.

This emphasis on the physical as the fountainhead of the spiritual extends to all aspects of Soto Zen monastic life. “Careful attention to detail” is the motto of the school. As Zhaozhou instructed, the monks are to be careful of their bowls, their robes, their shoes. The temple work is considered not a necessary and unfortunate series of chores, but rather an opportunity to realize the deepest truths of the tradition. Zen monastics clean the temple inside and out daily, wet-wiping the wood of the pillars and floors, raking leaves, cutting wood, drawing water. None of the maintenance jobs differs in any way from sutra chanting, text contemplation, or meditation itself. All is physical; all is immediate; all is the stuff of enlightenment. Meaning comes not so much from what you understand as from the way you do whatever it is you are doing.

Norman Fischer
from When You Greet Me I Bow; Notes and Reflections from a Life in Zen