"Do Nothing" Meditation

Hello dear friends.

I've been lurking here for some time, and being the slow learner that I am, I only recently got it that Zen does not advocate meditation...at all.

But I'm stubborn. And so I want to ask, what about "do nothing" meditation? The way of practice for this would be simply to just stop doing anything. Doesn't matter if you're sitting, standing, lying down, whatever. Just don't do anything. Don't stop thoughts, don't start thoughts. Don't stop emotions, don't try to feel emotions. Don't do anything and just see what happens.

There is of course still intent here - the intent to do nothing. But what happens is that you see stuff still happens its just not happening by you. If I'm being honest I still usually find I am doing this with a goal, as I still want something to happen. But as this is still obviously inside me there is nothing to do about it but see it.

Is this style of meditation also not advocated by Zen?

I also want to indulge by sharing something from my own journey - about a year ago my mom asked me if I would meditate with her. I had an emotional reaction to this, I really didn't want to meditate with her. And then I saw a vision of myself as a "meditator", sitting on a cushion in the classic posture, trying to "be" a meditator. And I was grossed out by it. And I largely lost the ability to be able to sit on a cushion and think of myself as a meditator. I was already practicing "do nothing" meditation when this happened, but ever since then I feel really stupid even sitting down, setting a timer, checking off meditation as a task completed, etc. I've been uncertain about this, at times judging myself for it.

Interested in your feedback and thoughts.

Submitted June 11, 2020 at 08:17AM by tired_so_tired https://ift.tt/3cYCOvL