Shikantaza


Shikantaza is a Japanese translation of a Chinese term for zazen introduced by Rujing, a monk of the Caodong school of Zen Buddhism, to refer to a practice called "Silent Illumination", or "Serene Reflection", by previous Caodong masters. In Japan, it is associated with the Soto school. Unlike many other forms of meditation, shikantaza does not require focused attention on a specific object ; instead, practitioners "just sit" in a state of conscious awareness.

Etymology

The term shikantaza is attributed to Dōgen's teacher Tiantong Rujing, and it literally means, "nothing but sitting." In other words, Dōgen means, "doing only zazen whole-heartedly" or "single-minded sitting."
Shikantaza is the Sino-Japanese reading of the Chinese words zhǐguǎn 只管 "by all means; merely, simply; only concerned with" and dǎzuò 打坐 " sit in meditation". The Digital Dictionary of Buddhism translates shikan or zhǐguǎn 只管 as "to focus exclusively on", taza or dǎzuò 打坐 as "to squat, sit down cross-legged", which corresponds with Sanskrit utkuṭuka-stha, and translates shikan taza from zhǐguǎn dǎzuò 只管打坐 as "meditation of just sitting", explained as the "Zen form of meditation chiefly associated with the Sōtō school, which places emphasis on emptying the mind, in contrast to the kōan method".
James Ishmael Ford says some authors hypothetically trace the root of shikantaza "just sitting" to vipassana meditation, but "this is far from certain." Japanese has many homophones pronounced shikan, and this etymological mix-up about shikan 只管 "only; just" stems from a more commonly used word that translates the Sanskrit "śamatha and vipaśyanā," names for the two basic forms of Buddhist meditation: Japanese shikan 止観 "concentration and observation", from Chinese zhǐguān 止觀 " keep mental calm while observing the universe", which compounds shi or zhǐ 止 "stop; stabilize; śamatha" and kan or guān 觀 "observe; contemplate; vipaśyanā". An instance of the confusion of 止観 for 只管 is Steve Hagen's claim that "shi means tranquility , kan means awareness , ta means hitting exactly the right spot, and za means to sit."

Origins and development

Silent illumination

"Just sitting" is the term that Rujing used for "silent illumination" or "silent reflection" which may be understood as the integrated practice of shamatha and vipashyana, and was the hallmark of the Chinese Caodong school of Chan.
It is not merely just the union of calming and insight, which had already been developed within the Tiantai Buddhist tradition in medieval China. Rather, it is a description of the natural essence and function of the mind. In this sense, it can be traced back to the earliest Chan teachings of Bodhidharma.
The first Chan teacher to articulate silent illumination was the Caodong master Hongzhi Zhengjue, who wrote an inscription entitled "silent illumination meditation". According to Taigen Dan Leighton, this practice is a "nondual objectless meditation" which:
...involves withdrawal from exclusive focus on a particular sensory or mental object to allow intent apprehension of all phenomena as a unified totality. This objectless meditation aims at a radical, refined nondualism that does not grasp at any of the highly subtle distinctions to which our familiar mental workings are prone and which estranges us from our experience. Such subject-object dichotomization is understood as artificial, a fabrication.
Silent illumination is also objectless in the sense of not seeking after specific limited goals. The ultimate purpose of spiritual practice, universally awakened heart/mind, cannot be set apart from our own inherent being and our immediate, moment-to-moment awareness.

A. Charles Muller explains that this method, which involved seeking enlightened wisdom through complete stillness of the mind, became "the main practice of the Sōtō Zen school, where Dōgen characterized it by such terms of as 'just sitting' 只管打坐.".
Shikantaza's origins can also be traced back to silent illumination. However, some teachers see it as different from the teachings of Hongzhi Zhengjue in terms of practice and theory.

Dogen

In the thirteenth century, Dōgen Zenji who introduced the Soto School in Japan, used much of Hongzhi's writings on silent illumination to help shed light on what he termed "shikantaza". From then on the practice of shikantaza has been primarily associated with the Soto school. While silent illumination is in theory a "methodless method", it is important to realize that, the Dogen practice of shikantaza "took a somewhat different approach."
The Chinese Chán Master Shengyen has stated, that shikantaza is similar to silent illumination.

Modern interpretations

Master Shengyen explains the meaning of the term in this way:
According to Merv Fowler, shikantaza is described best as,
Shikantaza is often termed a goalless meditation in quiet awareness,

Practice

Soto

In his work Fukan zazengi, Dogen writes of,
Fred Reinhard Dallmayr writes,
According to Master Shengyen,

Sanbo Kyodan

The modern Japanese Zen master, Haku'un Ryōko Yasutani says:
In contrast to this opinion, some of the Zen masters in Loori's book The Art of Just Sitting deride Yasutani's description, giving their own version as the right or correct way to do shikantaza.
Concerning the Rinzai school, John Daido Loori writes,
Haku'un Yasutani agrees, stating,

Complementary practices

In Japan, vipassana and shamatha are sometimes used in addition to shikantaza as complementary practices.