![[Review] The Art of Just Sitting (John Daido Loori) Summarized](https://episodes.castos.com/660078c6833215-59505987/images/2372568/c1a-085k3-pkw57220ippk-nqwaio.jpg)
Show Notes
The Art of Just Sitting (John Daido Loori)
- Amazon USA Store: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003XF1LJI?tag=9natree-20
- Amazon Worldwide Store: https://global.buys.trade/The-Art-of-Just-Sitting-John-Daido-Loori.html
- Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/us/audiobook/the-last-romeo/id1439883781?itsct=books_box_link&itscg=30200&ls=1&at=1001l3bAw&ct=9natree
- eBay: https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=The+Art+of+Just+Sitting+John+Daido+Loori+&mkcid=1&mkrid=711-53200-19255-0&siteid=0&campid=5339060787&customid=9natree&toolid=10001&mkevt=1
- Read more: https://english.9natree.com/read/B003XF1LJI/
#shikantaza #Zenmeditation #justsitting #SotoZen #zazen #TheArtofJustSitting
These are takeaways from this book.
Firstly, What Shikantaza Means and Why Zen Values It, A central theme of the book is defining shikantaza in a way that avoids both mystification and oversimplification. Just sitting does not mean spacing out, nor is it a concentration drill designed to produce a predictable result. The writings typically frame shikantaza as a complete practice in which sitting itself embodies realization, not as a preliminary stage to something else. This perspective challenges a goal driven mindset, where meditation is treated like self improvement or stress management. Instead, shikantaza emphasizes intimate presence with whatever arises, without adding commentary, grasping, or resistance. The book explores how this relates to core Zen teachings such as nonduality and emptiness, but it keeps returning to the immediacy of practice on the cushion. Readers learn that the simplicity is deceptive: the moment you try to hold onto a pure state, you have already left just sitting. By focusing on the why behind the method, the collection helps practitioners understand shikantaza as a disciplined form of openness, where the ordinary mind is not an obstacle to overcome but the very field of awakening.
Secondly, Posture, Breath, and the Physicality of Practice, Another important topic is the role of the body in Zen meditation. The collection presents posture not as a rigid aesthetic but as a functional expression of stability and wakefulness. Proper alignment, an upright spine, grounded hips, and relaxed openness in the chest are commonly treated as supports for a mind that is both alert and at ease. The book’s approach helps readers appreciate that shikantaza is not purely mental; the body is where the practice becomes concrete. Breath is often discussed in a similarly non manipulative way. Rather than controlling respiration to induce calm, the emphasis is on allowing breath to settle naturally and using it as an anchor when attention becomes scattered. Over time, posture and breathing become less like techniques and more like mirrors, revealing agitation, dullness, striving, or avoidance. By repeatedly returning to the simplicity of sitting, practitioners learn how to meet discomfort, sleepiness, and restlessness without dramatizing them. The topic also addresses consistency: the body learns through repetition. This makes the practice accessible to daily life, where each sit becomes a training in returning, again and again, to what is already present.
Thirdly, Working with Thoughts Without Fighting Them, The book gives significant attention to a common misunderstanding: that meditation means eliminating thoughts. In shikantaza, thoughts are not treated as enemies, but neither are they indulged. The writings generally encourage a middle way of letting thoughts arise and pass without being carried off by them. This requires a subtle balance. If you suppress thinking, you create tension and a covert project of control. If you follow thoughts, you reinforce habit patterns and lose the immediacy of experience. Just sitting points to a third option: recognizing thought as thought, hearing it, feeling its pull, and allowing it to dissolve in the wider field of awareness. This topic also explores how identity is constructed through mental narratives. When practitioners stop automatically believing every story, the sense of a fixed self can soften, and the ordinary moment becomes less filtered. Importantly, the book tends to normalize the ongoing presence of thinking. Progress is not measured by blankness but by honesty, stability, and a growing capacity to remain present without needing experience to match a preferred outcome. This reframing helps readers practice with patience rather than frustration.
Fourthly, The Trap of Seeking and the Practice of Non Attainment, A recurring Zen theme addressed in the collection is the problem of seeking. Many people come to meditation hoping to gain peace, clarity, insight, or spiritual achievement. While these motivations are understandable, shikantaza challenges the assumption that awakening is something acquired. The writings emphasize non attainment, meaning practice is not a transaction where effort purchases a particular state. This does not imply passivity or lack of discipline. Instead, it points to a kind of effort without grasping, where one sits wholeheartedly while letting go of the internal scorekeeping that asks, Is this working. The book explores how striving can subtly distort meditation, turning it into another performance of the self. It also addresses the disappointment that follows when experience does not match expectations. Shikantaza asks practitioners to meet that disappointment directly, without using spirituality to escape ordinary human vulnerability. In that sense, non attainment becomes psychologically and ethically transformative. By relinquishing the chase for special experiences, readers can discover a quieter confidence that is not dependent on mood or circumstance. The practice becomes a way of inhabiting life more fully, not a way of climbing out of it.
Lastly, Integrating Just Sitting into Everyday Life and Relationship, The collection does not treat meditation as something confined to a cushion. Another major topic is how the attitude of just sitting extends into daily activity, work, and relationship. When sitting practice emphasizes open awareness and non grasping, it naturally highlights how frequently the mind tightens around preference, judgment, and self protection in ordinary situations. The writings often suggest that zazen reveals patterns that play out everywhere: impatience, defensiveness, compulsive planning, and the need to be right. Integration means using the stability trained in sitting to pause and respond rather than react. This can show up as listening more carefully, tolerating ambiguity, and meeting conflict without immediately escalating it through stories. The topic also includes the role of community and guidance. In many Zen traditions, the container of sangha and the presence of a teacher support long term practice, helping practitioners recognize blind spots and maintain sincerity. By emphasizing integration, the book frames shikantaza as a complete path, not a wellness hack. The benefit is not limited to moments of calm; it is the gradual development of a life that is less driven by compulsions and more aligned with clarity, compassion, and direct presence.
- Amazon USA Store: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003XF1LJI?tag=9natree-20
- Amazon Worldwide Store: https://global.buys.trade/The-Art-of-Just-Sitting-John-Daido-Loori.html
- Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/us/audiobook/the-last-romeo/id1439883781?itsct=books_box_link&itscg=30200&ls=1&at=1001l3bAw&ct=9natree
- eBay: https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=The+Art+of+Just+Sitting+John+Daido+Loori+&mkcid=1&mkrid=711-53200-19255-0&siteid=0&campid=5339060787&customid=9natree&toolid=10001&mkevt=1
- Read more: https://english.9natree.com/read/B003XF1LJI/
#shikantaza #Zenmeditation #justsitting #SotoZen #zazen #TheArtofJustSitting
These are takeaways from this book.
Firstly, What Shikantaza Means and Why Zen Values It, A central theme of the book is defining shikantaza in a way that avoids both mystification and oversimplification. Just sitting does not mean spacing out, nor is it a concentration drill designed to produce a predictable result. The writings typically frame shikantaza as a complete practice in which sitting itself embodies realization, not as a preliminary stage to something else. This perspective challenges a goal driven mindset, where meditation is treated like self improvement or stress management. Instead, shikantaza emphasizes intimate presence with whatever arises, without adding commentary, grasping, or resistance. The book explores how this relates to core Zen teachings such as nonduality and emptiness, but it keeps returning to the immediacy of practice on the cushion. Readers learn that the simplicity is deceptive: the moment you try to hold onto a pure state, you have already left just sitting. By focusing on the why behind the method, the collection helps practitioners understand shikantaza as a disciplined form of openness, where the ordinary mind is not an obstacle to overcome but the very field of awakening.
Secondly, Posture, Breath, and the Physicality of Practice, Another important topic is the role of the body in Zen meditation. The collection presents posture not as a rigid aesthetic but as a functional expression of stability and wakefulness. Proper alignment, an upright spine, grounded hips, and relaxed openness in the chest are commonly treated as supports for a mind that is both alert and at ease. The book’s approach helps readers appreciate that shikantaza is not purely mental; the body is where the practice becomes concrete. Breath is often discussed in a similarly non manipulative way. Rather than controlling respiration to induce calm, the emphasis is on allowing breath to settle naturally and using it as an anchor when attention becomes scattered. Over time, posture and breathing become less like techniques and more like mirrors, revealing agitation, dullness, striving, or avoidance. By repeatedly returning to the simplicity of sitting, practitioners learn how to meet discomfort, sleepiness, and restlessness without dramatizing them. The topic also addresses consistency: the body learns through repetition. This makes the practice accessible to daily life, where each sit becomes a training in returning, again and again, to what is already present.
Thirdly, Working with Thoughts Without Fighting Them, The book gives significant attention to a common misunderstanding: that meditation means eliminating thoughts. In shikantaza, thoughts are not treated as enemies, but neither are they indulged. The writings generally encourage a middle way of letting thoughts arise and pass without being carried off by them. This requires a subtle balance. If you suppress thinking, you create tension and a covert project of control. If you follow thoughts, you reinforce habit patterns and lose the immediacy of experience. Just sitting points to a third option: recognizing thought as thought, hearing it, feeling its pull, and allowing it to dissolve in the wider field of awareness. This topic also explores how identity is constructed through mental narratives. When practitioners stop automatically believing every story, the sense of a fixed self can soften, and the ordinary moment becomes less filtered. Importantly, the book tends to normalize the ongoing presence of thinking. Progress is not measured by blankness but by honesty, stability, and a growing capacity to remain present without needing experience to match a preferred outcome. This reframing helps readers practice with patience rather than frustration.
Fourthly, The Trap of Seeking and the Practice of Non Attainment, A recurring Zen theme addressed in the collection is the problem of seeking. Many people come to meditation hoping to gain peace, clarity, insight, or spiritual achievement. While these motivations are understandable, shikantaza challenges the assumption that awakening is something acquired. The writings emphasize non attainment, meaning practice is not a transaction where effort purchases a particular state. This does not imply passivity or lack of discipline. Instead, it points to a kind of effort without grasping, where one sits wholeheartedly while letting go of the internal scorekeeping that asks, Is this working. The book explores how striving can subtly distort meditation, turning it into another performance of the self. It also addresses the disappointment that follows when experience does not match expectations. Shikantaza asks practitioners to meet that disappointment directly, without using spirituality to escape ordinary human vulnerability. In that sense, non attainment becomes psychologically and ethically transformative. By relinquishing the chase for special experiences, readers can discover a quieter confidence that is not dependent on mood or circumstance. The practice becomes a way of inhabiting life more fully, not a way of climbing out of it.
Lastly, Integrating Just Sitting into Everyday Life and Relationship, The collection does not treat meditation as something confined to a cushion. Another major topic is how the attitude of just sitting extends into daily activity, work, and relationship. When sitting practice emphasizes open awareness and non grasping, it naturally highlights how frequently the mind tightens around preference, judgment, and self protection in ordinary situations. The writings often suggest that zazen reveals patterns that play out everywhere: impatience, defensiveness, compulsive planning, and the need to be right. Integration means using the stability trained in sitting to pause and respond rather than react. This can show up as listening more carefully, tolerating ambiguity, and meeting conflict without immediately escalating it through stories. The topic also includes the role of community and guidance. In many Zen traditions, the container of sangha and the presence of a teacher support long term practice, helping practitioners recognize blind spots and maintain sincerity. By emphasizing integration, the book frames shikantaza as a complete path, not a wellness hack. The benefit is not limited to moments of calm; it is the gradual development of a life that is less driven by compulsions and more aligned with clarity, compassion, and direct presence.
