Here and now, the spirit of concentration of meditation is maintained in all activities that totally involve body and mind.
Zen practitioners must perform simple daily tasks, such as preparing food, washing dishes, cleaning, or perhaps more captivating tasks, such as building something that will remain in the temple, for example. This is called samu
(pronounced samoo
), a Japanese zen word used by Master Deshimaru, meaning an activity done with energy, concentration, and spirit of giving in the practice of zen.
We practice samu at the dojo, during sesshins and the summer camp or during samu sessions at the temple (the brave ones!).
Samu is very important in zen, Master Kosen speaks of it like this:
Samu is the understanding and experience of matter as spirit. What is the point of living in this material world if we do not realize our thought through matter? Work, in this spirit, truly becomes a panacea for consciousness and is the basis of spiritual powers. All the great masters practiced it assiduously. This is why the majority of zen stories take place in vegetable gardens, on construction sites, or in temple kitchens.
Master Kosen
In ancient India and China, traditionally, temple monks did not work, but lived by begging. It was during the Chinese era of zen, then called chan
, around the year 800, that samu took place. It broadened the practice of zen and made the temples more autonomous.
A day without work is a day without eating.
Hyakujo
Zen is therefore not a practice cut off from daily life. Samu is the continuity of zen meditation (zazen) in the acts of everyday life: we no longer separate the meditation dojo from daily life. Well, we try!
Doing samu means being attentive to every gesture, without thinking of the past or the future, giving one’s time to ensure the proper functioning of the temples and dojos of the community. Without intention or secret motivation: