Question
Hello, I read the FAQ answer about mushotoku, but I am not entirely satisfied. I read an article by Leo Babauta on ZenHabits.net: http://zenhabits.net/achieving/. It discusses accomplishing things without setting goals, simply doing them because we enjoy doing them. For me, it sheds a great deal of light on the spirit of mushotoku. But I am not sure I understand correctly, since it challenges so many assumptions about how we should lead our lives.
If the universe is naturally expanding, and we are part of the universe, then we too participate in that dynamic. If we have no goals but are present to ourselves and what we love, isn't it possible to live entirely without goals, trusting the universe completely to have us do what we need to do? Is living without goals really impossible? Thank you for your teaching. Adrien Binh Doan
Nuria Hurtado
Answer from Master Kosen
What is essential to understand is that mushotoku is an outcome inseparable from zazen's posture and mental attitude.
The posture—the position of the body and especially the head, and therefore the brain—makes it impossible, once we enter the samadhi of zazen, to pursue a conscious idea or fixate on a personal goal. The concrete result of this practice is to disconnect us from the world of desire for the duration of practice and allow us to discover universal consciousness.
This famous mushotoku has nothing to do with a moral or philosophical concept glorifying laziness. That said, it is undeniable that after many years of repeated zazen practice, we become much less greedy and selfish, and greater mental flexibility becomes natural.
Kosen