Letting go: the core practice of Chan

Chan Buddhism as a school is by definition minimalist – it is the core of Buddhadharma itself. It is based on the idea that everything we are looking for is already here, in ourselves. Chan practice itself is based on letting go of obstacles that prevent us from seeing that everything is already here. We could say that letting go is a foundational method in Chan, through which we can realise our true nature and liberate ourselves. In that sense, Chan is uncovering essentials so we can find within us what we usually seek outside of ourselves.

We usually seek outside of ourselves for self-realisation. However, as followers of Chan or Zen, we should organise our lives according to the principles of Chan or Zen. That’s what we talk about when we talk about Zen minimalism – a way of life that is based on the principles of Chan or Zen.

Embracing Zen minimalism in modern society

Zen minimalism is perceived to be in contrast with the way of life we live today. And on one hand that is quite true. Through economic growth and development, our society became extremely complex. An immense technological knowledge has been distributed through the system. Every new gadget has its own manual that we need to go through. This hasn’t existed prior to the industrial revolution.

Furthermore, there is a huge number of new, narrowly specialised professions. This contributes to the complexity of life.

And lastly, our opportunities, from trivial to the very important ones, are multiplied. It makes our decision making much more difficult and demanding.

The pursuit of happiness

Day to day, our world is becoming mentally more demanding, as well. The boundaries between real and virtual life are blurred, and the virtual one is taking over. We spend on average three hours a day on our smartphones. Imagine if you use those three hours on something else? Like practicing, for instance?

I’m not saying that time spent on the phone is necessarily wasted. Maybe you are researching some important topic. But mostly it’s spent on scrolling, not really enriching. Mobile phones have become a place we go to in order to get rid of our boredom and loneliness, to move away from our immediate reality. This reflects poorly on our mental and physical health. We are slowly and steadily losing contact with ourselves, our bodies, and the nature itself. That’s quite worrisome.

On the other hand, the main impulse behind all of it is to be happy. Mostly by gaining more security, comfort and status. Thinking a bit deeper about it, we realise that having more comes with a big price and it actually diminishes the quality of our lives.

The three goals of life

2500 years ago Buddha Shakyamuni taught us that three things are important in life: material safety, mental wellbeing and inner freedom (the most important).

Material safety is a precondition for the remaining two. A minimum material safety needs to be satisfied, but it should not be our only and main goal. Material things cannot bring peace, stability, inner contentment, and happiness. If we are fully absorbed in creating material gains, it reflects badly on our mental state. And as a result, our inner freedom diminishes.

Our mental wellbeing is closely correlated with our predominant mental states. It is important to know that our mental states do not depend on our material wealth. We do not need to be rich in order to feel inner contentment and happiness. Whether we’re predominantly governed by positive emotions or by negative ones depends on the cultivation of our mind.

Mental wellbeing is a result of open-mindedness, stability, and positive emotions. This is our second goal in life, the first one being minimum material safety.

However, creating material safety does not guarantee mental wellbeing. We need to learn how to cultivate our mind and take responsibility for our mental states, recognising which of them lead into suffering and which lead us away from it, into freedom and happiness.

The third goal, inner freedom, is the ultimate goal of the Buddhist path. The liberation from suffering.

It is interesting to observe how interrelated three three goals are. Mental wellbeing and liberation does not negate our material reality. Establish basic life requirements is important. When these are fulfilled, we have good conditions for establishing mental wellbeing and liberation.

The essence of Zen minimalism

So back to Zen minimalism. It is definitely not a regression to the pre-industrial age, getting rid of the accomplishments of our civilisation. That would be useless and nonsensical. Zen minimalism is about bringing order in our surrounding, as well as in ourselves. These two are interrelated.

It is a way of life that is rooted in the principles of Chan. At once the expression of these principles, and a creation of beneficial conditions to cultivate the mind so we can experience these principles.

We can find them in various art forms that were inspired by Zen or Chan: architecture, design, tea ceremony, flower arrangement, haiku poetry, painting, to name at least the main ones. All of these art forms are inspired by Zen, aiming to creatively express the principles of Chan.

So what are those principles?

Firstly, the principle of simplicity.

Secondly, the principle of presence.

Thirdly, the principle of beauty.

Through simplicity arriving at presence, through simplicity and presence reaching beauty.

Let’s look closer into them.

Ultimately, simplicity in Chan means non-attachment. However, in everyday life, it means being in harmony with our needs, instead of with our wants. The difference between wants and needs is often not clear to us. Whatever we want, we think we need it, as well. But they are not the same, and it is extremely important to distinguish between them.

Traditionally, our foundational needs refer to food, clothing, shelter, and medicine. If you proceed listening to this lecture, you will discover that Zen minimalism includes a bit more than that, after all 🙂

In practical sense, it means letting go of everything we do not really need. Cleaning up the clutter and leaving only things we really need. This includes clothes, furniture, all the stuff we do not really need. Simplicity encompasses all aspects of our lives.

Letting go of unnecessary extras is an opportunity to share them with others might need them. In that sense, cleaning up our space and closets gives us the opportunity to think of others and to think if we can help them with what we have but we don’t need.

That simplifies our life. Because having stuff requires maintenance and care. Even if we don’t need them, we cannot forget about them. They are taking our time and energy. Getting rid of stuff gives us more time and space.

When purchasing new things, we should have a long-term perspective in mind. Getting only what we really need so we minimise the waste. Using what we have for as long as it is possible, not getting rid of it just so we can buy something new.

Furthermore, we need to let go of the idea that consuming will solve our problems. This idea is deeply ingrained in us, and trends encourage purchasing new products to make life easier. Consumerism and greed are in the foundations of our economic system. When purchasing something new, think twice whether we really need it.

Being busy

Another thing to let go of is the idea that being busy is better than not being busy. When someone asks us how we are doing, we usually talk about all the things we do, presenting ourselves as a very busy person. As if that business makes us more valuable. Why can’t we say that we are relaxing and enjoying the view, sipping our tea?

We can do any of the small things that make us happy and that have nothing to do with our human ambitions. It is important to liberate ourselves from the idea that we need to be busy all the time. We need to take time for ourselves, free our time to do nothing or to do something that makes us happy.

We talked about simplifying our life, letting go of all the excesses that clutter our living space. They carry the burden of our past, and it is hard to get rid off it.

The next principle is being present. Not being lost in the past or in the future.

If we are surrounded by things that remind us of past times, it is hard to be present. If our living space is cluttered with such things, we cannot breathe freely. It’s hard to discover the beauty in the midst of all that complexity.

We should simplify our living space and our surrounding in order to be presenta, establish calm and stability, and experience inner contentment and joy.

For those of you who attended meditation retreats, this principle is very familiar. Encountering an empty space can cause panic, but it can also make us aware of our mental states. Of our inner clutter full of excessive thinking and ideas that constantly occupy our minds. Empty space helps us become aware of our inner dramas. It is like mirror, that is why it is important.

I didn’t say that space needs to be completely empty – don’t throw away all of your furniture after this talk. This would not be beneficial. But do get rid of things that do not inspire you.

As a result of this practice we arrive at the last principle, which is the beauty. It is in the way we are perceiving things, much more then in the object of our perception.

Through simplifying live, at one point we start perceiving things differently. Beauty becomes a reflection of such perception that recognises the present moment we are in, what is it, the uniqueness of it.

That orientation toward the immediate experience, toward that which is in front of us, without prejudice, without adding and extracting anything from, makes everything beautiful and unique. This is a very important experience. It defines the equality of our life. We do not need to be in luxurious spaces and surroundings in order to perceive things that way.

Cultivating inner joy

So far we talked about how to cultivate conditions for inner joy to arise. And it is quite opposite from the way we usually do it in life, when our joy depends on the outer circumstances that change all the time. So the joy does not last long.

Let’s talk about the inner conditions that are independent of our outer circumstances. They are not the result of something exceptional that happened to us but something exceptional that happened within us. That is a shift, a change of perspective on life.

The most important is that we change our inner space. That is Zen minimalism applied to the psychological interior of our mind, to the way we perceive ourselves and others.

Another way to illustrate this is that we stop taking things for granted and become truly aware of them. Not through labelling and conceptualising them, but directly.

This is similar to becoming aware of our breath. At the beginning, it’s just one of the physiological processes. We can describe it in detail. But when we come in contact with it directly, outside concepts, we discover that our life pulsates in the rhythm of inhale and exhale. The breathing stops being something ordinary, alongside with everything else we encounter. Things stop being ordinary and become exceptionally important. Whatever presents itself in the moment is the most important.

That is a major pivoting point in our perception.

Your life is a sum of ordinary moments, and how we perceive them defines our life. It’s not the big goals we set ourselves to achieve. We believe things will be different once we achieve those goals, but things stay the same because we stay the same.

The role of gratitude

Gratitude is a very important factor for cultivating favourable conditions. It is good to remind ourselves of everything that other people did for us, to generate gratitude towards others. It directs us toward what we already have.

We can be grateful for the material things, and we can also be grateful for the life we have, for the immaterial things. For all the magic in our life. That way we start to perceive the whole life as a miracle. It is a real miracle that we can hear and see, that we are here. There is nothing banal in it.

We should remind ourselves daily to bring forth the feeling of gratitude. This perspective directly influences our relationships. We are the relationship we establish with others. We reflect in those relationships.

When we are not obsessed with ourselves, there is inner spaciousness and compassion, and our relationships are good and harmonious. Being obsessed with ourselves, that spaciousness is gone. The simplicity is gone and our relationships suffer.

Nurturing harmonious relationships

A big part of happiness in life is based on harmonious relationships, and this is a way to make those relationships harmonious.

It is also important to find time for things that make us happy. That way we are getting in touch with ourselves and our environment. Dedicating time time for meditation, physical practice, sleep, nature. Job and material possessions are not all of it.

Through Zen minimalism we can become deeply aware what is really important in life. We can let go of unimportant things. Stop dealing with them, wasting our energy on them. That is the best way to help ourselves and others.

I will stop here. I hope I encouraged you to think about it, and even better to act upon it. It is within our reach to change our life for better. We just need to know how and to find inspiration to start.

I hope this talk can serve that purpose.

Public talk by Chan Master Žarko Andričević

Translated in English by Helga Juretić.

Photo by Scott Webb on Unsplash