Sitting Quietly, Doing Nothing

Zen wisdom suggests that, to really come into contact with who we are and what we really need (rather than what we superficially want), we should simply "sit quietly and do nothing."

This is, indeed, easier said than done!

In fact, the very concept of sitting quietly, doing nothing, flies almost, it may seem, violently in the face of our entire culture, which is somewhat obsessed with doing anything and everything possible to avoid sitting quietly, doing nothing. In fact, many people only sit quietly and do nothing when something has gone wrong -- and they have no other choice (because because they've fallen ill or something).

The thing to grasp -- and you can't understand it, but just grasp it -- is that sitting quietly doing nothing is NOT just the "absence" of activity. It's not a negative state that is defined by what isn't happening. Rather, sitting quietly doing nothing is a remarkably rich, overflowing creative experience. It is the creation of consciousness -- which is the peak of creation itself.