Why Does Everyone Hate Zazen?

Over the years I have offered many kinds of classes at Yoga Garden.  Easy yoga, hard yoga, old people yoga, kids yoga, tai-chi, self-defense, healthy cooking classes, workshops on all manner of things, and for the most part these have all been successful and a lot of fun.

But one class consistently fails to gather students after three years on the schedule, and that is my weekly zazen class.  No matter what, that class is always sparsely if ever attended.

It's not that people don't try it, they do, but no one has continued to come for more than a few weeks.  Ever.

And I know it's not personal, because I have seen the same thing across zen centers and groups all over the world.  I can't tell you how many times I've found a zen center in a town I've visited, gone to sit, and been the only other person besides the leader.  It's a pretty sad state of affairs.

Brad Warner always quips that if just one percent of the people in LA who've bought his books actually came to his zazen sessions he'd have the place full to the rafters.  What is it about zazen that makes it so hard to get people to show up?  It's not like we're asking people for money or to do anything besides just sit.

I think the root of the problem is that zazen is fundamentally different from almost everything else we do in a day.  It's the only time in your life you are actually asked to do nothing.

This freaks people out to no end.  "What do you mean do nothing?  Surely you do something?"

Nope, you just sit there and be.  And it's incredibly uncomfortable.  It's not a territory that we have much experience in.  It's like being invited to a party where you don't know anyone.  It could be a great party, but you make excuses and skip it out of the fear that there will be some awkward moments.

For the first few years, zazen is awkward.  There's no discernible progress, little reward, and it kind of hurts your back.  Almost any other activity would start to pay off after a few weeks; you can play your first song, you can do a new move, you can create a piece of art, etc...

But zazen doesn't work like that.  Primarily because the more you strive the less progress you make.  There really is nothing like it.  Perseverance is important to get on the cushion, but once you're there you have to stop persevering.  This drives type As crazy and they give up soon.

That leaves the laid back people, and the truth of the matter is that they usually can't be bothered.  They don't feel that drive for self-betterment that gets them through the door of a zazen class week after week.  There are a lot more relaxing things to do than zazen.

So I'm not surprised that it's so unpopular.  But I am disappointed that more people don't find it as interesting as I do.  From the first time I did zazen, I recognized that it was a totally different way to use (or not use) my mind.  Zen meditation was a totally new way to experience the world and to find how I fit into it.

The history of zen is filled with hermits and old masters who retire to the mountains to finish out their years in solitude.  Sometimes I have the same dream.  Nobody cares about practicing zen, so why am I running around trying to get people into it?  Why not just look out for number one?  Who appointed me the zazen cheerleader anyway?

I'm kind of joking but kind of not.  It's a sad thing to leave a single person zazen class and pass bars that are packed.  Or see gyms full of people sweating and grunting to get their bodies in line without spending a second on their mental fitness.  

It just seems like everything is upside down sometimes.

Then again we are living on a ball floating in the middle of cold empty space.  That's pretty weird too.