Day of the Sledge, 46th of the Dog Days, 526 M.E. (Aldebaran): What's important to take away from Kodo Sawaki's statement, "there is no use to doing zazen," is that Kodo isn't discouraging the practice but rather just encouraging us to practice without expectation of a reward. "Really do zazen that is of no use."

In the ordinary world, everything we do is for some purpose or another. Everything has some use. We get out of bed to start our day, we go to work to earn money, and we earn money to obtain the goods to meet our needs. The purchase of that cup of coffee at Starbucks works for all parties involved because we want that coffee more than we want that dollar in our pocket, and Starbucks wants that dollar in our pocket more than they want that cup of coffee. Both parties are exercising their free wills to meet their individual needs. 

One dollar for a cup of coffee, of course, is a rhetorical simplification to make that example flow a little easier. As Garrison Keillor once said while broadcasting a remote episode of Prairie Home Companion, "Ah, Seattle, home of Starbucks and their great experiment to find out exactly how much an ordinary American is willing to pay for a single cup of coffee."

My point is we do everything for the expectation of an outcome, from our daily routine to financial transaction to exercise and even leisure (if I don't expect to be entertained by a movie, I probably won't go to see it). But Zen teachers repeatedly say that in the spiritual practice of zazen, we should not expect anything in return. Don't practice to seek enlightenment, don't practice to become a Buddha, don't practice to find relaxation or to become more mindful. All of those or none of those may or may not happen. but we're encouraged to practice just for the sake of practice, to do a zazen that is of no use.

The big question, of course, is how. How can I sit still for five, or twenty five, or ninety minutes or more and not expect anything in return? "Oh, I get it," we think, "don't expect anything and then I'll get everything." No, that doesn't work either, as you're still thinking that eventually you'll get something, if not "everythng."

Granted, you need some motivation to start a spiritual practice, but once on the path the trick is to lose whatever it is that motivated you. My approach has been to incorporate every-other-day mediation into my daily schedule to the point where it's now automatic and I don't think about motive or reward. Brushing our teeth before bedtime is a good habit for dental health and to prevent tooth decay, but we don't weigh the pros and cons of toothbrushing each night or even decide whether or not to do it. We just automatically brush.  

Maintaining a daily schedule that includes regular sitting and staring at a wall for some length of time is a deliberate act, but after some time, maybe weeks, maybe months, maybe even years, one stops thinking of "why" or "for what," and just sits. For no purpose. Of no use.