Richard Collins, Abbot
Stone Nest
5 July 2026
If I was pressed to say there is one single goal in Zen practice, it is the goal of no goal. Going through life with the goal of no goal, we are able to see things as they really are: and that is the single goal. Zen is realism.
That is why it is important not to romanticize Zen. Or rather, I should say, we often come to Zen with romantic notions of exploring exotic and esoteric appearances of Zen. After about a year, though, we begin to realize that there is nothing exotic or esoteric about Zen at all. There is, as they say, nothing special here.
The harder they come, the harder they fall. The more romantic our notions about Zen when we arrive, the more disillusioned we may become. That is significant, because a disillusioned romantic does not become a realist, not at first. They become a cynic. And it takes a lot of rehabilitation to grow out of cynicism and into realism.
People often leave Zen practice after about a year, or a minute. There are many reasons, of course. But it is often the case that the honeymoon is over after a year, like in marriage, and then the real work begins.
Those who drop the practice give all kinds of excuses, some of them quite valid: the practice is too foreign, we chant in Japanese; the practice is phallocentric, there are not enough women in the sangha; we don’t emphasize social engagement enough; we don’t emphasize enlightenment enough; we emphasize samu, work practice, too much; the robes and rituals make them uncomfortable, too reminiscent of whatever religion they came from; and so on.
But the real reason is that our brand of Zen did not live up to their hype, their expectations, their romanticized expectations that there would be some fireworks in the form of satori, some revelation in the dark night of zazen that would not dissipate in the light of every day. Kodo Sawaki was fond of saying that satori was like a thief breaking into an empty house. There is nothing to steal. But it is a wonderful place for us thieves to do zazen.
Living the goal of no goal does not mean you don’t accomplish anything. In fact, you accomplish more, and what you accomplish is more satisfying and more important because your effort comes more naturally, spontaneously, automatically and your attainments are not to be judged by others, or by your own attainments, but by their contribution to the four bodhisattva goals: saving all beings, dropping all illusions, opening all reality gates, and practicing like a buddha. At least that has been true for me, and that is all I can attest to. You will find your path, your own accomplishments.
