A Zen approach to productivity...

“Suddenly I realized for myself the fresh breeze that rises up when the great burden is laid down.” – Fayan

Have you ever felt like this before?

I seem to enact this somewhat famous Zen koan on almost a weekly basis (famous in Zen circles, normal people will have no idea what you’re talking about).

Over the course of a workday or workweek I get so wound up then I finally catch myself and realize how unnecessarily tense I’ve become…

My Zen teacher is also a CFO which makes for some interesting perspectives on work / productivity. He gives the example of cooking a frog.

I’m told the way they cook them is to put them in some room temperature water. Then they slowly, slowly raise the temperature. So slowly that the frog doesn’t notice it’s getting hotter. Until finally the water is boiling. This way the frog doesn’t jump out.

While that’s a bit dark, it’s a useful metaphor. As modern knowledge workers this is often how stress/tension /tedium accumulate over the course of a day or week. The inner productivity anxiety creeps up on us slowly, then all at once.

And then – at least in my case – I remember I’m not curing cancer or inventing a new form of renewable energy or clawing my way out of the slums of India. Most of what’s weighing me down is trivia – coupled with a false sense of urgency laid down by my task-master of a boss (I am self-employed so unfortunately that boss is me).

When I realize this I tend to snap back to my senses. I can feel the burden of artificial importance and productivity anxiety drop. And I instantly feel I’ve lost 20 pounds. I’m lighter. I have permission to be.

So I think what Fayan is pointing us towards is just as true now as it was however many thousands of years ago. What happens when – even for a moment or two – we drop the doing. We put down getting things done and staying on top of things? Well maybe you can try it – and see if you can feel the breeze?

I’ll share how to try this at the end but I want to offer a final perspective on putting down burdens.

Mo Gawdet has a rather interesting analogy for this. He argues each and every one of us has a default mode – a default setting set to happy.

If we are fed, safe, and loved – if there is no reason for us to be unhappy - then the default setting is happy. But what happens is the same thing we do with our phones. We get them out of the box and they’re set to work properly. Then we start installing weird apps and all the other junk. And soon after our battery dies after 6 hours.

So, all through adult life we are trying to get things done and stay on top of things. We are adding all this programming. Each story about what we should or must do is an additional app.

Maybe what we should be doing is removing the apps that lead to unhappiness – because the absence of unhappiness is happiness.

To fully appreciate the connection between this and Fayan, let’s look at his enlightenment story years before he said this quote.

As a young monk on pilgrimage Fayan and a group of his fellows got snowed in at a monastery they were visiting. As they departed, the head of the monastery had a dialogue with Fayan.

He asked Fayan about a large boulder near the front gate. He said something like — You and other monks often say all things are creations of the mind. Is that rock there inside or outside of your mind?

“Inside” Fayan declares.

How can you carry around a big rock like that on your pilgrimage?

At this Fayan has a moment of enlightenment.

So maybe this story is pointing to our “psychological boulders”. Are there things in our minds that are weighing us down?

This could be beliefs, expectations, and stories; the musts, shoulds, and ought-tos. These are conditions placed on our happiness. Often they are the biggest burdens.

I need to get through this week then I can relax.

I just need to get on top of things then I can take more time off.

I have to get this promotion and pay bump then I’ll be good to go.

I want to be happy but my partner might leave and my kids aren’t doing well in school.  

What do all these have in common?

Well, they’re all made up!

They’re all conditions you’ve placed on your happiness. They’re all just burdensome psychological boulders that we lug around. And some of them (like the last one) might even be relatively reasonable – but it’s still a commitment you’ve made with yourself that represents a condition placed upon your quality of life. Implicit in all of these is some belief or story (subconscious or otherwise) that is likely stopping you from fully experiencing life.

That’s the thing about the great burden – there’s not just one and it’s not as obvious as a big ass rock at your front gate (I certainly haven’t gotten to the bottom of all mine).

But the invitation is to explore what’s at the root. What’s weighing you down? What are you carrying?

Here’s one way to bring this quote and lesson into your life.

One teacher said “Zen is the practice of phrases.” But practicing with phrases isn’t the same thing as study or philosophical analysis. I describe it as being with the phrase. Breathe with it during meditation. Repeat it to yourself throughout the day. Notice it coming up spontaneously from time to time. “Chew on it” as it were.

Let the phrase work on you - no need to intellectually figure it out. And often it will start to reveal itself in deep in mysterious ways as you go through daily life.

Here are a few phrases you might carry with you for the coming week…

Not knowing is most intimate.

What am I carrying?

Lay it down. Feel the breeze.

Your happiness nerd,

Jackson K.