"There is a big misunderstanding about the idea of naturalness. Most people who come to us believe in some freedom or naturalness, but there understanding is...a kind of 'let-alone policy' or sloppiness...but naturalness is, I think, some feeling of being independent from everything, or some activity which is based on nothingness."
"....This naturalness is very difficult to explain. But if you can just sit and experience the actuality of nothingness in your practice there is no need to explain. If it comes out of nothingness, whatever you do is natural, and that is true activity. You have the true joy of practice, the true joy of life in it....So we say...'from true emptiness, the wondrous being appears...'"
"....If you want to study Zen, you should forget all your previous ideas and just practice zazen and see what kind of experience you have in your practice. That is naturalness. Whatever you do, this attitude is necessary. Sometimes we say...'soft or flexible mind'....a smooth, natural mind. When you have that mind, you have the joy of life. When you lose it, you lose everything. You have nothing. Although you think you have something, you have nothing. But when all you do comes out of nothingness, then you have everything. Do you understand? That is what we mean by naturalness."
Shunryu Suzuki
Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind
Nothingness is a tough term to the Western Mind. We picture Nihlism and despair.
I wonder, from the context, if the Taoist "emptiness" is a better translation. When we empty ourselves we are ready to be filled with the joy of life. Jesus is recorded as saying
"Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it."
Luke 17:33
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