"Homeless Kodo"

Kodo Sawaki (1880-1965) was a renowned Japanese zen master probably best known for his exposition of the Soto practice of "shikan taza," or "just sitting" zen. In his youth he was passed from relative to relative after his parents died, was beaten at times and lived among pimps and prostitutes. His own stepmother was a prostitute who seems to have died in a fit of hysteria. Sawaki was severely wounded in the Russo-Japanese war when a bullet passed through his neck and mouth and took off part of his tongue. His incredible life story is told in Arthur Braverman's "Living and Dying in Zazen."

Doing zazen calmly in the dojo,
putting aside all negative thoughts.
Obtaining nothing but a mind without desire...
this joy is beyond paradise!

(from "The Notebook of Kodo Sawaki")

This is the heart of "no gain zen" that is shikan taza. Sawaki himself felt that the practice of "just sitting" was profound enough to be a religion in and of itself.