F#CK IT! The Ultimate Spiritual Way

Give up and surrender is precisely the method used in many spiritual techniques aimed at achieving something both immanent and transcendent; it’s about the only thing our minds can understand is giving up and relaxing with the way things are. Your mind can’t get there, so it has to give up all effort.

In Zen practice, if you try to get something out of your meditation, you are doing it wrong and the answer to the question of why Zen masters meditate becomes itself a riddle or koan. As Zen Master Dogen says, “meditation is simply the expression of enlightenment; it is not a cause for enlightenment.”

Saying “Fuck It” prevents you from taking things too seriously.
I often think that this is exactly what enlightenment is: every time someone is angry or suffering, it seems that the core of their problem lies in taking something too seriously. And just like the Buddhist story about not being attached to the world and being free from desires or worries or not caring, that is Nirvana. Adopting this fuck it or I don’t care what happens attitude is incredibly liberating and keeps you from getting too attached to things. This is a carefree approach, relaxed, natural and light. Not caring doesn’t have to be without love. I just think it might mean not taking things too seriously elucidate
allowing you to be more joyful and kind to others because you don’t really have an ulterior motive.

In Tibetan Buddhism, the highest meditation practice is ‘no meditation‘. It is still sitting still on the ground, but it is giving up all technique, giving up all effort to get anywhere and even giving up the subtle belief that you are meditating. This is the final stage and is intended for the very advanced and the Tibetan Lamas say it should only be practiced after years of preparatory meditations and study, but I say screw it, why not start with this ‘non-meditation’ meditation if it is the ultimate practice? Just sit down and just say, ‘Fuck it, I’ve arrived.’

Saying, ‘Fuck it!’ is a gateway to another dimension of being. It is the gateway to a ‘non-doing’ instead of a ‘doing’. It is an acceptance and surrender to the present moment. This is becoming increasingly difficult for the modern busy person, as a French philosopher says: the cause of all people’s problems begins with not being able to sit quietly in a room and do nothing. This dimension of non-doing is actually intertwined with doing things, such as the silence that allows sound or the space that allows form. The Buddhists talk about doing things but not caring about the outcome, that is, giving up attachment to results, doing the action because it is in itself kind, generous, or wise, and letting go of expectations of reward or benefit.

Another versatile spiritual use of the word fuck is “don’t give a fuck”
, which, as people say, doesn’t care what people think of you, or what you wear or how you appear to others, or anything else that society puts extra pressure on you for. This can be incredibly liberating and I certainly understand Parkin’s situation when he describes this as spiritual. Being ‘spiritual’ can come with its own assumptions and pressures to be a certain way too, so you don’t give a fuck and just being yourself is often more authentic and dare I say spiritual than anything you can wear, eat or any workshop you may attend.

The Dalai Lama even almost said: fuck it
during a public lecture he urged people to listen and learn from what he teaches, but if something doesn’t suit you or doesn’t work for you, he said to just ‘fuget’. He meant ‘forget it’, but in his thick Tibetan accent it sounded suspiciously like ‘Fuck It’, and that’s how it was even transcribed into the notes, and that’s how I’ll always remember his wise words. If something isn’t working for you, just say fuck it!

Chad Foreman is the founder of The Way of Meditation and has been teaching meditation since 2003, determined to bring authentic meditation practices into the lives of millions of people in the modern world. Chad is a former Buddhist monk who lived in a retreat hut for six years and studied and practiced meditation full-time. He now has over twenty years of experience teaching meditation. Chad likes regularly
Meditation retreats on the Sunshine Coast, Australia
Online meditation coachingprovides three online programs – The 21 Day Meditation Challenge to gradually guide people from the basic principles of mindfulness and relaxation to profound states of consciousness.
Breathwork to help manage stress and go deeper into meditation and
The bliss of inner fire This is a Buddhist tantric method to clear energy blockages and connect with the clear light of bliss. You can also get Chad’s free ebook now Insights on the go.