Uselessness
God’s kingdom is an “upside-down” countercultural one, a kingdom conformed to the Triune community of love led by the one true King.
It is not the empire of busy egomania and self-driven achievement. Thus, gospel values are in a radical sense antithetical to those of predatory capitalism, where ego, achievement, acquisition, power, profit, greed, and instrumentalism are its values and tragically our idols, promoted by leaders and propped up by social institutions alike. Bad religion often legitimizes and serves as nutritional supplement to the capitalistic empire.
Gospel values dovetail with Zen values rooted in the Dhamma. Gotama and Jesus have much in common. They resist and subvert mammon, be it overturning the tables of hustling greed or tearing down the divisive walls of casteism and ethnic tribalism.
In light of this, let us rethink how we see and do “useless” activities. What the world considers as useless — activities such as prayerful silence and solitude, devotional worship, or intensive meditation retreats — are in fact the most meaningful, significant, impactful, and fruitful activities that one can engage in. For life. Lowly and humble they may seem, and lowly may one be perceived by the world for engaging in them, but their rewards are great and beyond what our calculative minds can fathom.
Listen to this short talk by Jesuit priest Fr. Michael Rossman, S.J. that can awaken us from our stupor of hustling and bustling: https://youtu.be/JYCFzX4MASQ?feature=shared
