Shinjin datsuraku

shinjin datsuraku (C. shenxin tuoluo; K. sinsim t’allak 身心脫落). A Japanese term translated as “body and mind sloughed off”, "body and mind dropped off", etc.

The Digital Dictionary of Buddhism states:

A mental state wherein one lets go of attachment to oneself, as body and mind.

According to the Princeton Dictionary, shinjin datsuraku refers to the psychological state generated during the practice of “just sitting” (shikan taza), a style of meditation emphasized in the Soto Zen school.

The Sōtō school attributes this term to Dogen, who is said to have learned it from Tiantong Rujing, his Chinese Caodong zong teacher.

During the practice of “just sitting,” the adept should sit with “body and mind sloughed off,” that is, with the body and mind stabilized and concentrated in a state of full clarity and alertness that is free from any specific content. Once all conception of body and mind had fallen away, the “original face” (J. honrai menmoku, C. benlai mianmu) of inherent enlightenment will then appear.

According to legend, Dōgen achieved enlightenment through hearing his teacher Rujing describe practice as “the sloughing off of body and mind.”

Sources

• Buswell, Robert E.; Lopez, Donald S. (2014), The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, Princeton University 

Further reading

• Rujing, Wikipedia