What is Zazen (坐禅)?
Seated meditation in Zen Buddhism. The practice of just sitting, observing the mind without attachment, and realizing one's original nature. Zazen involves sitting in a stable posture, following the breath, and observing thoughts without grasping or rejecting. In Soto Zen, it is not a technique for enlightenment but its direct expression.
Sitting quietly, doing nothing, spring comes, and the grass grows by itself.
— Zenrin Kushu (禅林句集, Grove of Zen Sayings); Dogen attribution not established; English is an Oriens working rendering
Key Takeaways
- Zazen (坐禅) is the seated meditation practice central to Zen, associated in the Soto school with the teaching of shikantaza ("just sitting").
- The Japanese master Dōgen (1200–1253), founder of Soto Zen, described the body-and-mind posture of zazen as itself the expression of awakening rather than a means to it.
- Chinese: 坐禅 (Zazen).
Understanding Zazen
Zazen is the seated meditation that became the signature practice of the Zen school, transmitted from Chinese Chan meditation to Japan, where the master Dōgen (1200–1253) placed it at the center of the Soto lineage he founded. In Soto Zen the practice is known as shikantaza, "just sitting," in which the practitioner holds a stable crossed-leg posture and allows thoughts to arise and pass without being chased or blocked. Dōgen's writing, collected in the Shōbōgenzō, argues that this upright sitting is not a technique aimed at a future awakening but the ongoing expression of it. Zen communities typically practice zazen facing a wall on a cushioned seat, with the eyes lowered and the breath allowed to settle naturally.
How to Practice Zazen
- About Zazen — Seated meditation in Zen Buddhism. The practice of just sitting, observing the mind without attachment, and realizing one's original nature. Zazen involves sitting in a stable posture, following the b
- Return to Stillness — Each thing returns to its root
Sources
- How to do Zazen — SOTOZEN.COM
- Fukan Zazengi (Universally Recommended Instructions for Zazen) — SOTOZEN.COM
- Shikantaza (Just Sitting) — Center for Soto Zen Studies PDF
- Basic Key Terms of Soto Zen Teaching — SOTOZEN.COM
- The Soto Zen School's Zazen — SOTOZEN.COM
- Zenrin Kushu (anthology reference) — Wikipedia
Further Reading
Related Guides
- What is Stillness? — Zazen is the Zen practice of stillness
- What is Sudden Enlightenment? — Sudden enlightenment contrasts with gradual cultivation through zazen
- What is Eightfold Path? — Zazen is a practice of Right Concentration — the eighth factor of the Eightfold Path
- What is Bodhidharma? — Bodhidharma brought seated meditation (zazen) as the core Chan practice
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Zazen in Zen Buddhism?
Zazen is the seated meditation of Zen Buddhism, transmitted from Chinese Chan practice to Japan and made central to the Soto school by the master Dōgen (1200–1253), who described upright sitting as the direct expression of awakening.
What does 坐禅 mean?
The characters 坐 (zuò, "sit") and 禅 (chán, the sinified form of the Sanskrit dhyāna, "meditation") together mean "seated meditation"; in Soto Zen the term refers to the practice of shikantaza, "just sitting."
Why is Zazen important?
Zazen carries the Zen school's central teaching into practice: for Dōgen and the Soto lineage, the upright body-and-mind posture of sitting is not preparation for awakening but its ongoing expression, which is why it became the everyday core of Zen monastic life.
Also Known As
Chinese: 坐禅. 坐禅, Sitting Meditation