How to Practice Zazen: A Beginner's First Sit

For a first zazen sitting, choose a supported floor position or a chair, sit upright, keep the eyes slightly open, let the breath move naturally through the nose, and leave thoughts alone when they arise. You do not need to begin in full lotus. If a position hurts, do not force it; change position or stop.

Quick start: your first zazen sit

  1. Choose your seat. Use full lotus, half lotus, Burmese sitting, a seiza bench, or a chair—whichever gives you a steady base without forcing the position.
  2. Sit upright. Keep the torso centered rather than leaning left, right, forward, or backward. Use the ears-over-shoulders and nose-over-navel cues as checks for alignment.
  3. Lower the gaze. Keep the eyes slightly open and cast them downward at about 45 degrees without fixing on a particular object.
  4. Let the breath be natural. Breathe quietly through the nose. Do not try to control the length or depth of each breath.
  5. Leave thoughts alone. When thoughts arise, neither pursue them nor struggle with them. Let them come and go, then return to upright posture.
  6. Choose a modest first sit. Set a brief period you can complete without turning endurance into the task. When it ends, finish the sitting without judging it by a promised result.

Choose a seat you can use steadily

The Soto Zen beginner instructions describe more than one supported way to sit. Full lotus and half lotus are included, but so are the Burmese position, seiza on a low bench or firm cushion, and sitting upright in a chair. For chair sitting, the guidance permits support under the seat or feet as needed to find a comfortable upright posture.

The point of offering several positions is practical: the sitting needs a stable base. Flexibility is not the measure of whether the first sit is serious.

Set posture and gaze

Once seated, straighten the spine and center the torso. The official instructions use two memorable checks: the ears align with the shoulders, and the nose aligns with the navel. After finding that shape, relax the shoulders, back, and abdomen without collapsing the posture.

In this Soto beginner sequence, the eyes remain slightly open and look downward at about 45 degrees. Let objects remain in the field of vision without choosing one to stare at. This instruction belongs to the cited sequence; other Zen teachers may give different eye guidance.

Let the breath be natural

Breathe quietly through the nose and do not force a special rhythm. The official instructions say to let long breaths be long and short breaths be short rather than controlling them.

That is the whole breath instruction needed for this first sit. Readers who want the breath topic in greater depth can continue with the detailed zazen breathing guide.

When thoughts arise

The instruction is neither to pursue thoughts nor to struggle against them. Leave them alone, allow them to come and go, and return to upright posture. A thought appearing is therefore not a reason to abandon the sit or begin a fight with the mind.

Fukan Zazengi—the Soto Zen page titled “Universally Recommended Instructions for Zazen”—brings posture, open eyes, soft nasal breathing, steady sitting, and “nonthinking” into one sequence. The practical guidance above makes “nonthinking” concrete: it does not require blankness; it asks you not to be carried away by thoughts.

Choose a first duration

The cited instructions do not provide one universal number for a beginner. Choose a brief first period that lets you follow the sequence without making endurance the purpose. The timer ends the sit; it does not certify a result.

Where to read the Soto context

For Soto Zen's account of “just sitting” and practice-realization, read what zazen means.

Sources