Zen Practice (Zazen and Beyond) — Zen centers on zazen — seated meditation — in two main forms: shikantaza ("just sitting" in open awareness) and koan practice (sustained inquiry into a paradoxical question). Alongside these sits "beginner’s mind," the attitude of meeting experience without preconception. These are traditional contemplative practices; some mechanisms overlap with studied attention training, but Zen’s specific aims and claims are largely experiential rather than clinically validated. Grounding in posture: zazen as the foundation — Let the body be upright, stable, and settled before everything else. Zazen posture and breath — Establish a stable, upright seated posture and let the breath settle as the ground of practice. Extending shikantaza to daily activity — Bring the same non-grasping, present awareness from formal sitting into ordinary tasks. Shikantaza (just sitting) — Sit in open, objectless awareness — not focusing on anything, not following anything. Shikantaza: Just Sitting — Shikantaza ("just this sitting") is the central meditation practice of Soto Zen, formulated by Dogen Zenji (1200–1253). It is objectless, open-awareness meditation: you sit with alert presence, not focusing on any particular object and not trying to achieve any state. Dogen taught that shikantaza is not a means to enlightenment but the expression of it — sitting is itself the practice. Benefits overlap with studied open-monitoring meditation, though shikantaza’s specific claims are experiential rather than clinically validated. Silent illumination: the quality of awake stillness — Cultivate a stillness that is lit from inside — quiet and alert, not blank and dull. Work as practice (samu) — Bring full, wholehearted attention to ordinary tasks, treating activity itself as meditation. Integrating the koan with seated meditation — Bring the koan into the stillness of zazen so the sit and the inquiry reinforce each other. Basic kinhin form and posture — Walk with upright posture, hands in shashu, and eyes downcast — the same dignified presence as zazen.

Coaching practices for What is Zazen

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Does this sound like the set of challenges you might be facing?

Every time I sit, the whole session turns into a fight with my back and knees
Every time I try to sit I end up fidgeting and aching, or I lock myself rigid and grit through it
On the cushion I can find that open, present quality, but the instant I stand up it evaporates
I’m tired of techniques and counting and focusing on something
My sits have gone quiet but kind of dead

Practices that may help

Zen Practice (Zazen and Beyond)
Zen centers on zazen — seated meditation — in two main forms: shikantaza ("just sitting" in open awareness) and koan practice (sustained inquiry into a paradoxical question). Alongside these sits "beginner’s mind," the attitude of meeting experience without preconception. These are traditional contemplative practices; some mechanisms overlap with studied attention training, but Zen’s specific aims and claims are largely experiential rather than clinically validated.
Grounding in posture: zazen as the foundation
Let the body be upright, stable, and settled before everything else.
Shikantaza: Just Sitting
Zazen posture and breath
Establish a stable, upright seated posture and let the breath settle as the ground of practice.
Zen Practice (Zazen and Beyond)
Extending shikantaza to daily activity
Bring the same non-grasping, present awareness from formal sitting into ordinary tasks.
Shikantaza: Just Sitting
Shikantaza (just sitting)
Sit in open, objectless awareness — not focusing on anything, not following anything.
Zen Practice (Zazen and Beyond)
Shikantaza: Just Sitting
Shikantaza ("just this sitting") is the central meditation practice of Soto Zen, formulated by Dogen Zenji (1200–1253). It is objectless, open-awareness meditation: you sit with alert presence, not focusing on any particular object and not trying to achieve any state. Dogen taught that shikantaza is not a means to enlightenment but the expression of it — sitting is itself the practice. Benefits overlap with studied open-monitoring meditation, though shikantaza’s specific claims are experiential rather than clinically validated.
Silent illumination: the quality of awake stillness
Cultivate a stillness that is lit from inside — quiet and alert, not blank and dull.
Shikantaza: Just Sitting
Work as practice (samu)
Bring full, wholehearted attention to ordinary tasks, treating activity itself as meditation.
Zen Practice (Zazen and Beyond)
Integrating the koan with seated meditation
Bring the koan into the stillness of zazen so the sit and the inquiry reinforce each other.
Zen Koans: Inquiry Beyond Reason
Basic kinhin form and posture
Walk with upright posture, hands in shashu, and eyes downcast — the same dignified presence as zazen.
Kinhin: Zen Walking Meditation

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