Zen meditation is commonly called zazen, literally “seated meditation.” It is central to Zen Buddhist training, but there is no single method practiced identically by every Zen school. Posture, breath, attention, kōan work, and “just sitting” are emphasized differently in Sōtō, Rinzai, and other lineages.
Posture
Zazen is usually practiced in a stable upright posture on a cushion, bench, or chair. Traditional instructions emphasize a balanced spine, relaxed shoulders, and hands held in a meditation mudrā.
Full lotus posture is not required for everyone. A chair can be appropriate when it allows stable and alert sitting.
Breathing and attention
Beginners may count breaths or follow the natural breath to develop steadiness. The goal is not to force breathing into an unusual pattern.
When thoughts arise, practitioners generally return to the chosen object or allow thoughts to pass without deliberately pursuing them.
Shikantaza and kōan practice
Sōtō Zen is strongly associated with shikantaza, often translated as “just sitting,” in which practice is not organized around reaching a special altered state.
Rinzai and some other lineages use kōans under the guidance of a teacher as a disciplined way of examining perception and understanding.
Zazen in community
Zen practice commonly includes walking meditation, chanting, work practice, ethical precepts, Dharma talks, and teacher-student meetings. Sitting is therefore part of a larger religious life rather than only a stress-reduction technique.
Retreats may involve many periods of zazen each day.
Soto and Rinzai emphases
Soto Zen is strongly associated with shikantaza, often translated as “just sitting,” while Rinzai training is well known for systematic koan practice. These labels describe broad emphases rather than absolute boundaries. Teachers within each school can use breath counting, posture work, chanting, interviews, koans, or silent sitting in different combinations.
Zen practice also changes across Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, and modern international communities. The Japanese term zazen is widely used in English, but seated meditation belongs to a wider East Asian Buddhist history and should not be treated as a technique invented in isolation by modern Zen centers.
What beginners should know
Physical posture should be stable rather than forced. Full lotus is not required, and a chair can be appropriate for people whose bodies make floor sitting painful or unsafe. Instructions on the eyes, hands, breath, and attention vary by lineage, so beginners benefit from following one coherent method rather than combining fragments from many sources.
Zazen can produce calm, but Zen does not reduce it to relaxation. Ethical precepts, community practice, ritual, study, and guidance from experienced teachers give seated meditation its specifically Buddhist context.
A practical perspective
A beginner can learn basic posture and breath awareness publicly, but deeper Zen training is best understood within a community and lineage rather than as an isolated technique.
Sources & Further Reading
Primary texts and institutional references used to support the historical, textual, demographic, or practice-related points in this article:
