What is Shikantaza?
Shikantaza (只管打坐, “just sitting” or “nothing but sitting”) is a form of seated meditation central to the Soto school of Zen Buddhism. The practitioner sits upright, usually facing a wall or a quiet space, without a meditation object, a counted breath, a mantra, or a koan. Awareness is left open, and thoughts, sensations, and sounds are allowed to arise and pass without being followed or suppressed. Anyone searching for the shikantaza meaning will find that the tradition treats the practice less as a technique for reaching a goal and more as the direct expression of awakening itself.
Origins & lineage
The term is most closely associated with Eihei Dogen (1200–1253), who founded the Soto lineage in Japan after studying in China from 1223 to 1227. In China he trained under Rujing (Tiantong Rujing, 1162–1227) of the Caodong (Chinese: Cao-Dong) tradition, and he later recounted that Rujing urged “dropping off body and mind” (shinjin datsuraku) through zazen. The phrase “just sitting” appears in Dogen’s writings and in records of his teaching, and the Chinese Caodong teacher Hongzhi Zhengjue (1091–1157) had earlier taught a closely related method known as “silent illumination” (mokusho, Chinese: mozhao).
Dogen set out his view of sitting in texts such as Fukanzazengi (“Universal Recommendations for Zazen”), Bendowa, and the Shobogenzo fascicle Zazenshin (“Acupuncture Needle of Zazen”). Scholars note that the compound “shikantaza” is used prominently in Dogen’s Eihei Koroku and Shobogenzo-related materials, and that its later prominence owes much to Soto commentary in the Edo period and to twentieth-century teachers.
How it’s practiced
Practice usually takes place in a traditional posture: cross-legged on a cushion (zafu), in half or full lotus, Burmese position, or seiza, or else on a chair. The spine is erect, the hands form the cosmic mudra, and the eyes remain open and lowered. Periods commonly run from twenty-five to forty minutes. Breathing is natural and is not manipulated. Dogen’s instruction to “think of not-thinking” and then “non-thinking” (hishiryo) is often cited as a short description of the attitude. Thoughts are neither engaged nor pushed away. Many teachers describe the experience as like sitting in the middle of a wide field of awareness, in which attention does not settle on any single item.
Shikantaza today
Shikantaza is taught in Soto centers across Japan, North America, and Europe, and also by teachers from Rinzai, Sanbo Zen, and non-sectarian lineages. Seekers meet it at weekly sitting groups, daylong sittings (zazenkai), and multi-day retreats (sesshin), as well as through recorded talks and books. Institutions such as San Francisco Zen Center, founded in 1962 by Shunryu Suzuki, have helped bring Soto practice to the West. Online sitting groups have also expanded access since 2020.
Common misconceptions
- It is not simply daydreaming or doing nothing. The practice calls for alert, upright, sustained presence.
- It is not the same as every open-awareness method. Secular practices such as open monitoring or open awareness borrow similar structures but typically lack Dogen’s doctrinal frame, in which sitting is itself the expression of Buddha-nature rather than a means to attain it.
- It is not necessarily easier than concentration practice. Many teachers advise beginners to start with breath counting or following the breath first. Others, notably in Soto, hold that beginners may begin directly.
- It is not free of debate. Rinzai teachers, including Hakuin (1686–1769), criticized “silent sitting” that lacked a sense of inquiry, while Soto teachers have countered that this misreads the practice. Modern scholars also question how sharply the schools were actually divided.
- It is not goal-less in a naive sense. The “no gaining idea” attitude (mushotoku) is an orientation within practice, not a prohibition on practicing with intention.
How to begin
For shikantaza for beginners, the usual advice is to find a teacher or sitting group, since posture and attitude are easier to learn in person. Useful books include Shunryu Suzuki’s Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind (1970), Kosho Uchiyama’s Opening the Hand of Thought, and Shohaku Okumura’s translations and commentaries on Dogen. Dogen’s Fukanzazengi is short and widely available. A local Soto Zen temple or a daylong zazenkai is a practical first step.