DRASHTA
← Back

zen · Dogen's Fukan Zazengi and Shobogenzo Zazengi (Soto Zen), via Carl Bielefeldt's parallel-text translation and commentary

Zazen: Posture, Breath, and Non-Thinking

Dogen's core zazen instruction: a precisely specified seated posture paired with the practice of 'non-thinking' — not suppressing thought, but resting in the awareness that notices a thought the instant it arises, so it passes on its own.

The theory, briefly

Dogen's zazen manuals (surviving in several close versions — the Fukan Zazengi in two editions, the Shobogenzo Zazengi, and others) treat meditation as inseparable from a specific bodily form. The text gives the posture in exact physical detail: legs crossed (full or half lotus), hands joined with thumb-tips touching at the level of the navel, spine straight without leaning in any direction, ears in line with the shoulders and nose in line with the navel, tongue against the roof of the mouth, lips and teeth closed, eyes kept open (neither too wide nor too narrow), and breath passing quietly through the nose.

Once posture and breath are settled, the text turns to the mind with a famously compact instruction: 'Sitting fixedly, think of not thinking. How do you think of not thinking? Nonthinking.' This is not an instruction to blank the mind or forcibly stop thoughts. The text is explicit about what actually happens: 'Whenever a thought occurs, be aware of it; as soon as you are aware of it, it will vanish. If you remain for a long period forgetful of objects, you will naturally become unified.'

The text calls this 'the essential art of zazen' and describes it as 'the dharma gate of great ease and joy' rather than a difficult technique requiring strain — a state reached through correct, relaxed form rather than effortful concentration on an object.

The practice

Zazen: Form and Non-Thinking

15–30 minutes · Seated wherever you already are — a chair, the floor, a cushion if one's at hand, it doesn't matter; legs crossed if that's comfortable, otherwise simply grounded; hands joined at the navel with thumb-tips touching; spine straight, not leaning in any direction; ears aligned with shoulders, nose aligned with navel; tongue against the roof of the mouth; eyes open, neither too wide nor too narrow.

  1. 1Wherever you're seated right now is enough — a chair, the floor, a cushion, it makes no difference. There's nothing to arrange first.
  2. 2If your legs can cross comfortably, let them (right foot on left thigh, then left foot on right thigh for the full position, or just left foot resting on right thigh for the half position); if not, simply let them be grounded and settled as they are.
  3. 3Place your right hand on your left foot and your left hand on your right palm, pressing the tips of your thumbs together; rest your joined hands against your body so the thumb tips align with your navel.
  4. 4Straighten your body and sit erect, without leaning left, right, forward, or backward. Keep your ears in line with your shoulders and your nose in line with your navel.
  5. 5Press your tongue against the roof of your mouth, close your lips and teeth, and keep your eyes open, neither too widely nor too narrowly.
  6. 6Once your posture is settled, take a full breath and exhale completely; you may sway gently left and right a few times before settling still.
  7. 7Sit fixedly and 'think of not thinking' — when a thought occurs, simply be aware of it; the moment you notice it, let it pass on its own rather than following or suppressing it.
  8. 8Continue resting in this bare noticing, without forcing stillness, trusting that sustained awareness of arising and passing thoughts naturally settles into unified stillness.

None stated explicitly in the source, beyond the text's own note that some practitioners become ill from this practice 'because they do not take proper care' — no further specifics given.

You might also like