Zazen and Zen Meditation: Temple Retreats and Practice in Japan
Zen Buddhism — the Japanese adaptation of Chan, transmitted from China in the 12th and 13th centuries — places seated meditation (zazen) at the center of its practice. The two main Zen schools in Japan, Rinzai and Soto, approach zazen differently: Rinzai emphasizes koan practice (contemplation of paradoxical questions) alongside zazen; Soto focuses on shikantaza (“just sitting”) as the practice itself, without a separate goal. Both traditions have maintained resident communities and offered guided meditation to lay practitioners and visitors for centuries, and today provide structured opportunities for travelers to experience contemplative practice in authentic settings.
What Zazen Involves
Zazen is practiced in the zendo (meditation hall), seated on a zafu (round cushion) placed on a zabuton (rectangular mat) facing the wall (Soto school) or the center of the room (Rinzai). The posture — full lotus (kekkafuza), half lotus (hankafuza), or kneeling (seiza) for those unable to achieve lotus position — emphasizes spinal alignment and stillness. Hands are held in the cosmic mudra (left hand resting in right, thumbtips lightly touching). Eyes are half-open, cast downward at a 45-degree angle to the floor.
Practitioners may use the kyosaku — a flat wooden stick applied to the shoulder muscles by a monitoring monk at the meditator’s request or the monitor’s discretion — to relieve tension and maintain alertness. The experience of the kyosaku is sharp and brief; it is not a punishment but a physical intervention to restore posture and attention.
Zazen Experiences for Visitors
Morning zazen sessions: Many Zen temples offer early morning zazen open to visitors — typically 05:30–07:00 — requiring no reservation at smaller temples. Eiheiji (the head Soto temple in Fukui), Engakuji and Kenchoji in Kamakura, and Myoshinji and Daitokuji in Kyoto all offer structured visitor zazen programs. Participation typically requires arriving before the session starts; some temples ask for a small donation (¥500–1,000).
Day practice (sanzen): Half-day or full-day structured practice programs at temples, combining zazen with dharma talks, temple tour, and often a simple vegetarian meal (shojin ryori). Eiheiji offers multi-day practice programs; Antaiji in Hyogo and several Rinzai subtemples in Kyoto provide structured day programs for serious practitioners.
Temple stays (shukubo): Overnight accommodation at a Zen temple includes participation in the monastic schedule — early rising, zazen, meals eaten in the formal oryoki style. The most structured available experience; Eiheiji and Sojiji (Yokohama) offer multi-night programs for practitioners committed to formal practice.
Conduct and Preparation
Arrive in plain, dark clothing (bright colors are distracting in the meditation hall); remove shoes at the entrance and follow the hosting monk’s instructions precisely. Photography inside the zendo is not appropriate during practice. Silence is maintained in the meditation hall and typically in adjacent spaces. Legs may cramp during extended sitting; modifying the posture is acceptable in visitor sessions. The experience of a 45-minute zazen session — even one involving significant physical discomfort — typically produces a noticeable perceptual shift in attentiveness that is its own instruction.
Zen Gardens as Meditation Environment
The karesansui gardens of Zen temples — particularly Ryoan-ji’s fifteen-stone garden, Daisen-in at Daitokuji, and the gardens at Tofukuji — are designed as external meditation environments. Sitting in silence before a karesansui garden for 20–30 minutes, rather than the typical tourist 5-minute photograph visit, provides an accessible zazen-adjacent experience without formal instruction. Early morning visits (before tourist buses arrive) offer the garden in near-solitude and with the best light.