Shikantaza, often rendered as “just sitting,” is the central form of zazen in the Sōtō Zen tradition. It is described as “nothing but precisely sitting,” a style of meditation in which the act of sitting itself is regarded as complete and sufficient. Rather than serving as a method to acquire some future attainment, this sitting is understood as the direct expression of Buddha-nature, the realization that is already present. In this way, shikantaza is considered an embodiment of enlightenment rather than a technique for producing it.

The practice is characterized by objectless awareness. There is no deliberate focus on breath, mantra, visualization, or kōan; no special state is sought. One simply sits upright, usually cross-legged on a cushion, with the spine straight and the body relaxed yet alert, hands resting in a meditative mudra, and eyes open. This embodied posture is not incidental but functions as the physical expression of wakefulness and presence.

Within this posture, shikantaza emphasizes non-doing and non-striving. Thoughts, sensations, and emotions are not suppressed, analyzed, or pursued, nor are they given special encouragement. They are allowed to arise and pass away naturally, without grasping or rejection, within a field of open, spacious awareness. The practitioner neither chases after experiences nor attempts to manufacture insight, but simply allows reality to present itself as it is.

Because of this, shikantaza is often described as a goalless practice. It does not aim at gaining enlightenment as a distant objective, nor at cultivating particular meditative states. The sitting itself is regarded as the full manifestation of the path, the immediate expression of inherent Buddha-nature. In quietly “just sitting,” without adding or subtracting anything, this practice invites a direct, unadorned intimacy with experience that Sōtō Zen holds at the heart of its way.