Within the landscape of Zen practice, shikantaza—“just sitting”—designates a form of seated meditation in which awareness is not deliberately directed toward any particular object. There is no focus on breath, mantra, image, or even a kōan; rather, one rests in an open, objectless awareness. Thoughts, sensations, and emotions are allowed to arise and pass without suppression or pursuit, and the posture is one of relaxed yet vivid attentiveness. The sitting itself is the entirety of the practice, with no further goal projected beyond the act of simply being present.

This style of meditation is most strongly associated with the Sōtō school, where it stands as the central and defining discipline. By contrast, the Rinzai tradition, especially in the lineage shaped by Hakuin Ekaku, is characterized primarily by rigorous kōan introspection. Hakuin’s reform of Rinzai practice placed dynamic engagement with kōans at the heart of training, using them to exhaust discursive thinking and catalyze awakening experiences. In this context, shikantaza does not function as the primary path but may appear in a more limited role, for example as a way of sitting that expresses a mature, nongrasping awareness once kōan work has borne fruit.

Thus, within Rinzai circles influenced by Hakuin, “just sitting” is generally understood in relation to kōan practice rather than as an independent, central method. It can serve as a kind of quiet, undirected abiding that reflects the mind’s natural clarity after the intense discipline of kōan investigation. While the external form—simply sitting still—may resemble the Sōtō approach, its place in the overall training regimen and its inner orientation are framed by the Rinzai emphasis on awakening through kōan inquiry.