座ざ禅ぜん

ざ

ぜ

ん

Common wordJLPTN1Freq.FrequencyTop 50,000

Meanings

1

zazen; seated Zen meditation

A core practice in Zen Buddhism, typically performed in a cross-legged posture. The term is widely recognized even outside religious contexts.

心こころ

を

落お

ち

着つ

け

て

いる

。

Every morning I sit in zazen to calm my mind.

禅ぜん寺でらで座ざ禅ぜん体たい験けんに参さん加かした。

I joined a zazen experience at a Zen temple.

座ざ禅ぜんを組くむto sit in the zazen (cross-legged meditation) posture
毎まい朝あさ、庭にわで座ざ禅ぜんを組くんでいます。
Every morning I sit in zazen in the garden.
座ざ禅ぜんを行おこなうto perform/practice zazen
この寺てらでは毎まい週しゅう座ざ禅ぜんを行おこなっている。
This temple holds zazen practice every week.
座ざ禅ぜん会かいに参さん加かするto take part in a zazen session/gathering
初はじめて座ざ禅ぜん会かいに参さん加かしてみた。
I took part in a zazen session for the first time.

瞑めい想そう
座禅 refers specifically to the seated, cross-legged form of Zen meditation, while 瞑想 is a general word for meditation of any style or religious tradition.
禅ぜんN1
座禅 refers specifically to seated meditation practice, whereas 禅 is the broader term covering dhyana or the Zen tradition as a whole.

正せい座ざN1
正座 is the formal kneeling posture used in tea ceremony and manners, whereas 座禅 is the cross-legged meditation posture used in Zen practice.

座ざ禅ぜんUsage35%
Standard modern spelling; the most common form in contemporary Japanese.
坐ざ禅ぜんUsage63%
Traditional kanji form, still seen in Buddhist contexts and older texts.
ザゼンUsage2%

From Middle Chinese 坐禪 (dzwɑX dzyen), meaning 'to sit in meditation'. The kanji 坐 (sit) was later replaced by 座 (seat/sit) in modern Japanese.