Chan and Zen (zazen, shikantaza, koan)

Domain XIII · Contemplative & religious disciplines

What it is

Chan (Chinese) and Zen (Japanese) are East Asian Buddhist schools centred on seated meditation (zazen), walking meditation (kinhin), work and meal practice, intensive retreat (sesshin) and, in some lines, inquiry into a koan or huatou under a teacher. Soto Zen presents zazen as sitting without…

Format

• The tradition's own progression (as published). There are no clinical phases or session counts in the sources; the tradition describes a pathway of increasing intensity:
• Regular sitting with a group: periods of zazen separated by kinhin; the Soto leaflet describes a bell-marked sequence of zazen, kinhin and closing bows, with a zazen period of about 40 minutes.

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• Collaborative integration (ongoing): the practice stays the client's; therapy explores what arises, helps adapt dose and form for safety, and links with secular adaptations if the client prefers non-religious practice. Move on when the client can regulate within practice and knows when to pause.

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Is there physical contact? Was it explained beforehand, and do you feel free to say no or stop at any point?
• Does it involve any substance, plant preparation, remedy or supplement? Has your doctor or prescriber been told, especially about any medication you take?
• Does it involve intense or unusual breathing? Have you been told about the medical conditions for which that is not advised?
• Does it involve fasting, a special diet or 'detox'? Have you discussed this with your doctor?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• depression, isolation, and triggering when sitting alone.
• the client feeling their tradition is being replaced or diluted.
• practice becoming a ritual of reassurance; worsening anxiety around retreats.
• pressure from group or teacher to attend; the client minimising history to be accepted.
• samu can ground arousal; it can also be exploited as unpaid labour in high-control settings.

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.