Seated meditation in the Shōbōgenzō isn’t a mere stepping stone toward enlightenment—it’s the very heartbeat of awakening itself. Dōgen turns zazen into a living, breathing practice: sitting becomes the embodiment of Buddha-nature rather than a technique to achieve some future goal. No fancy trick or mental gymnastics—just the stool, the breath, and you fully present.

Rather than treating meditation as a pit stop on the spiritual highway, Dōgen insists that practice and realization are one and the same. When posture, attention, and heart align in zazen, each moment unfolds like a lotus blossoming—no separate past or future to cling to. This resonates today amid smartphone-driven distractions and “mindfulness” apps vying for attention. Dōgen’s teaching cuts right through the noise, reminding practitioners that enlightenment is happening now, not somewhere over the horizon.

In essays such as “Genjōkōan,” zazen is portrayed as the dynamic expression of all phenomena. Mountains and rivers, every blade of grass, join in the sitting. It’s a powerful antidote to our modern rush—much like tuning into a live concert instead of streaming a playlist on autopilot. During global lockdowns, countless online meditation groups rediscovered this immediacy, echoing Dōgen’s century-old message: simply sit, simply be.

By making zazen the core of daily life—whether folding laundry or sharing a meal—Dōgen challenges habitual splits between practice and ordinary activity. Sitting becomes a way of seeing through the ordinary veil, revealing that the sacred never left. In every silent breath, the entire universe is complete.