Zazen Timer

Set a sitting period and optional walking time between sits. The default is one 25-minute period; choose one or three opening tones.

What zazen is

Zazen is sitting meditation in Zen practice. Approach the seat with a stable, comfortable posture and attention to the practice you have learned. This timer provides time boundaries rather than spoken instruction.

Setting up a zazen timer at home

Choose the length of each sit, the number of sitting periods and the walking time between them. One period has no walking segment. With two or more periods, the timer automatically alternates sitting and walking, ending after the last sit. Try a short session first to check your device volume.

Bells in zazen

Bells can signal the beginning, a change of activity or the end. Follow your group’s forms when practicing together. For example, San Francisco Zen Center’s online forms distinguish a transition to kinhin from an ending before chanting. This simplified home timer uses one or three opening tones and a single tone at later transitions and the end. These settings are choices, not a universal rule.

Sitting more than one period, with walking meditation between

When Walking meditation appears, stand carefully and walk in a clear space. Keep attention with the movement rather than treating the whole interval as time to check your phone. Zen Mountain Monastery describes continuing concentration from sitting into walking. Their instruction and your own teacher’s guidance offer more detail than this timer.

Use Pause if you need extra time to change posture. If a browser suspends the page, the timer returns to the correct segment when you reopen it, but missed bells are not replayed as a sequence. Keep the page visible for timely cues.

Posture basics

A chair, bench or cushion can support a stable seat. Let the hands rest and choose a position you can maintain without forcing the knees or back. Our meditation posture guide explains practical setup options; a Zen teacher can help with tradition-specific forms.

Sources checked October 13, 2026: the two Zen centers linked above. Local schedules and signals differ.

For a single sit with regular checkpoints, try the interval meditation timer. You can also listen to different meditation bells before choosing a sound for another practice.