zafu

[za-foo]

noun

1. a round cushion used in Zen meditation.

Word History and Origins

Origin of zafu¹

First recorded in 1975–80; from Japanese, equivalent to za “seat” + fu “bulrush, cattail,” commonly mistranslated as “sewn seat”; zabuton ( def. )

Example Sentences

Kiriko Zafu Meditation Pillow: This Portland-made cushion wraps Japanese fabric around a supportive millet filling to create a lovely place for her to practice mindfulness.

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I dutifully crouched on a zafu cushion in a somewhat cramped room as a guide offered pleasant banalities on “letting go” and mentally rowing myself in a visionary canoe.

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We brought are Zafu cushions to work, and at lunch time closed our office doors and meditated.

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“I’d rather stay home on my zafu”—her meditation cushion—“and study the dharma.”

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For this you sit with crossed legs on a "zafu", or cushion, while you look down at the floor at a 45-degree angle, take a deep and slow breath and meditate.

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