Sit with a friend
3 copies
One for you, two to give
2 people you choose get the book.
About $30 goes to the center.
One signed copy for you.
A claim code for each copy you give.
Recipients pay only shipping.
$60
Give 3 copiesOn sale January 12, 2027
Just Sitting
A Beginner's Guide to Zen Meditation
Begin tonight. Keep coming back.
$19.95 Paperback
Ordering direct through GZC supports the center most.
Pre-order by January 12 and have your name on the “First Sitters” page in the second printing.
All proceeds support Greenville Zen Center.
Sitting here is always free.
Greenville Zen Center Enso Press
From early readers
A welcome to
the practice.
“Grounded, personal, and practical. With Just Sitting, Jay offers us an inviting introduction to Sōtō Zen Buddhism, accessible for a range of practitioners.”
“Jay Motley takes the reader by the hand in this kindhearted and thorough Zen practice guide. Jay addresses the conceptual and the everyday with equal care and attention, as he accompanies the reader through Zen practice at home, with the sangha and at the temple, through grief, pain, friendship, and parenthood. Jay's book stays rooted in his own practice and his own story, giving us an intimate portrait of a doctor, father, husband, friend, and Zen practitioner.”
Free Live Launch Sit · YouTube
Start with
a sit.
Tuesday, January 12, 2027 · 7:30 pm Eastern
Twenty minutes of sitting, a reading, and questions. You're welcome to join whether you buy the book or not.
70 days to January 12
Shared during the live sit
- A printable sitting card
- Two audio chapters, read by Jay
These are for people who join us live.
Give the book, support the center
A little more stillness
in the world.
Put Just Sitting into the hands of people you choose, and help keep sitting free at the Greenville Zen Center.
Give a stack
5 copies
For friends and family
4 people you choose get the book.
About $50 goes to the center.
One signed copy for you.
A claim code for each copy you give.
Recipients pay only shipping.
$100
Give 5 copiesSponsor a sangha
25 copies
For a class, a group or a waiting room
24 people you choose get the book.
About $250 goes to the center.
One signed copy for you.
A claim code for each copy you give.
Recipients pay only shipping.
$500
Give 25 copiesFill a library
100 copies
For a library, chaplaincy or school
99 people you choose get the book.
About $1,000 goes to the center.
One signed copy for you.
A claim code for each copy you give.
Recipients pay only shipping.
$2,000
Give 100 copiesYou buy a stack
Choose how many books you'd like to give. All proceeds support GZC.
You get a signed copy and codes
Keep your copy. Hand out the claim codes, or ask GZC to send the stack to a chaplaincy, recovery program, school or hospital.
They claim their book
Each recipient enters their code and address and pays only shipping. Then we mail the book.
Claim a gifted copyEach checkout includes an optional “Add a gift to the center” field. That additional gift is a donation and gets a tax receipt.
Stacks bought by Sunday, December 13 can go out as holiday gifts. A printable gift card is included.
What's inside
For an
ordinary morning.
“The cushion is life in miniature.”
Sōtō Zen is the practice of just sitting. You sit upright, let your thoughts come and go, and come back to the sitting, again and again. That's most of it. The hard part is doing it on an ordinary morning with a busy life waiting for you.
Jay Motley is a physician who came to the cushion through loss and kept sitting. This is the book he wanted when he started: how to begin tonight, what to do when sitting gets hard, how to keep a practice going in a full house, what to expect the first time you walk into a Zen center, and how the practice shows up in the rest of your day. Along the way he tells the story of Sōtō Zen, from the Buddha to Dōgen to a Sunday morning sit in Greenville, and explains its teachings in plain words.
It's honest about what meditation does and doesn't do, and it reads like a conversation with a friend.
Find a place to begin
The practice of just sitting, and how to begin tonight.
- Introduction
- Why Sit
- How to Begin
Meet the tradition
The story of Sōtō Zen and its teachings in plain words.
- Zen and the Basic Buddhist Teachings
- A Short History
- The Heart of Sōtō
Keep coming back
What to do when sitting gets hard, and how to keep practicing at home.
- When Sitting Gets Hard
- Keeping It Going at Home
Sit with others
Your first visit to a Zen center, and practice in the rest of your day.
- Your First Visit, and the Forms
- Practice in Everyday Life
Carry on
Community and further reading as your practice continues.
- Teachers, Community, and Retreats
- What to Read Next, and Setting Down the Map
Who it's for
A place to begin.
A book to share.
New to meditation
Start with how to begin tonight, and what to expect when sitting gets hard.
Already sitting
Explore the story of Sōtō Zen and keeping a practice going in a busy life.
Buying for someone else
Give a friend an introduction to sitting. Let them find their own place to begin.
100 copies
A copy
made out to you.
I'll sign and inscribe a copy for you, or someone you'd like to give it to.
$35
Holiday cutoff: Sunday, December 13.
Get a signed copyAbout the author
I'm Jay.
I'm Jay Motley, M.D., a physician and lay Sōtō Zen practitioner in Greenville. I helped start the Greenville Zen Center.
The launch team
Help the book
find its readers.
Read the ebook before it comes out, and if it speaks to you, pass it on to someone who might welcome it. You don’t have to write a review.
To say thanks, I’ll name the launch team in the second printing, and we’ll have an online sit and Q&A together.
Join the launch teamWhere the money goes
A book that keeps
the door open.
All proceeds go to the Greenville Zen Center, a 501(c)(3). We're lay-led, with no resident teacher, and sitting is always free.
Our regular sit is Sunday at 8:00 am Eastern, at 52 Cleveland Street, Greenville, SC.
A few questions.
When will pre-orders ship?
Pre-ordered paperbacks ship for the January 12 release. Direct single-copy orders are $19.95 plus shipping. People you give a stack code to claim their copy free and pay only shipping.
Can I get a signed copy or an inscription?
Signed and inscribed copies are $35, limited to 100 copies. Contact hello@greenvillezen.org about an inscription. The holiday cutoff is Sunday, December 13.
How do claim codes work?
You get one signed copy and a claim code for each of the remaining copies in your stack. Share the codes with people you choose. Each recipient enters their code and mailing details on our claim page. They pay only shipping, $9.75.
Can I send a stack to an organization?
Yes. You can hand out the codes yourself or ask GZC to send your stack to a chaplaincy, recovery program, school or hospital. Contact hello@greenvillezen.org to arrange it.
Will I get a tax receipt?
Books aren't a tax-deductible donation. If you add a gift to the center at checkout, that part is, and you'll get a receipt for it.
How was the cover made?
The cover was made with AI image tools, under Jay's direction.
More questions? hello@greenvillezen.org