Zen Practice (Zazen and Beyond) — Zen centers on zazen — seated meditation — in two main forms: shikantaza ("just sitting" in open awareness) and koan practice (sustained inquiry into a paradoxical question). Alongside these sits "beginner’s mind," the attitude of meeting experience without preconception. These are traditional contemplative practices; some mechanisms overlap with studied attention training, but Zen’s specific aims and claims are largely experiential rather than clinically validated. Breath Counting Meditation — Breath counting (susokukan in Japanese Zen) is a focused-attention practice in which you silently count each exhale from one to ten, then restart, using the count to anchor attention and quickly detect when the mind has wandered. It is one of the oldest formalized attention-training methods; its mechanism aligns well with focused-attention research, though breath counting as an isolated practice has rarely been trialed separately. Work as practice (samu) — Bring full, wholehearted attention to ordinary tasks, treating activity itself as meditation. Zen Koans: Inquiry Beyond Reason — A koan is a paradoxical question or vignette — "What is the sound of one hand?" — used in Rinzai Zen to exhaust discursive thinking and provoke a non-conceptual insight called kensho. Koan practice is a centuries-old experiential tradition; benefits are reported within the lineage but have not been validated by controlled research, and authentic koan work is traditionally done under a qualified teacher. Receiving and holding a first koan — Take up a single koan and let it become a constant background hum rather than a puzzle to crack. Extending shikantaza to daily activity — Bring the same non-grasping, present awareness from formal sitting into ordinary tasks. Shikantaza (just sitting) — Sit in open, objectless awareness — not focusing on anything, not following anything. Zen To Done (ZTD), Made Practical — Zen To Done (ZTD) is Leo Babauta’s streamification of Getting Things Done — it keeps GTD’s capture and next-action habits while adding a minimalist philosophy: focus on one habit at a time, maintain a small set of most important tasks each day, and simplify rather than optimize. ZTD is a practitioner system grounded in habit-formation and attention research rather than a formally tested protocol. Silent illumination: the quality of awake stillness — Cultivate a stillness that is lit from inside — quiet and alert, not blank and dull. Carrying the koan through daily life — Keep the koan quietly alive during ordinary activities so inquiry is not limited to the cushion.

Coaching practices for What is Mu Zen

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Does this sound like the set of challenges you might be facing?

My calm only lasts as long as the cushion
I keep treating these questions like puzzles to crack and going looking for the "right answer," and I sense that’s exactly the wrong move
On the cushion I can find that open, present quality, but the instant I stand up it evaporates
I’m tired of techniques and counting and focusing on something
My sits have gone quiet but kind of dead

Practices that may help

Zen Practice (Zazen and Beyond)
Zen centers on zazen — seated meditation — in two main forms: shikantaza ("just sitting" in open awareness) and koan practice (sustained inquiry into a paradoxical question). Alongside these sits "beginner’s mind," the attitude of meeting experience without preconception. These are traditional contemplative practices; some mechanisms overlap with studied attention training, but Zen’s specific aims and claims are largely experiential rather than clinically validated.
Breath Counting Meditation
Breath counting (susokukan in Japanese Zen) is a focused-attention practice in which you silently count each exhale from one to ten, then restart, using the count to anchor attention and quickly detect when the mind has wandered. It is one of the oldest formalized attention-training methods; its mechanism aligns well with focused-attention research, though breath counting as an isolated practice has rarely been trialed separately.
Work as practice (samu)
Bring full, wholehearted attention to ordinary tasks, treating activity itself as meditation.
Zen Practice (Zazen and Beyond)
Zen Koans: Inquiry Beyond Reason
A koan is a paradoxical question or vignette — "What is the sound of one hand?" — used in Rinzai Zen to exhaust discursive thinking and provoke a non-conceptual insight called kensho. Koan practice is a centuries-old experiential tradition; benefits are reported within the lineage but have not been validated by controlled research, and authentic koan work is traditionally done under a qualified teacher.
Receiving and holding a first koan
Take up a single koan and let it become a constant background hum rather than a puzzle to crack.
Zen Koans: Inquiry Beyond Reason
Extending shikantaza to daily activity
Bring the same non-grasping, present awareness from formal sitting into ordinary tasks.
Shikantaza: Just Sitting
Shikantaza (just sitting)
Sit in open, objectless awareness — not focusing on anything, not following anything.
Zen Practice (Zazen and Beyond)
Zen To Done (ZTD), Made Practical
Zen To Done (ZTD) is Leo Babauta’s streamification of Getting Things Done — it keeps GTD’s capture and next-action habits while adding a minimalist philosophy: focus on one habit at a time, maintain a small set of most important tasks each day, and simplify rather than optimize. ZTD is a practitioner system grounded in habit-formation and attention research rather than a formally tested protocol.
Silent illumination: the quality of awake stillness
Cultivate a stillness that is lit from inside — quiet and alert, not blank and dull.
Shikantaza: Just Sitting
Carrying the koan through daily life
Keep the koan quietly alive during ordinary activities so inquiry is not limited to the cushion.
Zen Koans: Inquiry Beyond Reason

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