(Approx 2 minute 5 second read)

Those moments of stillness are pretty rare these days aren’t they. Our minds are constantly occupied – planning, analyzing, worrying, reacting. Always doing something, always thinking.
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There are times where we just need to switch off.
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Have you ever caught yourself just staring into space, not thinking about anything in particular? Not daydreaming, not planning, just… looking. I know I have, many times.
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There’s a Japanese word that describes it: ‘boketto’ (ボケっと). The act of gazing vacantly into the distance, lost in a moment of thoughtless observation.
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Sounds great doesn’t it. But in today’s world, people don’t do much of that. If there’s a spare second, they reach for a phone, check a notification, or fill the silence with something. Sometimes though, the best thing you can do is just nothing at all.
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In the martial arts, we talk a lot about awareness – ‘zanshin’, staying present, being ready. A vacant stare wouldn’t exactly be encouraged in training, would it? But that doesn’t mean it has no place.
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Boketto is more of a descriptive word than a formal principle like many others we follow: zanshin (awareness), mushin (no-mind), or fudoshin (immovable mind). Those concepts are deeply rooted in the martial arts and Zen philosophy.
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It describes a state of mind rather than a mindset or discipline. It’s more of an experience – one that happens naturally rather than something you actively train for.
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I don’t know about you but after a hard training session, there’s often a moment where you just sit there, sweating, cooling down, body tired, eyes fixed on nothing in particular. That’s it. It’s not laziness or a lapse in focus – it’s a natural way for the mind to settle.
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Sometimes we just need to step back and let things sink in. I’ve had students tell me that their best realization about their training didn’t come in the middle of class but later, when they were just sitting on the bus, on the way home, staring out of the window. That’s because the mind, when given space, has a way of sorting things out on its own.
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It’s different from mushin – but they are connected – which is about being in the zone, acting without hesitation. Boketto, on the other hand, is about letting the mind drift without forcing it anywhere. And sometimes, in that space between thinking and doing, you have a moment of clarity.
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People these days are obsessed with always pushing, always doing something. But not every moment needs to be filled with conscious effort. Sometimes, stepping back is what allows things to click into place.
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So the next time you find yourself staring out the window after training, don’t snap yourself out of it too soon. Let it happen. And who knows, in that quiet, empty moment, you might just figure out something that’s been bothering you for a while.
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After all, clarity doesn’t always come from thinking harder. Sometimes, it comes from not thinking at all.
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Written by Adam Carter