Korean Seon places particular emphasis on the practice of *hwadu*, a short, paradoxical phrase or question that serves as the focal point of meditation. This is formalized in *Ganhwa Seon*, “observing the hwadu,” where the practitioner sustains an intense, questioning attention toward the phrase without trying to resolve it conceptually. The cultivation of “great doubt” around the hwadu is regarded as the engine that drives the mind beyond habitual patterns of thought, opening the possibility of sudden insight. In many lineages, this inquiry is not confined to the meditation hall but is maintained throughout daily activities, so that the question silently permeates every action and perception.

Alongside hwadu practice, Korean Seon also makes use of methods that stabilize and clarify the mind so that this inquiry can be sustained. Breath meditation—either counting the breaths or simply following the natural flow of inhalation and exhalation—is often employed as a preliminary discipline, gathering scattered attention into a more unified awareness. Some traditions also acknowledge a form of “silent illumination,” in which the practitioner sits in alert stillness without clinging to any particular object, allowing thoughts to arise and pass while maintaining clear awareness. Although less emphasized than hwadu in the Korean context, this style of practice reflects the same aspiration: a mind that is both utterly still and vividly awake.

The physical forms of practice in Korean Seon are not mere supports but are themselves expressions of meditative inquiry. Sitting meditation adopts a stable, upright posture, with the body relaxed yet alert, and serves as the primary container for hwadu or breath contemplation. Walking meditation, performed slowly and mindfully between sitting periods, extends this concentrated awareness into movement, ensuring that insight is not confined to stillness alone. Prostrations—often performed in structured sequences such as 108 bows—combine bodily movement, breath, and mental focus, cultivating humility and integrating the whole person into the path. Through these interwoven techniques, Korean Seon seeks a direct realization that is at once sudden in its breakthrough and thoroughly embodied in the rhythms of everyday life.