, aka , means going to a Zen master

Zen master

Zen master is an umbrella title sometimes used to refer to an individual who has been recognized by an authorized Zen lineage holder and teacher as having met his or her own teacher's standards of realization or insight. These standards vary widely in different traditions, and may vary among...

 for instruction. In the Rinzai school

Rinzai school

The Rinzai school is , one of three sects of Zen in Japanese Buddhism.Rinzai is the Japanese line of the Chinese Linji school, which was founded during the Tang Dynasty by Linji Yixuan...

, it has the same meaning as dokusan, which is specifically a private interview between student and master, often centering around the student's grasp of an assigned koan. If the master rings a bell to dismiss the student, this means the student's understanding is not right and that their work with the koan must continue. It is typically held twice a day in a monastery

Monastery

Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...

, though during a week-long sesshin

Sesshin

A sesshin , literally "touching the heart-mind" , is a period of intensive meditation in a Zen monastery....

sanzen may take place as often as four times in one day.