BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Teachers of family medicine may improve their skills by examining teachers from other disciplines and cultures. The teaching traditions of Zen might be adapted to medical education. Zen teachers work to eliminate restrictive preconceptions about themselves, their teaching roles, and their students. They strive to encounter their students with their minds and their perceptions clear and to remain ever open to moments of spontaneity and creativity. Examples of how these principles may be used in medical education are presented.