The way The "goal" Background Chinese texts Classical Post-classical Contemporary Zen in Japan Seon in Korea Thiền in Vietnam Western Zen Stopping thought, or quieting the mind, is a practice in Zen[1] and other forms of meditation and yoga[2] referring to the achievement of the mental state of samādhi, where the normal mental chatter slows and then stops[3] for brief or longer periods.
[4] Patañjali in the Yoga Sutras states "Yogaś citta-vritti-nirodhaḥ" ("Yoga is the restriction of the fluctuations of mindstuff").
[5] Paradoxically, Zen teaches that the attainment of this state is not through the normal method of intent and application of skill or technique.
[6] As stated in the Zen poem Xinxin Ming:[7] When you try to stop activity to achieve passivity your very effort fills you with activity.
In other words, the process becomes a combination of proper technique, acceptance, and returning to or focusing on a familiar state rather than a state achieved through pure force of will.