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Zen Principle #1: "Naturalness"

Updated: Aug 24, 2025

"Naturalness" means "an absence of pretence and artificiality" not just in how we interact with others, but in how we inhabit ourselves. It’s the quiet courage to live without masks, without performance, without the compulsive need to curate our identity.


In Zen, naturalness is not laziness or passivity - it’s the deep integrity of being what we are, without distortion. When we live naturally, we stop posturing for approval or bending ourselves to fit imagined ideals. We speak plainly. We move honestly. We allow our rhythms, emotions, and instincts to surface without shame. And if we can't do these things, we at least acknowledge that we carry certain baggage with us even if we aren't able to shake it.


In life, it means reclaiming the simplicity of being—a kind of radical authenticity that invites others to do the same.


As horse handlers, my sense is the principle means we shouldn't pretend that we are something we're not, for example, saying "I'm not afraid" when we are, or pretending we know everything when we don't. It's about being authentic in all that we do.


But what do you think of it in the context of horses? I interpret it in the following ways:


  1. that our keeping of horses should be as close to how nature intended as is possible;

  2. that we should communicate with horses in as natural a way as possible (using their natural language); and

  3. that we should avoid using gadgets in our training, or asking them to do anything unnatural.


"But riding isn't 'natural'!" you cry, "so how can you justify riding if you're a Zen horse person?" Well, part of the Zen principle of "Interconnectedness" is "having responsibility for those around us" and ensuring that we act in their best interests... while I am not opposed to horses being kept and not ridden, if a horse is physically, mentally, and emotionally healthy enough to be ridden, I feel it is a horseperson's responsibility to ensure that they are, and that they are good mounts, in order for them to stand the best chance of being found a good home should anything happen to their current care giver.


So perhaps Naturalness, in the deepest sense, is not about rigid purity or idealism - it’s about honesty. It’s about meeting reality as it is, with humility, curiosity, and care. In our lives, this might mean shedding the layers of performance we’ve learned to wear. In our horsemanship, it means choosing practices that honour the horse’s nature - not our ambition, not tradition, and certainly not convenience. And how do we know what’s truly natural? We investigate. We observe. We turn to science - not to control, but to understand. Ethology, biomechanics, neuroscience - they help us strip away distortion and see the horse as they are, not as we imagine them to be. Naturalness invites us to live and train in ways that feel congruent - not just with the horse’s body and mind, but with our own values. And when we do ride, or intervene, or guide, we do so not from dominance or denial, but from a place of quiet responsibility. Because to live naturally is not to do nothing; it’s to do what is needed, without pretence. With clarity. With evidence. With reverence for what is.


What do you think?


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