Rendered in the fashion of a cube, the main stage is covered by a roof held up by four posts.  While some audience members may find the posts distracting, the actors wearing masks use them as a guide to orient themselves on the stage (George, 1999).  In addition, the posts help fix the eyes on the contained space of the action.  The stage and the bridge are separated from the audience by a rock path, ordinarily white pebbles similar to those found in a Zen garden (George, 1999).

All of these features work synergistically to focus the mind of the actor as well as the audience, similar to the way a Buddhist temple has a special room designed for meditation.  The point is to block out all that is unnecessary to the performance or the meditation so that the participants are able to maintain focus.

Zeami, known as the father of Noh, describes hana, flower moment, as a special attribute of the performance; an attribute outside of technique (George, 1999).  The first hana, achieved as a young actor, is instantly found and then lost.  However, the actor then begins his quest to attain the hana again.  Only through continued, concentrated practice, as in the practice of Zen, can the hana be achieved.  Obviously, Zeami reached the ideal hana or else he would not have been able to write about it.  In Zen, one understands only through experience.

During a Noh performance, the audience, which has probably seen the play on multiple occasions, anxiously awaits the hana moment.  The writer plans the timing of the hana moment so the actor must work steadfastly while training in order to reach hana at the premeditated moment.  Zen monks also strive for their own hana moment in the performance of life.