We can even heard it said as we begin to sit quietly before class 'Mokuso!'
I was taught as a kid in Karate that it meant 'Attention!'; but I related this like Attention! in the military; and I suppose in some ways this is true. Even Zen can be a bit militaristic in it's tough disciplined approach.
Mokuso does come from a Buddhist background and is one of the 84,200 forms of meditation taught in Mahayana Buddhist that is prevalent in Japan.
This silent contemplation can bring up our awareness, wake us up, and bring us to attention.
It also allows our worries and cares from outside the dojo to dissolve and bring us into focus on the task at hand; perhaps even bring us to directly experience this present moment.
In martial arts being in the present moment, just like in Zen, is the primary way to live.
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