In days of old, although not mandated, traditionally the student lived with the master either in a monastery-like situation or an abode close by. Because it was basically tradition handed down through the ages and not a formal mandate, living with the master is interpreted into today's world as not always being necessarily so and does not impact true or total confirmation.
If the sect or route followed by the student utilizes Koans, then once all of the Koans have been mastered by the student to the master's satisfaction, Inka will be conveyed upon the student. In traditions that focus more upon Zazen training, once the master becomes convinced of the students genuine level of insight, then the conferral of Inka will take place.
Once the student has received Inka, and the master has ensured himself that the student has the proper skills (like the ability to lead others), then the master will proclaim the student his hassu (Dharma successor). The student will then attain Roshi status as a monk, and may move away from the master in order to found another Zen Center or Monastery. Or the student may remain with the master, as a Roshi, for as long as conditions allow.
The Wanderling, as cited in Dark Luminosity and other sources, is a modern day example of the Zazen route. As to the Koan route, like everything in Zen --- as well as elsewhere --- it has it pros and cons. Aziz Kristof, a modern-day Awakened non-traditional Advaita Zen master, along the path of Enlightenment, writes of his own personal experience with Koans:
"In that period I solved the main set of Koans. I needed to solve them because I was uncertain about their importance in the Awakening process. Not being able to solve them - I might have doubted the authority of my state. I was quite sad seeing those poor fellows trying to solve these abstract Koans instead of directly Awakening their consciousness. I had a few arguments with the leading Zen master, in fact I had arguments with all the Zen masters. This man was anyway a good man, but quite identified with 'the school.' This school of Zen seemed to mould everyone into the same shape, as if they were making clones. Everybody seemed to speak the some language, ask the same questions and give the same answers. The most interesting thing was that none of those masters were actually interested in the inner state. No one ever asked: "Aziz, what is your state?" Such a basic question! Instead, they asked: what did master Chao Chou mean saying Mu? Who really cares? It is wonderful to study the sayings of Old Sages, but what they were pointing to is much more important. In awakening to "Who I Am" one holds the essence of all possible Koans, from the past, present and future.
SEE:
DOING HARD TIME IN A ZEN MONASTERY
INKA SHOMEI, A MATTER OF DEGREES
THE FIVE RANKS: Sho-Chu-Hen to Ken-Chu-To:
In ZEN ENLIGHTENMENT: The Path Unfolds, wherein the Wanderling writes of his spiritual guide and Mentor: "...therefore, the equivalent of Inka Shomei, the Seal of Approval, at the Fourth Level, ken-chu-shi, was graciously accorded me by the person from which I sought guidence; he himself, having experienced full realization under the grace and light of Sri Ramana Maharshi some thirty-nine years earlier..."
Depending on context Ken means "both," and/or "perceive" --- meaning the indepth realization of how both sho and hen are NOT separate, but actually fully integrated-interdefused aspects of the same single, non-dual phenomenon. For example, albeit simply put, the interdefused non-dualism of say hot and cold. On the surface most people would argue that they are seemingly different, but in actuality, both are interrelated aspects of the same single non-dual temperature spectrum (i.e., both the freezing point of water and the boiling point of the same water can be shown on one single thermometer).
Thus then, it can be seen the replacement in use of the word ken, which is the realization of both hen and sho totally intermingling and interdiffused, in lieu of the word hen --- as say in ken-chu-shi rather than hen-chu-shi in the Fourth Degree --- carries within it's scope a much deeper meaning than merely a simple syntax variance or first letter change.
Notice, however, his Mentor specifically selected ken-chu-shi over hen-chu-shi, meaning he felt in the nunances of it all a deeper level of understanding was attained than what hen-chu-shi offered. However, notice as well his Mentor DID NOT grace him with hen-chu-to, and most significantly NOT ken-chu-to, apparently indicating in both cases that although the Wanderling's attainment was deep, it was, at least at that time, not total. (source)
SEE:
ALL IS ILLUSION?
A Chinese-Indian Dichotomy In Advaita and Zen
SEE ALSO:
THE AWAKENING EXPERIENCE IN THE MODERN ERA
Fundamentally, our experience as experienced is not different from the Zen master's. Where
we differ is that we place a fog, a particular kind of conceptual overlay onto that experience
and then make an emotional investment in that overlay, taking it to be "real" in and of itself.
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Zen Buddhism and Psychoanalysis By Erich Fromm, D.T. Suzuki, et al.