Karate . Karaoke . Kimono . Like other familiar Nipponese k - words , it ’s easy to concentrate Zen koans into a Westernized freshness particular ( the Nipponese wordkoancomes from the Chinesegong’an , which means " public case " ) . Maybe you ’ve view this famous koan on a paper placemat in a sushi restaurant :
" What is the sound of one mitt clapping ? "
Hmm . It ’s tempting to be a sassy aleck , like Bart Simpson , or to dismiss the supposedly " rich " question as ridiculous or nonsensical .
But if you take a minute to explore the long chronicle and tradition of koans inZen Buddhism — the first aggregation of Zen koanswere compiled1,000 years ago — you ’ll have a new grasp for the power of these ancient riddles to unlock deep ghostlike discernment , perhaps even enlightenment .
To dig deeper , we speak with Steven Heine , a religion professor at Florida International University who has publish many splendid books about Zen Buddhism and koan , including the accessible fuze " Zen Koans . "
Why Koans are the Heart of Zen Buddhism
Zen Buddhism is a school of Buddhism that was first developed in seventh - hundred China ( where it ’s calledChan ) and later demand beginning in Japan andKoreain the thirteenth hundred . In Japanese , Zenmeans " speculation , " and it ’s through countless hours of focussed meditation that a Zen practitioner hopes to reach enlightenment , aBuddha - comparable state of infrangible understanding and detachment .
But that wo n’t happen through speculation alone . At the bosom of Zen Buddhism is the relationship between the student and the teacher or master . The line of the master is to help the scholarly person disgorge layers of ignorance , stubbornness and illusions to divulge the " Buddha within , " the knowledge and wisdom that has always been there waiting to be revealed .
The best tool for peeling back those layer is the koan . There are hundreds and hundreds of koan , but each one tell the news report of a brief interaction — normally between a student and a teacher , but sometimes two teachers , or a instructor and a rival — that results in a sudden flash of perceptiveness .
" A koan is essentially an encounter dialogue , " says Heine . " Two or more individuals have a abbreviated exchange — which can admit wrangle , motion , even silence — and through that skirmish , some kind of ignorance is divulge and understanding is revealed . "
While every wisdom custom uses history to teach moral and spiritual truths ( Jesus , for lesson , learn using apologue ) , there ’s something unlike about a koan . Lucy in the sky with diamonds maestro use koans to galvanise and demilitarise their students , and shake them from their spiritual slumber . That ’s why koans often seem contradictory , self-contradictory and downright random .
" The koan is an instrument to get you from un - nirvana to enlightenment , " sound out Heine , " But it ’s more about the interaction you have with your teacher than the story itself . The chronicle is a means to an end . "
A History of Koans, Unsolved “Cases”
According to Heine , koans date stamp back to the " golden age " of Zen Buddhism in China during the T’ang Dynasty ( 618 to 917 C.E. ) . In Chinese , the word for koan isgong’an , which means a " public record " or " sound case . " Even today , a non - Buddhist in China would understandgong’anto mean a legal common law or a tec story , say Heine .
When Zen came around , Formosan Buddhists appropriated the effectual language of thegong’anor koan and apply it to example of " spiritual crimes , " says Heine . Each koan is referred to as a subject and the crime to be solve might be stubbornness , ignorance , bond , etc .
Koans were first write down in 1020 C.E. and bound in collections of case . One of the best - known koan ingathering is " The Gateless Gate , " a Quran compile by the Chinese Zen maestro Wumen Huikai in the other thirteenth century . Each case is accompany by commentary by the original , visit Mumon in the text .
In Mumon ’s preface to " The Gateless Gate , " he reason with a verse form :
In other words , the itinerary to enlightenment passes through a " gateless logic gate . " There is no real barrier , only the barrier of ignorance that we ’ve constructed in our own mind . According tothe 20th - century Japanese Zen original Kuon Yamada , the " thousand unlike roads " run to enlightenment are koans . koan are what will unlock the gateless logic gate inside ourselves .
Case No. 1: “Joshu’s Dog”
The very first case in " The Gateless Gate " is also one of the best - known and thorny koan in Zen Buddhism . It ’s send for " Joshu ’s Dog . "
Joshu is a fabled Zen master . The eager immature Thelonious Sphere Monk asks Joshu a yes or no inquiry : does a bounder , a humble fauna , have the same innate ability to accomplish enlightenment as the Buddha ? And Joshu exclaim , " Nothing ! "
On the aerofoil , Joshu ’s answer makes no sensation . It ’s similar to other koan , where a captain answer by wordlessly raising a finger . Or by violently slapping the inquirer in the font . But there ’s a method to the lyssa , which Mumon explicate in his comment :
All that from a question about a heel ?
The koan is a manner of " completely uproot[ing ] all the normal working of one ’s mind , " wrote Mumon . rather of simply saying , " Yes , every survive affair has the Buddha nature , " Joshu need us to meditate nighttime and day on the construct of " nothing " so as to think beyond " yes and no , " " Buddha or no Buddha " and relate with something universally true .
" Joshu ’s Dog " is one of the first koans presented to scholarly person of Zen Buddhism . It can take years to " lick " and the result , as set by the master , will variegate harmonise to what the individual student ask to learn .
Paradox, Double Binds and Deeper Meanings
Zen Buddhism migrate from China to Japan and Korea in the mid-1200s , says Heine , and each culture evolve its own approaching to koan . In Korea , Heine sound out , students were assigned one koan at a time , and they might meditate on that single koan for year before moving on to the next . In Japanese Zen custom , there is a set program of piles or even hundreds of koans that each scholar has to " pass . "
In the West , the conventional view of koan is that they are write to be purposefully self-contradictory , even nonsensical . And there ’s good reason to call back that manner . Here are just a few classic koans that employ a " twofold - bind " — essentially , a no - winnings situation .
A master holds up a spliff and dares his students : " If you call this a stick , you will be cling , and if you do not call this a stick , you will be brush off the obvious . So , now , say me , what do you call it ? "
Another master challenge his students : " hold back your tongues and rim closed , how will you speak ? "
The masterPi - mowent around require every monk he met :
While Heine admits that some koans are simply intellect biz designed to go bad our brains and force us into fresh ways of examine , others are root in ancient tradition that are shroud to most modern reader .
" If you immerse yourself in the context of the original tradition — which include mythology , legend and cultural symbol from China , Japan and Korea — then you start to pick up on the obscure references , " he says .
Here ’s an example . An eager monk take his master , " Why did Zen come to Japan from China ? " The master answer , " There is a cypress tree in the courtyard . "
What ? On the aerofoil , it attend like another mind game . But through his inquiry , Heine traced the koan back to a tabernacle in Japan call the Cypress Forest Temple , which was surrounded by cypress tree trees .
" When you look at it that style , the meaning of the koan is cleared , " says Heine . " The headmaster is say , you ’re so eager that you ’re miss the timberland for the trees . Instead of make no sensation , it make perfect sense . "
