Koan study (there's an oxymoron) is a kind of game composed of existential riddles designed to "hook" the intellect into action, but correct answers can only be attained by refusing the bait and letting the body's innate intelligence respond to the question. In order to "see through" a koan--see and respond to the living truth--, one must, in effect, hit the "clear" button on the computer function of mind. One must respond instantly before ideation can get started. As soon as thinking begins, it's too late!
About a thousand years ago some Zen Masters began using koans as a way to test their students' understanding. Eventually the "koan system" became formalized, and today there are about 1800 koans that comprise the system. Predictably, certain groups got attached to the system, and there was later a revolt against it. Today, some groups of Zen people use koans as a major teaching methodology while others eschew their use. At their best, koans are an interesting and playful way to discover the truth (which is concealed by mind knowledge).
Most people live in their heads, and they are attached to thoughts (ideas and beliefs) through which reality is filtered and interpreted. Koans can be a fun way of discovering the nature of one's cognitive filters and attachments and learning how to respond free of those filters and attachments.
When I first encountered formal koans through Zen "interviews," I was amazed at how easily the mind gets "hooked." I felt like the guy in the ethnic joke who "had broad shoulders and a flat forehead" because when he was asked a question, he always shrugged, and when hearing the answer he always slapped his forehead with the flat of his hand. ha ha. My first Zen interviews gave my teachers and me a lot of laughs because I was so existentially blind to the obvious. When my first teacher said to me, "You're a very clever fellow," I knew that it wasn't meant as a compliment. LOL
Existential questions arise because we don't see the truth that is always present. We become mesmerized or paralyzed by our own thinking. "What is the meaning of life?" The answer is staring us in the face, but we can't get out of our heads long enough to see the obvious. Formal koans add "hooks" that add extra stimulation to the mind. "What is the meaning of a SPIRITUAL life?" adds seeming complexity to the initial question (adds another layer of illusion), and only the body can find its way through the house of mirrors.
About a thousand years ago some Zen Masters began using koans as a way to test their students' understanding. Eventually the "koan system" became formalized, and today there are about 1800 koans that comprise the system. Predictably, certain groups got attached to the system, and there was later a revolt against it. Today, some groups of Zen people use koans as a major teaching methodology while others eschew their use. At their best, koans are an interesting and playful way to discover the truth (which is concealed by mind knowledge).
Most people live in their heads, and they are attached to thoughts (ideas and beliefs) through which reality is filtered and interpreted. Koans can be a fun way of discovering the nature of one's cognitive filters and attachments and learning how to respond free of those filters and attachments.
When I first encountered formal koans through Zen "interviews," I was amazed at how easily the mind gets "hooked." I felt like the guy in the ethnic joke who "had broad shoulders and a flat forehead" because when he was asked a question, he always shrugged, and when hearing the answer he always slapped his forehead with the flat of his hand. ha ha. My first Zen interviews gave my teachers and me a lot of laughs because I was so existentially blind to the obvious. When my first teacher said to me, "You're a very clever fellow," I knew that it wasn't meant as a compliment. LOL
Existential questions arise because we don't see the truth that is always present. We become mesmerized or paralyzed by our own thinking. "What is the meaning of life?" The answer is staring us in the face, but we can't get out of our heads long enough to see the obvious. Formal koans add "hooks" that add extra stimulation to the mind. "What is the meaning of a SPIRITUAL life?" adds seeming complexity to the initial question (adds another layer of illusion), and only the body can find its way through the house of mirrors.
