As I see it, the primary value of koan play is that it gets people out of their heads and into their bodies. As people penetrate koans, discover how obvious the truth is, and discover the uselessness of explanatory language for communicating existential truths, it often changes the way they interact with the world. Best of all, it demonstrates conclusively that the answers to all questions can be found inside oneself through contemplation.
A person who already has considerable existential understanding and is relatively free of intellection can be walked through a few introductory koans, and will quickly understand how they are used and why. Such a person will then be able to "see through" lots of additional koans.
Beginners, who still spend most of their time "in their heads," who are walked through some introductory koans, will realize that their thinking habits create an enormous barrier to the truth.
When I was first introduced to koans, I became quite excited because they helped me see, for the first time, how totally my thinking habits were separating me from (blinding me to) the truth. I was encouraged because I could also see that it was possible to see-through thoughts via contemplation and thereby discern the truth.
The pitfall created by koans is that one soon jumps to the conclusion that one is "making progress" toward enlightenment as koans are resolved. This misconception, though significant, masks the fact that attention is indeed shifting from thoughts to reality. Sooner or later one must face the ultimate koan that arises when all of the lesser koans have fallen by the wayside: who is it that is thought/imagined to be making progress?
A person who already has considerable existential understanding and is relatively free of intellection can be walked through a few introductory koans, and will quickly understand how they are used and why. Such a person will then be able to "see through" lots of additional koans.
Beginners, who still spend most of their time "in their heads," who are walked through some introductory koans, will realize that their thinking habits create an enormous barrier to the truth.
When I was first introduced to koans, I became quite excited because they helped me see, for the first time, how totally my thinking habits were separating me from (blinding me to) the truth. I was encouraged because I could also see that it was possible to see-through thoughts via contemplation and thereby discern the truth.
The pitfall created by koans is that one soon jumps to the conclusion that one is "making progress" toward enlightenment as koans are resolved. This misconception, though significant, masks the fact that attention is indeed shifting from thoughts to reality. Sooner or later one must face the ultimate koan that arises when all of the lesser koans have fallen by the wayside: who is it that is thought/imagined to be making progress?
