Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A puzzling, often paradoxical statement, anecdote, question, or verbal exchange, used in Zen Buddhism as an aid to meditation and a means of gaining spiritual awakening.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun Zen Buddhism A story about a
Zen master and his student, sometimes like ariddle , other times like afable , which has become an object of Zen study, and which, whenmeditated upon, mayunlock mechanisms in the Zen student’s mind leading tosatori . - noun A riddle with no
solution , used toprovoke reflection on theinadequacy oflogical reasoning , and to lead toenlightenment .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a paradoxical anecdote or a riddle that has no solution; used in Zen Buddhism to show the inadequacy of logical reasoning
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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The Zen scholar and teacher, Daisetz Suzuki (1870 - 1966), once explained that the origin of the term koan was a kind of certifying document that, in ancient times, was used to test one's understanding of Zen.
unknown title 2009
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4 The koan is the principal form of meditation practiced by the Rinzai sect.
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Whether you think of it as a Buddhist riddle termed a "koan", a mystical allegory, or an inner-world travelogue; if you're in the right frame of mind, you will surely be fascinated by Bae's highly intelligent, visually arresting film.
John Farr: Getting Religion: The Ten Best Films on Faith John Farr 2011
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Whether you think of it as a Buddhist riddle termed a "koan", a mystical allegory, or an inner-world travelogue; if you're in the right frame of mind, you will surely be fascinated by Bae's highly intelligent, visually arresting film.
John Farr: Getting Religion: The Ten Best Films on Faith John Farr 2011
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Whether you think of it as a Buddhist riddle termed a "koan", a mystical allegory, or an inner-world travelogue; if you're in the right frame of mind, you will surely be fascinated by Bae's highly intelligent, visually arresting film.
John Farr: Getting Religion: The Ten Best Films on Faith John Farr 2011
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Whether you think of it as a Buddhist riddle termed a "koan", a mystical allegory, or an inner-world travelogue; if you're in the right frame of mind, you will surely be fascinated by Bae's highly intelligent, visually arresting film.
John Farr: Getting Religion: The Ten Best Films on Faith John Farr 2011
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Whether you think of it as a Buddhist riddle termed a "koan", a mystical allegory, or an inner-world travelogue; if you're in the right frame of mind, you will surely be fascinated by Bae's highly intelligent, visually arresting film.
John Farr: Getting Religion: The Ten Best Films on Faith John Farr 2011
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A koan is a Zen riddle, the answer to which—if, in fact, there is an answer—is largely immaterial.
Mother of the Unconventional William Meyers 2011
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Whether you think of it as a Buddhist riddle termed a "koan", a mystical allegory, or an inner-world travelogue; if you're in the right frame of mind, you will surely be fascinated by Bae's highly intelligent, visually arresting film.
John Farr: Getting Religion: The Ten Best Films on Faith John Farr 2011
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I suppose you could say that it was like the sudden solution to a koan, which is not an intellectual affair, but more of a breakthrough into the ground of being.
One Cosmos 2009
bilby commented on the word koan
"He stood there by the fence. The night had been quiet. In freezing temperatures everything becomes stiff and silent. Stina had explained the reason to him; all the surfaces that reflect sound become both hard and elastic, like ice and glass. Hence the frost-night koan: Everything can be heard and there is not a sound."
- 'The Quiet Girl', Peter Høeg.
March 18, 2008
seanahan commented on the word koan
Does Wordie have the Buddha nature?
April 3, 2009
ruzuzu commented on the word koan
Yes, seanahan. See verity.
June 16, 2011