Hello and thank you for your question.
Huston Smith in The World's Religions says: "Entering Zen is like
stepping through Alice's looking glass. One finds oneself in a
topsy-turvy wonderland where everything seems quite mad-charmingly mad
for most part, but mad all the same."
....
Tradition says the Zen Master will give you a hard blow when you're
least expecting it. This 'blow' can take various forms-shocking acts
like killing an innocent animal by way of answering a question, or a
rebuff or beating as feedback on your progress, or a less violent but
equally bewildering koan. Zen koans are a prime example of the Zen
shock methods. The word 'koan' literally means a problem. Here words
could give you that elementary nudge that pushes you off the cliff.
Huston Smith, quoted by Harvinder Kaur in "Resounding Silence"
http://www.lifepositive.com/mind/arts/new-age-fiction/poetry.asp
Simply put, "[t]he purpose of koans is to jolt the mind out of its
habitual thought processes."
Koan
http://buddhism.about.com/library/bldef-koan.htm
"The purpose of koans are to contradict a person's usual patterns of
logical thinking."
Denominations
http://sd71.bc.ca/sd71/school/courtenay-jr/School/BUDDHISM/denominations/Denominations.htm
"Koans are a method of training the mind in order to achieve the state
of Satori. Satori is a very difficult concept to describe in a few
words. It is essentially the goal of all Zen mediation and can be
compared to the term enlightenment or insight into the nature of
reality. These two aspects, Koan exercises and Satori are the central
aspects of Zen. A further aspect to Zen should also be considered.
This is the practice of Zazen. Zazen is the practice of mediation that
involves sitting cross-legged in deep contemplation."
Understanding the meaning of Zen Koans
http://mtmt.essortment.com/zenkoanspiritu_rlmp.htm
But there is more to it than that. A Zen koan serves its purpose in
the context of Dharma Discourse or Dharma Talk:
"A Dharma Discourse or Dharma Talk is a presentation of a traditional
Zen koan — an apparently paradoxical statement that challenges who we
think we are, what the nature of the reality is, and what the true
activity of our life expresses. Given in the context of intensive Zen
meditation, or zazen, these talks are to be engaged in a far different
manner than our ordinary modes of acquiring information. Because the
speaker is speaking from his direct and intuitive experience of the
the ground of being, we need to set aside our judging and analyzing
mind and let the words penetrate to the core of our hearts."
Library of Dharma Discourses and Talks
http://www.mro.org/zmm/discours.htm
The above site leads to sets of koans offered by three teachers, John
Daido Loori, Bonnie Myotai Treace Sensei, and Geoffrey Shugen Arnold
Sensei. Please take the time to read this page and its
discourses/talks.
And if you desire a deeper immersion in the subject, a good starting
point is the links at
DMOZ: Society: Religion and Spirituality: Buddhism: Lineages: Zen:
Teachings: Koans
http://dmoz.org/Society/Religion_and_Spirituality/Buddhism/Lineages/Zen/Teachings/Koans/
Search terms used:
purpose of koans in buddhism
Thank you again for your question. If you find any of the above
unclear, please request clarification. I would appreciate it if you
would hold off on rating my answer until I have the opportunity to
reply.
Sincerely,
Google Answers Researcher
Richard-ga |
