Zen Koans, stories and phrases have been used by Zen masters for ages to teach and test their students and help them understand the true nature of life. The paradoxical riddles and stories may appear ambiguous and silly at first, but once you think about these Koans and try to decipher their hidden meanings, you will emerge as a more self-aware and wiser person.
What are Zen Koans?
Zen Buddhist Koans are paradoxical riddles and puzzles primarily used in Zen Buddhism as meditation training.
- These are small stories, phrases, conversations, and statements that challenge and transform conventional thinking and change how you live in the world by provoking an insight.
A cup of tea
Nan-in, a Japanese master during the Meiji era (1868-1912), received a university professor who came to inquire about Zen. He poured his visitor’s cup full, and then kept on pouring.
- The professor watched the overflow until he no longer could restrain himself. “It is overfull. No more will go in!”
A Parable in Sutra
Buddha told a parable in sutra about a man who ran from a tiger and a vine.
- He caught hold of the root of a wild vine and swung himself down over the edge, only to encounter two mice gnawing at the vine until he finally fell.
Teaching the ultimate
In life, we will face several moments where we will be judged, criticized, blamed, and accused whether we do something or not
- The objective is to experience life without allowing all the struggles and challenges to prevent us from living our best life
- Between developing an impressive sense of humor through life’s struggles and the pain of learning valuable life lessons, life shows us how absurd and futile it can often be
Muddy Road
Morality is a muddy path just like the one these two monks were walking on.
- Sometimes we can do wrong by doing the right thing, while at other times, you can do right by doing what is conventionally wrong
- The human condition is not definite or decided and life is unreasonably situational
- We follow certain rules and laws in life which we believe can help us live better and allow us to segregate wrongdoings from right doing
