koan

noun
/ˈkəʊ.ɑːn/UK/ˈkoʊ.ɑn/US

Etymology

From Japanese 公案 (kōan), derived from Chinese 公案 (gōng'àn, “official business”).

  1. borrowed from 公案

Definitions

  1. A story about a Zen master and his student, sometimes like a riddle, other times like a…

    A story about a Zen master and his student, sometimes like a riddle, other times like a fable or parable, which has become an object of Zen study, and which, when meditated upon, may unlock mechanisms in the Zen student’s mind leading to satori.

  2. A riddle with no solution, used to provoke reflection on the inadequacy of logical…

    A riddle with no solution, used to provoke reflection on the inadequacy of logical reasoning, and to lead to enlightenment.

    • Gibberish. Or else a koan that Achtfaden isn’t equipped to master, a transcendent puzzle that could lead him to some moment of light.
    • As always the koan “Why, Why am I here, why here” begins in her head, but she beats it back like a housewife with a broom.
  3. A therapy technique used by Traditional Chinese medicinal physicians or medical…

    A therapy technique used by Traditional Chinese medicinal physicians or medical practitioners to break a presenting patients habitual pattern of thinking that has been diagnosed as the primary cause of an illness or disease.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for koan. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA