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Akōan (/ˈkoʊæn,-ɑːn/KOH-a(h)n;[1]Japanese:公案;Chinese:公案;pinyin:gōng'àn[kʊ́ŋ ân];Korean:화두;Vietnamese:công án) is astory,dialogue, question, or statement fromChinese Chan Buddhist lore, supplemented with commentaries, that is used inChan,Zen,Seon andThiềnBuddhist practice in different ways. The main goal ofkōan practice in Zen is to achievekenshō (Chinese:jianxing見性), to see or observe one'sbuddha-nature.[2]
Extended study ofkōan literature as well as meditation (zazen) on akōan is a major feature of modernRinzai Zen. They are also studied in theSōtō school of Zen to a lesser extent. InChinese Chan andKorean Seon Buddhism, meditating on ahuatou, a key phrase of akōan, is also a major Zen meditation method.
The Japanese wordkōan is theSino-Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese wordgōng'àn公案 (orgūng'on inCantonese). According to theYuan dynasty Zen masterZhongfeng Mingben (中峰明本 1263–1323),gōng'àn originated as an abbreviation ofgōngfǔ zhī àndú (公府之案牘, Japanesekōfu no antoku), which referred to a "public record" or the "case records of a public law court" inTang dynasty China.[3][4][note 1]Kōan/gong'an thus serves as ametaphor for principles of reality beyond the private or subjective opinion of one person, and a teacher may test the student's ability to recognize and understand that principle.
Commentaries inkōan collections bear some similarity to judicial decisions that cite and sometimes modify precedents. An article by T. Griffith Foulk claims:
Its literal meaning is the 'table' or 'bench'an of a 'magistrate' or 'judge'kung.[4]
Gong'an was itself originally a metonym—an article of furniture involved in setting legal precedents came to stand for such precedents. For example,Di Gong'an (狄公案) is the original title ofCelebrated Cases of Judge Dee, the famous Chinesedetective novel based on a historical Tang dynasty judge. Similarly, Zenkōan collections are public records of the notable sayings and actions of Zen masters and disciples attempting to pass on their teachings.
The popular Western understanding seeskōan as referring to anunanswerable question or ameaningless orabsurd statement. However, in Zen practice, akōan is not meaningless, and not a riddle or a puzzle. Teachers do expect students to present an appropriate response when asked about akōan.[5][6][7][8] According to Hori, a central theme of manykōan is the 'identity of opposites':[9][10]
[K]ōan afterkōan explores the theme of nonduality. Hakuin's well-knownkōan, "Two hands clap and there is a sound, what is the sound of one hand?" is clearly about two and one. Thekōan asks, you know what duality is, now what is nonduality? In "What is youroriginal face before your mother and father were born?" the phrase "father and mother" alludes to duality. This is obvious to someone versed in the Chinese tradition, where so much philosophical thought is presented in the imagery of paired opposites. The phrase "your original face" alludes to the originalnonduality.[9]
Comparable statements are: "Look at the flower and the flower also looks"; "Guest and host interchange".[11]Kōan are also understood as pointers to an unmediated "Pure Consciousness", devoid of cognitive activity.[12] Victor Hori criticizes this understanding:
[A] pure consciousness without concepts, if there could be such a thing, would be a booming, buzzing confusion, a sensory field of flashes of light, unidentifiable sounds, ambiguous shapes, color patches without significance. This is not the consciousness of the enlightened Zen master.[13]
Gong'an literature developed at some point in between the lateTang dynasty (10th century) to theSong dynasty (960–1279), though the details are unclear.[14] They arose out of the collections of the recorded sayings of Chan masters and "transmission" texts like theTransmission of the Lamp. These sources contained numerous stories of famous past Chan masters which were used to educate Chan/Zen students.[14] According toMorten Schlütter "it is not clear exactly when the practice of commenting on old gongan cases started, but the earliest Chan masters to have such commentaries included in the recorded sayings attributed to them appear to beYunmen Wenyan and Fenyang Shanzhao (947–1024)."[15]
According toRobert Buswell, thegong'an tradition "can be viewed as the products of an internal dynamic within Chan that began in the T'ang and climaxed in the Sung."[16] By the beginning of the Song era, Chan masters were known to use these stories in their sermons, as well as to comment on them and to use them to challenge their students.[15]
[M]uch of the material in the recorded sayings collections of individual Song Chan masters consists of the master quoting ("raising";ju) a story about a famous past Chan figure's encounter with disciples or other interlocutors and then offering his own comments on it. The stories held up for comment came to be referred to as gongan, "public cases," orguze, "old model cases," both terms borrowed, it would seem, from the language of law.[17]
Originally, such a story was only considered agong'an when it was commented upon by another Chan master, i.e. when it was used as a "case" study for enlightenment.[17] This practice of commenting on the words and deeds of past masters also served to confirm the master's position as an awakened master in a lineage of awakened masters of the past.[17]
According to Schlütter, these stories were also used "to challenge Chan students to demonstrate their insights: a Chan master would cite a story about a famous master and then demand that his students comment."[17] Later on, certain questions (like: "Why did Bodhidharma come from the West?") developed independently from the traditional stories and were used in the same fashion.[17] Schlütter also notes that "most commonly usedgongan in the Song originally came from the influentialTransmission of the Lamp, although the subsequent transmission histories also became sources ofgongan."[15]
Over time, a whole literary genre ofgong'an collection and commentary developed which was influenced by "educatedliterati" of the Song era.[18] These collections included quotations of encounter-dialogue passages (the "cases",gong'an) with a master's comment on the case attached. When a prose comment was added, the genre was calledniangu ('picking up the old ones'), and when poems were used to comment, the genre was termedsonggu ('eulogizing the old ones'). Further commentaries would then be written by later figures on these initial comments, leading to quite complex and layered texts.[15]
The style of these Song-era Zen texts was influenced by many Chinese literary conventions and the style of "literary games" (competitions involving improvised poetry). Common literary devices included:[19][20]
- The extensive use ofallusions, which create a feeling of disconnection with the main theme;
- Indirect references, such as titling a poem with one topic and composing a verse that seems on the surface to be totally unrelated;
- Inventive wordplay based on the fact thathanzi (Chinese characters) are homophonic and convey multiple, often complementary or contradictory meanings;
- Linking the verses in a sustained string based on hidden points of connection or continuity, such as seasonal imagery or references to myths and legends.[20]
There were dangers involved in such a highly literary approach, such as ascribing specific meanings to the cases, or become too involved in book learning.[18]Dahui Zonggao is even said to have burned thewoodblocks of theBlue Cliff Record, for the hindrance it had become to the study of Chan by his students.[21]
During the lateSong dynasty (11th–12th century), the practice of assigning specificgōng'àn to students for contemplation had become quite common and some sources contain examples of Zen masters (e.g. Touzi Yiqing) who became enlightened through contemplating agōng'àn.[16]
Thus, by the time ofDahui Zonggao (1089–1163),[note 2] this practice was well established.[22] Dahui promoted and popularized the practice extensively, under the name of "observing the phrase zen" (kanhua chan). In this practice, students were to observe (kan) or concentrate on a single word or phrase (huatou), such as the famousmu of themu-kōan, and develop a sense of "great doubt" within until this ball of doubt "shattered", leading to enlightenment.[23][22] Dahui's invention was aimed at balancing theinsight developed by reflection on the teachings with developingśamatha, calmness of mind.[24]
This idea of observing a key phrase or word was Dahui's unique contribution, since the earlier method ofgōng'àn contemplation never taught the focusing on a single word, nor did it teach to develop a "ball of doubt that builds up before finally shattering."[22] According to Wright, instead of focusing on the full narrative of akōan, Dahui promoted "intense focus on one critical phrase, generally one word or element at the climax of thekōan."[25]
Dahui also taught that meditation on just onehuatou of a singlegong'an was enough to achieve enlightenment, since penetrating onegong'an was penetrating into all of them.[26] He went even further, arguing that this new meditation technique was the only way of achieving enlightenment for Chan practitioners of his day. Thus, Schlütter writes that "in this insistence, he was unusual among the Song Chan masters, who generally tended to take a rather inclusive view of Buddhist practice. It is therefore fair to say that Dahui not only developed a new contemplative technique, he also invented a whole new kind of Chan in the process."[27] Whatever the case, Dahui was extremely influential in shaping the development of the Linji school in the Song.[28]
Dale S. Wright also writes that Dahui:[25]
[...] maintained that thehua-t'ou had no meaning and that any intellectualization, any conceptual thinking at all, would obstruct the possibility of break-through. As a corollary to this, Ta-hui warned that the intellectuals who in his day were the ones most interested inkōan meditation would be the least likely to succeed at it, given their tendency to think. His advice to them, therefore, was to cease completely any effort to resolve thekōan and "to give up the conceit that they have the intellectual tools that would allow them to understand it." The primary effort required in this enterprise was a negative one, "nonconceptualization,"...[25]
As Robert Buswell explains, this emphasis on non-conceptual meditation on agong'an meant that "there is nothing that need be developed; all the student must do is simply renounce both the hope that there is something that can be achieved through the practice as well as the conceit that he will achieve that result."[25]
Wright argues that since "the narrative structure of thekōan was eliminated in the focus on a single point", that is thehua-t'ou (which was said to have no meaning), such a practice became aśamatha-likezazen practice (which even resembles Caodongsilent illumination), even if this was never acknowledged by the masters of the Linji school in the Song.[29] Furthermore, Wright also argues that this practice was anti-intellectual since all learning was to be renounced in the practice ofkanhua chan.[30] According to Wright, this development left Chinese Chan vulnerable to criticisms by a resurgent neo-Confucianism.[31]
According to Mario Poceski, althoughDahui'skanhua Chan (in which one focuses on ahuatou) purports to be a sudden method, it essentially consists of a process of gradually perfecting concentration. Poceski also observes the role thekanhua technique played in standardizing Chan practice. He argues that this contributed to the routinization of the tradition, resulting in a loss of some of the more open and creative aspects of earlier Chan.[32]
According to Kasulis, the rise ofgōng'àn contemplation in Song-era Zen led to a greater emphasis on the interaction between master and student, which came to be identified as the essence of enlightenment, since "its verification was always interpersonal. In effect, enlightenment came to be understood not so much as an insight, but as a way of acting in the world with other people."[33]
This mutual inquiry of past cases gave Zen students a role model and a sense of belonging to a spiritual family since "one looked at the enlightened activities of one's lineal forebears in order to understand one's own identity."[34][note 3] The practice also served to confirm an individual's enlightenment and authority in a specific lineage or school. This formal authorization or confirmation (Chinese:印可, Japanese:inka, Korean:inga) was given by their teacher and was often part of a process of "dharma transmission" (Chinese:傳法) in a specific lineage.[35][17][36] This formal act placed the "confirmed" Chan master in a special unique position as an interpreter and guide to thegong'an.[17]
The importance of the teacher student relationship is seen in modern Japanesekōan training which always requires an authorized teacher (rōshi oroshō) in a specific lineage who has the ability to judge a disciple's understanding and expression of agōng'àn. In theRinzai Zen school, which useskōan extensively, the teacher certification process includes an appraisal of proficiency in using that school's extensivekōan curriculum. According to Barbara O'Brien, the practice of going to a private interview with one's Zen master (sanzen) where one has to prove one's understanding ofkōan "is the real point of the whole exercise".[37]
Some of the key Song-eragong'an collections are:
These texts mostly draw and develop stories which are found in other sources, mainly theAnthology of the Patriarchal Hall (ChineseZǔtángjí, mid-10th century), and thehagiographicalJingde Record of the Transmission of the Lamp (ChineseJǐngdé Chuándēnglù, early 11th century).
Zhongfeng Mingben (1263–1323),[38] a Chinese Chan master who lived at the beginning of theYuan Dynasty, revitalized the ChineseLinji school.[39] Zhongfeng put a strong emphasis on the use ofgong'an, seeing them as a "work of literature [that] should be used as objective, universal standards to test the insight of monks who aspired to be recognized as Ch'an masters".[23] He also promoted Dahui's famouskanhua chan method of meditating on ahuatou and influenced several Japanese Rinzai masters of the time who came to China to study with him, including Kosen Ingen, Kohō Kakumyō,Jakushitsu Genkō (1290–1367).[40][41]
According to Zhongfeng:
The koans do not represent the private opinion of a single man, but rather the hundreds and thousands ofbodhisattvas of thethree realms andten directions. This principle accords with the spiritual source, tallies with the mysterious meaning, destroys birth-and-death, and transcends the passions. It cannot be understood by logic; it cannot be transmitted in words; it cannot be explained in writing; it cannot be measured by reason. It is like the poisoned drum that kills all who hear it, or like a great fire that consumes all who come near it. What is called "the special transmission of the Vulture Peak" was the transmission of this; what is called the "direct pointing ofBodhidharma atShao-lin-ssu" is this.[42]
In later periods like theMing dynasty, Chinese Chan developed in different directions, such as incorporatingPure Land elements and the re-introduction of an emphasis on the study of scripture.[43]
However,gong'an meditation was still practiced in the Linji lineages. During theMing,Miyun Yuanwu (1566–1642) was a successful promoter of the Linji school'sgong'an methods, emphasizing vigorous master disciple encounters which made use of shouting and beating in imitation of classicgong'an stories. Yuanwu's efforts to revive the Linji tradition were so successful that according to Marcus Bingenheimer, "Miyun's Tiantong branch天童派 of the Linji School became the dominant Chan lineage in China and beyond" (c. 17th century).[43] He led numerous communities of thousands of monks and confirmed twelve dharma heirs.[43]
His teachings also influenced Japanese Zen since his studentYinyuan Longqi (Japanese: Ingen Ryūki, 1592–1673) later founded theŌbaku school in Japan.[44] This lineage also spread the Linjigong'an teachings to Vietnam, mainly through the efforts of Yuanshao (元韶, 1648–1728).[43]
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In the modern period, the practice of meditating on the critical phrase (huatou) of agong'an is still taught and some Chinese Chan figures likeSheng Yen andXuyun taught the practice and wrote on it.[45][46]
ModernChinese Chan andKorean Seon generally follow the method taught byDahui, which emphasizes meditation on ahuatou ('critical phrase', 'word head'). In this method one repeats the phrase over and over again and inquires into it while in meditation (sitting or walking) as well as in daily activities. In this mainland tradition ofhuatou practice, also calledkanhua, 'reflection on thekōan',[47][48] a fragment of akōan, such asmu, or a "what is"-question is used by focusing on this fragment and repeating it over and over again.[web 1][web 2]
In this tradition one generally contemplates one such phrase for an extended period of time, going deeper and deeper into it, instead of going through an extended curriculum as in Japanese Rinzai. A student may be assigned only onehuatou for their whole life.[48] The focus of this contemplation is on generating the sense of "great doubt" and on having faith in the Dharma and the practice.[web 3] According to Ford thehuatou "becomes a touchstone of our practice: it is a place to put our doubt, to cultivate great doubt, to allow the revelation of great faith, and to focus our great energy."[48]
Xuyun wrote:
The important thing is to stick toHua Tou at all times, when walking, lying, or standing. From morning to night observingHua Tou vividly and clearly, until it appears in your mind like the autumn moon reflected limpidly in quiet water. If you practice this way, you can be assured of reaching the state of Enlightenment.[46]
Examples ofhuatou which are used in meditation include: "What is this?"; "What was the original face before my father and mother were born?"; "Who is dragging this corpse about?"; and "Who am I?".[web 4]
Another popular practice in Chinese Chan is using thenianfo (repetition ofAmitabha Buddha's name) as agōng'àn practice. This method of "Nianfo Chan" (念佛禪) was promoted in the modern era by Xuyun and relies on repeating the Buddha's name while also asking "who is reciting?".[49][50][web 4] The practice of usingnianfo in agōng'àn like fashion is also found in the JapaneseŌbaku school and was taught by their founding masters (including Yinyuan, i.e.Ingen), indicating that this method dates at least as far back as the Ming dynasty.[51]
The modern Korean masterSeung Sahn developed his own curriculum of multiplekōan in hisKwan Um School of Zen, but this was a modern development unheard of in Korean Seon.[web 1]
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When the Chan tradition was established in Japan in the 12th century, both Rinzai andSōtō, took over the use ofkōan study and commenting. In Sōtō-Zen,kōan commentary was not linked to seated meditation.[52] Japanese monks had to master the Chinese language and specific expressions used in thekōan training. The desired "spontaneity" expressed by enlightened masters required a thorough study of Chinese language and poetry.[53] Japanese Zen imitated the Chinese "syntax and stereotyped norms".[54]
During the Kamakura period, the officially recognized Rinzai monasteries belonging to theGozan (Five Mountain System) where key centers for the study ofkōan. Senior monks in these monasteries were supposed to compose Chinese verse in a complex style of matched counterpoints known asbienli wen. It took a lot of literary and intellectual skills for a monk to succeed in this system.[55]
TheRinka monasteries, the provincial temples which were under less direct state control, laid less stress on the correct command of Chinese verse. These monasteries developed "more accessible methods ofkōan instruction".[55] It had three features:[55]
By standardizing thekōan curriculum every generation of students proceeded to the same series ofkōan.[55] Students had to memorize a set number of stereotyped sayings,agyō, 'appended words'.[56] The proper series of responses for eachkōan were taught by the master in private instruction sessions to selected individual students who would inherit the dharma lineage.[57]
The development of Rinzaikōan curriculums occurred in various stages. According to Eshin Nishimura, Japanese Rinzai-masters likeEnni-bennen (圓爾辨圓) (1202–1280) and Nampo-jyōmain (南浦紹明) (1235–1308) had already divided the Chinesekōan into three groups namelyrichi ('ultimate truth'),kikan ('skillful method') andkōjyon ('non-attachment').[web 5]Musō Soseki (1275–1351) further developed the use ofkōan.[58] Despite belonging to the Rinzai-school, Musō Soseki also made extensive use ofrichi (teaching), explaining the sutras, instead ofkikan (kōan). According to Musō Soseki, both areupaya, 'skillful means' meant to educate students.[58] Musō Soseki called bothshōkogyu, 'little jewels', tools to help the student to attainsatori.[58][note 4]
In the 18th century, the Rinzai school became dominated by the legacy ofHakuin, who laid a strong emphasis onkōan study as a means to gainkensho, but also not to get stuck in this initial insight, and to develop a compassionate, selfless attitude.[52] After Hakuin, most Rinzai monasteries followed the teachings of his lineage onkōan practice.Kōan study was also further systematized in a standard sequence ofkōan that the student had to pass and work through step by step. There are two curricula used in Rinzai, derived from two dharma-heirs of Gasan: the Takuju curriculum, and the Inzan curriculum.[63] Both curricula have standardized answers.[64][65][web 6]
Kōan practice is particularly important among Japanese practitioners of theRinzai school. Japanese Rinzai uses extensivekōan-curricula, checking questions, andjakogo ('capping phrases', quotations from Chinese poetry) in its use of koans,[66]
Koan practice starts with theshokan, or 'first barrier', usually themu-kōan or the question "What is the sound of one hand?".[67] After having attainedkensho, students continue their practice investigating subsequentkōan.[68] In the Takuju-school, after breakthrough students work through theGateless Gate (Mumonkan), theBlue Cliff Record (Hekigan-roku), theEntangling Vines (Shumon Kattoshu), and theCollection of Wings of the Blackbird (鴆羽集,Chin'u shū).[69] The Inzan-school uses its own internally generated list ofkōan.[69]
In Rinzai a gradual succession ofkōan is studied.[70] There are two general branches of curricula used within Rinzai, the Takuju curriculum, and the Inzan curriculum. However, there are a number of sub-branches of these, and additional variations of curriculum often exist between individual teaching lines which can reflect the recorded experiences of a particular lineage's members.Kōan curricula are, in fact, subject to continued accretion and evolution over time, and thus are best considered living traditions of practice rather than set programs of study.
While Hakuin only refers to break-throughkōan, and "difficult to pass"kōan to sharpen and refine the initial insight and foster compassion, Hakuin's descendants developed a fivefold classification system:[70]
According toAkizuki there was an older classification system, in which the fifth category wasKojo, 'Directed upwards'. This category too was meant to rid the monk of any "stink of Zen".[82] The very advanced practitioner may also receive theMatsugo no rokan, "The last barrier", andSaigo no ikketsu, "The final confirmation".[82] "The last barrier" is given when one left the training hall, for example "Sum up all of the records of Rinzai in one word!"[82] It is not meant to be solved immediately, but to be carried around in order to keep practising.[82] "The final confirmation" may be another word for the same kind ofkōan.[82]Shin'ichi Hisamatsu gave "If nothing what you do will do, then what will you do?" as an 'unanswerable' question, which keeps nagging on premature certainty.
In the Rinzai school, the Sanbo Kyodan, and the White Plum Asanga,kōan practice starts with the assignment of ahosshi or "break-throughkōan", usually themu-kōan or "the sound of one hand".[63] Students are instructed to concentrate on the "word-head", like the phrasemu. In the Wumenguan (Mumonkan), public case No. 1 ("Zhaozhou's Dog"), Wumen (Mumon) wrote:
[C]oncentrate yourself into this 'Wú' [...] making your whole body one great inquiry. Day and night work intently at it. Do not attempt nihilistic or dualistic interpretations.[83]
Arousing this great inquiry or "Great Doubt" is an essential element ofkōan practice. It builds up "strong internal pressure (gidan), never stopping knocking from within at the door of [the] mind, demanding to be resolved".[84] To illustrate the enormous concentration required inkōan meditation, Zen Master Wumen commented:
It is like swallowing a red-hot iron ball. You try to vomit it out, but you can't.
Analysing thekōan for its literal meaning will not lead to insight, though understanding the context from whichkōan emerged can make them more intelligible. For example, when a monk asked Zhaozhou (Joshu) "does a dog have Buddha-nature or not?", the monk was referring to the understanding of the teachings onBuddha-nature, which were understood in the Chinese context of absolute and relative reality.[85][86][note 7]
The continuous pondering of the break-throughkōan (shokan)[67] orHua Tou, "word head",[48] leads tokensho, an initial insight into "seeing the(Buddha-)nature.[87]
The aim of the break-throughkōan is to see the "nonduality of subject and object":[9][10]
The monk himself in his seeking is thekōan. Realization of this is the insight; the response to thekōan [...] Subject and object – this is two hands clapping. When the monk realizes that thekōan is not merely an object of consciousness but is also he himself as the activity of seeking an answer to thekōan, then subject and object are no longer separate and distinct [...] This is one hand clapping (sic).[88]
Various accounts can be found which describe "becoming one" with thekōan and the resulting breakthrough:
I was dead tired. That evening when I tried to settle down to sleep, the instant I laid my head on the pillow, I saw: "Ah, this outbreath is Mu!" Then: the in-breath too is Mu!" Next breath, too: Mu! Next breath: Mu, Mu! "Mu, a whole sequence of Mu! Croak, croak; meow, meow – these too are Mu! The bedding, the wall, the column, the sliding-door – these too are Mu! This, that and everything is Mu! Ha ha! Ha ha ha ha Ha! thatroshi is a rascal! He's always tricking people with his 'Mu, Mu, Mu'!...[89][note 8]
However, the use of themu-kōan has also been criticised. According toAma Samy, the main aim is merely to "'become one' with thekōan".[64][65] Showing to have 'become one' with the firstkōan is enough to pass the firstkōan.[91][92] According to Samy, this is not equal toprajna:
The one-pointed, non-intellectual concentration on thehua-t'ou (or Mu) is a pressure-cooker tactic, a reduction to a technique which can produce some psychic experiences. These methods and techniques are forced efforts which can even run on auto-pilot. They can produce experiences but notprajna wisdom. Some speak of 'investigating' thehua-t'ou, but it is rather a matter of concentration, which sometimes can provide insights, yet no more than that.[93][94]
Teachers may probe students about theirkōan practice usingsassho, "checking questions" to validate theirsatori (understanding) orkenshō (seeing the nature).[95] For themu-kōan and the clapping hand-kōan, there are between 20 and 100 checking questions, depending on the teaching lineage.[96] The checking questions serve to deepen the insight orkyōgai of the student, but also to test his or her understanding.[96]
Those checking questions, and their answers, are part of a standardised set of questions and answers.[97][98][99]Ama Samy states that the "koans and their standard answers are fixed."[64][65] Isshu Muira Roshi also states, inThe Zen Koan: "In the Inzan and Takuju lines, the answers to the koans were more or less standardized for each line respectively."[web 6]Missanroku andmissanchō, "Records of secret instruction" have been preserved for various Rinzai lineages. They contain both thekōan curricula and the standardized answers.[100]
In Sōtō-Zen they are calledmonsan, an abbreviation ofmonto hissan, "secret instructions of the lineage".[100] Themonsan follow a standard question-and-answer format. A series of questions is given, to be asked by the master. The answers are also given by the master, to be memorized by the student.[101]
According to critics, students are learning a "ritual performance",[98] learning how to behave and respond in specific ways,[97][98][99] learning "clever repartees, ritualized language and gestures and be submissive to the master's diktat and arbitration."[99]
In 1916 Tominaga Shūho, using the pseudonym "Hau Hōō", published a critique of the Rinzaikōan system,Gendai sōjizen no hyōron, which also contained a translation of amissanroku. Themissanroku part has been translated byYoel Hoffmann as"The Sound of the One Hand" (seeHoffmann (1975)) andBodiford (1993, p. 264 note 29).
In the Rinzai school, passing a koan and the checking questions has to be supplemented byjakugo, "capping phrases", citations of Chinese poetry to demonstrate the insight.[102][103] Students can use collections of those citations, instead of composing poetry themselves.[102][103]
After the initial insightfurther practice is necessary, to deepen the insight and learn to integrate it in daily life.[104] In Chinese Chan and Korean Seon, this further practice consists of further pondering of the same Hua Tou.[web 3] In Rinzai-Zen, this further practice is undertaken by further koan-study, for which elaborate curricula exist.[63][105] In Sōtō-Zen,Shikantaza is the main practice for deepening insight.
After completing the koan-training,Gogo no shugyo is necessary:[106]
[I]t would take 10 years to solve all the kōans [...] in the sōdō. After the student has solved all koans, he can leave the sōdō and live on his own, but he is still not considered a roshi. For this he has to complete another ten years of training, called "go-go-no-shugyō" in Japanese. Literally, this means "practice after satori/enlightenment", butFukushima preferred the translation "special practice". Fukushima would explain that the student builds up a "religious personality" during this decade. It is a kind of period that functions to test if the student is actually able to live in regular society and apply his koan understanding to daily life, after he has lived in an environment that can be quite surreal and detached from the lives of the rest of humanity. Usually, the student lives in small parish temple during this decade, not in a formal training monastery.[web 7]
Completing the koan-curriculum in the Rinzai-schools traditionally also led to a mastery of Chinese poetry and literary skills:
[D]isciples today are expected to spend a dozen or more years with a master to complete a full course of training in koan commentary. Only when a master is satisfied that a disciple can comment appropriately on a wide range of old cases will he recognize the latter as a dharma heir and give him formal "proof of transmission" (J.inka shomei). Thus, in reality, a lot more thansatori is required for one to be recognized as a master (J.shike,roshi) in the Rinzai school of Zen at present. The accepted proof ofsatori is a set of literary and rhetorical skills that takes many years to acquire.[107]
Hakuin Ekaku, the 17th century revitalizer of the Rinzai school, taught several practices which serve to correct physical and mental imbalances arising from, among other things, incorrect or excessive koan practice. The "soft-butter" method (nanso no ho) and "introspection method" (naikan no ho) involve cultivation ofki centered on the tanden (Chinese:dantian). These practices are described in Hakuin's worksOrategama andYasen Kanna, and are still taught in some Rinzai lineages today.
FewSōtō Zen practitioners concentrate on kōans during meditation, but the Sōtō sect has a strong historical connection with kōans, since many kōan collections were compiled by Sōtō priests. During the 13th century,Dōgen, founder of the Sōtō sect in Japan, quoted 580 kōans in his teachings.[108] He compiled some 300 kōans in the volumes known as the GreaterShōbōgenzō. Dōgen wrote ofGenjokōan, which points out that everyday life experience and indeed, the whole universe in this moment, is the "fundamental kōan", which does not refer to any ancient Zen story, but to the "heart of the matter", the question of life and death.[109][110]
Over time, Sōtō sect adopted various koan meditation methods from other schools like Rinzai, including the method of observing a koan in meditation and koan curriculums. By the 15th century, Sōtō temples were publishing koan texts, and Sōtō monks often studied at Rinzai temples and passed on Rinzai koan practice lineages (and vice versa).[111] Sōtō teachers continued to write and collect kōan texts throughout the medieval period. Later kōan collections compiled and annotated by Sōtō priests includeThe Iron Flute (Tetteki Tōsui) by Genrō Ōryū in 1783 andVerses and Commentaries on One Hundred Old Cases of Tenchian (Tenchian hyakusoku hyoju) compiled by Tetsumon in 1771.
However, during the late 18th and 19th century, the Sōtō tradition ofkōan commentary and practice became criticized and suppressed in the Sōtō school, due to a reform movement that sought to return to the teaching ofDōgen and standardise the procedures fordharma transmission.[52][112] An important figure in this development wasGentō Sokuchū (1729-1807), who sought to remove Rinzai andObaku influences on Sōtō and focus strictly on Dōgen's teachings and writings.[113][112]
Another reason for suppressing thekōan tradition in the Sōtō school may have been to highlight the differences with the Rinzai school, and create a clear Sōtō identity.[52] This reform movement had started to venerate Dōgen as the founding teacher of the Sōtō school and they sought to make Dōgen's teachings the main standard for the Sōtō school. While Dōgen himself made extensive use ofkōan commentary in his works, it is clear he emphasizedshikantaza ("just sitting") without an object, instead of the koan introspection method.[52][114]
TheSanbo Kyodan school of the former Sōtō-priestHakuun Yasutani, and theWhite Plum Asanga ofTaizan Maezumi and the many groups that derive from him, incorporate koan-study.[115] The Sanbo kyodan places great emphasis onkensho, initial insight into one's true nature,[116] as a start of real practice. It follows the so-called Harada-Yasutani koan-curriculum, which is derived fromHakuin's student Takuju. It is a shortened koan-curriculum, in which the so-called "capping phrases" are removed. The curriculum takes considerably less time to study than the Takuju-curriculum of Rinzai.[117]
To attain kensho, most students are assigned the mu-koan. After breaking through, the student first studies twenty-two "in-house"[69] koans, which are "unpublished and not for the general public",[69] but are nevertheless published and commented upon.[118][web 8] There-after, the students goes through theGateless Gate (Mumonkan), theBlue Cliff Record, theBook of Equanimity, and theRecord of Transmitting the Light.[69] The koan-curriculum is completed by theFive ranks of Tozan and the precepts.[119]
A monk askedZhaozhou, "Does a dog haveBuddha nature, or does he not have Buddha-nature?"
Zhaozhou said, "Wu".
"Zhaozhou" is rendered as "Chao-chou" inWade–Giles, and pronounced "Joshu" in Japanese. "Wu" appears as "mu" in Japanese, meaning "no", "not", "nonbeing", or "without" in English. This is a fragment of Case No. 1 of theWúménguān. However, another koan presents a longer version, in which Zhaozhou answered "yes" in response to the same question asked by a different monk: see Case No. 18 of theBook of Serenity.
Two hands clap and there is a sound. What is the sound of one hand? (隻手声あり、その声を聞け)
Victor Hori comments:
... in the beginning a monk first thinks a kōan is an inert object upon which to focus attention; after a long period of consecutive repetition, one realizes that the kōan is also a dynamic activity, the very activity of seeking an answer to the kōan. The kōan is both the object being sought and the relentless seeking itself. In a kōan, the self sees the self not directly but under the guise of the kōan ... When one realizes ("makes real") this identity, then two hands have become one. The practitioner becomes the kōan that he or she is trying to understand. That is the sound of one hand.[102]
Yet, Hakuin himself introduced this question with a reference toKanzeon (Guanyin), bodhisattva of great compassion, who hears the sounds of the suffering ones in the world, and is awakened by hearing these sounds and responding to them. To hear the sound of one hand is to still the sounds of the world, that is, to put an end to all suffering.
Huineng askedHui Ming, "Without thinking of good or evil, show me your original face before your mother and father were born."
This is a fragment of case No. 23 of theWumenguan.
If you meet theBuddha, kill him. (逢佛殺佛)
— Linji
A student asked MasterYunmen (949 AD) "Not even a thought has arisen; is there still a sin or not?"
Master replied, "Mount Sumeru!"
A monk askedDongshan Shouchu, "What is Buddha?"
Dongshan said, "Three pounds offlax."
This is a fragment of case No. 18 of theWumenguan as well as case No. 12 of theBlue Cliff Record.
A monk askedUmmon, "What is the teaching that transcends the Buddha and patriarchs?"
Ummon said, "A sesame bun."
— Blue Cliff Record, case no. 77
A monk asked Zhaozhou, "What is the meaning of the ancestral teacher's (i.e.,Bodhidharma's) coming from the west?"
Zhaozhou said, "The cypress tree in front of the hall."
This is a fragment of case No. 37 of theWumenguan as well as case No. 47 of theBook of Serenity.
Gentō Sokuchū, the 18th century abbot ofDogen'sEihei-ji, aggressively sought to reformSōtō from all things 'foreign' and associated withRinzai, including kōans.[120] The unorthodox Zen monkIkkyū contemplated kōans for years while creating dolls for a merchant inKyoto, specifically penetrating the case no. 15 fromThe Gateless Gate and thereafter earning hisdharma nameIkkyū.[121]
Facing criticism by Buddhists such asPhilip Kapleau andD. T. Suzuki for misunderstanding Zen,Alan Watts claimed that a kōan supported his lack ofzazen practice. On the topic, Suzuki claimed: "I regret to say that Mr. Watts did not understand that story."[122]
Douglas Hofstadter's 1979 bookGödel, Escher, Bach: an Eternal Golden Braid discusses Zen kōans in relation to paradoxical questions and perceiving reality outside of one's experience.[123] Inspired by Zen teachings (including kōans),Frank Herbert wrote on the subject of theparadoxical elements of hisDune series:
What especially pleases me is to see the interwoven themes, the fugue like relationships of images that exactly replay the wayDune took shape. As in anEscher lithograph, I involved myself with recurrent themes that turn into paradox. ... It's like a kōan, a Zen mind breaker.[web 9]
The 1989South Korean filmWhy Has Bodhi-Dharma Left for the East? bases much of its narrative on kōans, with its title deriving from a particular kōan about the founder of Zen,Bodhidharma.[web 10]
After becoming smitten with Zen (even offering to turn his own house into azendo), filmmakerAlejandro Jodorowsky meditated and studied koans with the traveling monk Ejo Takata (1928–1997). After the release ofThe Holy Mountain, Jodorowsky gave a talk at theUniversity of Mexico on the subject of kōans. After this talk, Takata gifted Jodorowsky hiskeisaku, believing that the filmmaker had mastered the ability to understand kōans.[124]
In the 1958 novelThe Dharma Bums,Jack Kerouac paraphrases theYunmenshit-stick kōan as: "The Buddha is a dried piece of turd".[125] The second volume of themangaLone Wolf and Cub byKazuo Koike andGoseki Kojima is titled 'The Gateless Barrier' and revolves around aLinji kōan ("If you meet a Buddha, kill him") as the protagonist is tasked to kill a troublesome "living Buddha".[web 11]
Inhacker culture, funny short stories concerningcomputer science developed, namedhacker koans. The bookJargon File contains many kōans, including theAI Koans.The Codeless Code is another book aboutsoftware engineers atbig businesses instead ofunix hackers, deriving its title from theGateless Gate.[web 12]
The song "False Prophet" byBob Dylan includes the line: "I climbed a mountain of swords on my bare feet", a reference to aGateless Gate kōan ("You must climb a mountain of swords with bare feet").[web 13] British musical artistBrian Eno collaborated with Intermorphic on developing agenerative music software system namedKoan. In 2009, American composer and multi-instrumentalistTyshawn Sorey released his second album,Koan.[web 14]
The 1997 novelThe Sound of One Hand Clapping byRichard Flanagan (and its1998 film adaptation of the same name) derives its title from a kōan byHakuin Ekaku.[126] The episode of the 2014first season ofFargo entitled "Eating the Blame" derives its episode title from a koan of the same name from theShasekishū.[web 15] Cyriaque Lamar ofio9 stated that the approach to technology inTron: Legacy was reminiscent of kōans.[web 16]
An encounter dialogue constitutes the narrative component of a koan/gong'an. It depicts an interaction between a master and student who is being tested, or between rivals as a kind of contest of spiritual prowess.[127] However, according to Mario Poceski, encounter dialogues are not historically reliable and "have little or nothing to do with the lives, ideas, and teachings of theTang-era protagonists who are featured in them."[128] Such stories instead reflect the artistic license and religious imagination of mid-tenth century Chan.[129] Steven Heine points to the sociopolitical background of encounter-dialogue literature, stating that such writings are not concerned with the task of historiography "because their aim was not factuality but persuading the selected audience of the significance of master-disciple relations in terms of legitimating lineages and establishing the authority and hierarchy of transmission."[130] Poceski observes that although Zen is often portrayed as promoting spontaneity and freedom, encounter-dialogue exegesis actually points in the opposite direction, namely towards a tradition bound by established parameters of orthodoxy. According to Poceski, on the whole, the encounter-dialogue genre is marked by formulaic repetition and cliché.[131] He describes encounter-dialogue stories as "mass produced" and "artificially manufactured."[132] He says:
In the end, notwithstanding the iconoclastic ethos imputed to them, it is apparent that these textual sources are products of a conservative tradition that, in the course of its growth and transformation during the Tang-Song transition, was keen to promote a particular version of Buddhist orthodoxy and secure its place as the main representative of elite Chinese Buddhism.[133]
Poceski points out how, in commenting ongong'an, Chan masters' interpretive possibilities are limited by "the straightjacket of a certain type of Chan orthodoxy."[134] This refers to "ideological constraints and clerical agendas" which take encounter-dialogue stories as actual depictions of the enlightened behavior of perfected beings that point to some rarefied truth, despite there being no compelling empirical evidence for this.[135] According to Poceski, as this is never up for questioning or scrutiny,gong'an stories amount to "received articles of faith, reinforced by a cumulative tradition and embedded in specific institutional structures."[136]
Poceski explains howgong'an have been put in the service of institutional agendas and have historically been tied up with nexuses of power. Commenting on ancient cases bolstered Chan masters as living embodiments of a mystical Chan lineage, reinforcing their status and authority. At the same time, the ostentatious literary form such exegesis often took served to impress literati supporters, the sociopolitical elites ofSong China, who were its intended audience. In this way,gong'an exegesis aligned with the cultural predilections and aesthetic sensibilities of the establishment.[134] Alan Cole also suggests that koan writing may be seen as a response to patterns of patronage.[137] What's more, Cole states that, in China, koan writing "appears to have been a thoroughly literary affair, with little or nothing to do with meditation."[138]
According to Foulk, commenting on agong'an doesn't merely serve to elucidate the wisdom of the patriarchs for a student's sake, but rather functions as a device for demonstrating a master's authority,[139] not only in relation to a living disciple, but also in relation to the patriarchs themselves.[140] That is, in commenting on agong'an, a master's authority is demonstrated to be both derivative and absolute: derivative in that it draws on the prestige of the earlier patriarchs, absolute in the sense that it gives the living master the last word and ultimate judgment.[140] Similarly, Cole points out that koan exegesis is a kind of performance which positions the commentator as an absolute master of tradition, "one who has even mastered the Chan masters of the Tang" (who appear as the main characters in koan stories).[141]
Foulk explains that koans presuppose an inherent hierarchy in which the commentator's voice is privileged above the root case itself, maintaining a clear juxtaposition between "judge" and "judged." Foulk writes, "In a social context, this means that whoever can work himself (by whatever means) into the position of speaking as a judge of old cases will thereafter be deemed a worthy spokesman of the awakened point of view, regardless of what he says."[142] Similarly, Stuart Lachs understands koans to be largely literary fictions which serve to reinforce hierarchical structures within Zen institutions.[143] Lachs observes that the ritual koan interview between a student and master is so presented as to give a sense of timelessness in which the student is made to feel that the procedure is an inherent part of Zen that has existed since the beginning, despite its being an institutional construction.[144] Lachs quotes from Peter Berger's analysis of religious legitimation, stating that the point of the ritual is to "let people forget that this order was established by men and continues to be dependent on the consent of men."[144][145]
Poceski points out howgong'an exegesis deploys certain strategies to deflect criticism or challenges to authority which continue all the way to the present. These often involve the charge that critics lack genuine Chan experience and understanding. As this can be true even ofbodhisattvas of the tenth level, this also reflects a sectarian notion that Chan is superior to canonical Buddhism.[146] Poceski says:
A person daring to articulate any sort of meaningful criticism can simply be dismissed as being an unenlightened ignoramus whose mind is filled with shallow views and one-sided attachments. So much for intellectual freedom and the need to question established authority.[147]
According to Poceski, modern publications and popular Zen books tend to be confined to the same strictures and ideological suppositions as the classical sources. This includes the notion thatgong'an represent timeless truths that must be "unlocked via dedicated Zen practice, undertaken under proper spiritual guidance," with modern interpretations ofgong'an material tending to stick uncritically to conventional lines of exegesis that fail to question normative traditions and the untenable assumptions which buttress them.[148] The emphasis on training under a qualified guide also reinforces the modern Zen master as gatekeeper of truth and "prime arbiter of value and meaning," reflecting a concern for orthodoxy and authority. In this way, ideological suppositions aboutgong'an are entwined with social relationships and power structures, as they aim to perpetuate a religious institution whose members derive tangible benefits by virtue of their status in it as maintainers of tradition.[149] As Lachs points out, advancement within Zen institutions requires a sufficient degree of socialization, and this entails not questioning official positions and authority.[150] In regard to this state of affairs, Poceski asks:
However, was it not the case that Chan/Zen was supposed to take us in an entirely different direction, away from the familiar intersections of knowledge and power? Wasn't it supposed to blow away archaic ideological smokescreens and obliterate all forms of conceptual posturing, rather than conjure or shore them up? Perhaps not, or so it seems.[151]
Koans have also been criticized from within the Zen tradition at various points throughout history. According to Schlütter, "the practice was common enough to attract criticism" which can be found in Song sources like theSengbao zhengxu zhuan (True continuation of the chronicles of the saṃgha treasure), where one master called Chanti Weizhao "rails against deluded masters who teach people to contemplate (can) gongan stories."[16] The Song era masterFoyan Qingyuan (1067–1120) was critical of the use of koans (public cases) and similar stories, arguing that they did not exist during the time ofBodhidharma.[152] He said, "In other places they like to have people look at model case stories, but here we have the model case story of what is presently coming into being; you should look at it, but no one can make you see all the way through such an immense affair."[153]
According to Arthur Braverman,Bassui Tokushō (1327–1387) "was very critical of theRinzai practice of studying kōans, perhaps because they were becoming more and more formalized, hence losing their original spirit."[154]Ikkyū Sōjun (1394–1481) also criticized the mechanical nature of koan practice during his time, in which formulaic answers to koans were preserved and sold.[155]
The unconventional Rinzai masterBankei Yōtaku (1622–1693) famously criticized the kōan method, seeing it as a hopelessly contrived and artificial technique.[156] Bankei referred to kōans disparagingly as "old wastepaper"[157] and referred to Zen masters who required devices in order to guide people as engaging in "devices Zen."[158] Bankei also criticized the practice of rousing a "great ball of doubt" employed in koan Zen. He said:
Others tell students pursuing this teaching that it's no good unless they rouse a great ball of doubt and succeed in breaking through it. 'No matter what,' they tell them, 'you've got to rouse a ball of doubt!' They don't teach, 'Abide in the Unborn Buddha Mind!' [but instead] cause peoplewithout any ball of doubt to saddle themselveswith one, making them exchange the Buddha Mind for a ball of doubt. A mistaken business, isn't it![159]
When asked why he did not make use of koans, Bankei pointed out that Chan masters beforeYuanwu andDahui did not make use of koans either.[160] Bankei observed accurately that koan study represents a later development of Chinese Chan.[161] "In this sense," Peter Haskel writes, "Bankei was a traditionalist. He harked back to the Zen masters of the 'golden age' before the triumph of the koan, masters likeLin-chi I-hsüan (J: Rinzai Gigen, d. 860), founder of the Rinzai school."[162] Similarly,D.T. Suzuki writes, "Bankei can be said to have attempted a return to the Zen of the early T'ang dynasty."[163] Bankei said:
Unlike the other masters everywhere, in my teaching I don't set up any particular object, such as realizing enlightenment or studying koans. Nor do I rely on the words of the buddhas and patriarchs. I just point things out directly, so there's nothing to hold onto, and that's why no one will readily accept [what I teach].[164]
TheSōtō school emphasizesshikantaza as its main practice, though it does not completely reject the study and use of koans. That being said, some Sōtō figures have criticized the Rinzai style koan method.Gentō Sokuchū (1729–1807), nominated abbot ofEiheiji in 1795, sought to purify the Sōtō school of koans, which he regarded as a foreign influence.[165] According to Buswell and Lopez, the Sōtō school regards the Rinzai koan method as "an inferior, expedient attempt at concentration" in comparison to shikantaza, which is thus deployed in Sōtō polemics against the rival Rinzai school.[166] The famous Sōtō masterKodo Sawaki also criticized Rinzai koan practice as "stepladder Zen"[167] and said:
From the end of the Song Dynasty to the Yuan [and] Ming dynasties techniques developed, and solving koans was the way monks became respected for having hadsatoris. Well, today [monks] have satoris, which in certain religious sects allows the monks to be candidates to be head priests of temples. That's the way they think. But they're wrong. Believe inzazen itself, and if you put your whole body into it, that is [true] zazen.[168]
Shin'ichi Hisamatsu (1889–1980) criticized contemporary koan practice, which moves from one koan to another, as gradualistic and likened it to trying to approximate a circle by forever increasing the number of sides of a polygon.[169] He instead emphasized what he called his "fundamental koan" which he said included all koans.[170][note 9] Hisamatsu also said of his fundamental koan that it could be practiced on one's own,without the guidance of a teacher.[171]
The modern KoreanSŏn masterDaehaeng taught that it was not necessary to receive ahwadu (the "critical phrase" of a koan) from others since everyone already has their own "original hwadus." She said:
Daily life is itself a hwadu, so there is no need to receive a hwadu from others or to give a hwadu to others. Your very existence is a hwadu. Thus, if you are continuously holding on to a hwadu someone else gave you, when will you be able to solve your original hwadu? Trying to solve another person's hwadu is like turning empty millstones or spinning a car's wheels without moving forward. Your body itself is a hwadu. Birth itself is a hwadu. Work itself is a hwadu. The vast universe is a hwadu. If you want to add more hwadus to these, when will you be able to taste this infinitely deep world we live in?[172]
D.T. Suzuki observes that although the koan method represents a convenience for the Zen practitioner, a form of "grandmotherly kindness," it is also liable to tend towards formalization and counterfeit. He writes:
The danger lies in the tendency to formalization. It may happen that a petty thief crowing like a cock at dawn will get past the barrier by deceiving the gatekeeper into opening the gates. As a matter of fact, in the koan system such fellows do get past, or we should say rather that they are passed through. The danger that the goods will be sold cheap is something intrinsic to the system. In any construct devised by man a pattern always evolves. When the pattern becomes fixed, the quick of life cannot move within it. When the realm of true reality which is freed of samsaric suffering is treated in such a way that it comes to resemble the fixed gestures and patterned moves learned in a fencing class, Zen ceases to be Zen. At times patterns work well and are useful. And they do have the virtue of universal currency. But by that alone no living thing is produced. I suppose, though, there are some who even find enjoyment in such a counterfeit, lifeless thing, much as they would divert themselves with games of chess or mahjong.[173]
According toAlan Watts, the koan method suffered from two drawbacks. The first is that it can potentially lead to a kind of romanticism for exotic cultural forms.[174] The second was that its method of deliberately rousing great doubt and then breaking through it after an intense period of striving amounted to a kind of psychological trick. Regarding this, Watts says:
The second, and more serious, drawback can arise from the opposition of satori to the intense “feeling of doubt” which some koan exponents so deliberately encourage. For this is to foster a dualistic satori. To say that the depth of the satori is proportional to the intensity of seeking and striving which precede it is to confuse satori with its purely emotional adjuncts. In other words, if one wants to feel exhilaratingly light-footed, it is always possible to go around for some time with lead in one’s shoes–and then take them off. The sense of relief will certainly be proportional to the length of time such shoes have been worn, and to the weight of the lead. This is equivalent to the old trick of religious revivalists who give their followers a tremendous emotional uplift by first implanting an acute sense of sin, and then relieving it through faith in Jesus.[175]
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