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koan
(redirected from koans)

    Also found in: Encyclopedia, Hutchinson 0.02 sec.
ko·an  (kän)
n.
A puzzling, often paradoxical statement or story, used in Zen Buddhism as an aid to meditation and a means of gaining spiritual awakening.
[Japanese kan : k, public (from Middle Chinese kw) + an, matter.]
koan [ˈkəʊæn]
n
(Non-Christian Religions / Buddhism) (in Zen Buddhism) a problem or riddle that admits no logical solution
[from Japanese]
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Noun1.koan - a paradoxical anecdote or a riddle that has no solution; used in Zen Buddhism to show the inadequacy of logical reasoning
problem - a question raised for consideration or solution; "our homework consisted of ten problems to solve"


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In today's fast-paced climate, where online tastes are scrutinized, diced and puzzled over like Zen koans, the only issues everyone seems to agree upon are that the music world is changing with the speed of sound -- and the Police reunion on tonight's Grammys telecast is the must-see event of the year.
SENDING OUT AN S.O.S. GRAMMYS SHOWCASE A MUSIC INDUSTRY IN SERIOUS ... by Daily News (Los Angeles, CA)
An emphasis on transcendence and change led performance artists such as Yoko Ono, Nam June Paik, and Laurie Anderson to create situations that forced their audiences to reconfigure their thoughts, Baas argues, much as Zen koans push a student toward insight.
Say Cheese by Gustafson, Donna / Commonweal
The True Dharma Eye: Zen Master Dogen's Three Hundred Koans is a compilation of koans by the thirteenth-century Zen Buddhism master Eihei Dogen.
The True Dharma Eye by Internet Bookwatch
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