koan

  1. Noun.  (context, Zen Buddhism) A story about a Zen master and his student, sometimes like a riddle, other times like a fable, 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. Noun.  A riddle with no solution, used to provoke reflection on the inadequacy of logical reasoning, and to lead to enlightenment.

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This entry was last updated on RefTopia from its source on 3/20/2012.