Koan Practice

Abstract Koan practice in the Zen Buddhist tradition is a catalyst to awaken as Gautama Buddha did. Impromptu encounters and statements attributed to the early Chan (J. Zen) tradition can be considered precursors of koans. Eventually these encounters and statements spawned, on one hand, the practice of focusing on the koan as one’s own deepest problem-question in order to directly awaken no-self, that is, being without self. This was done through rousing the fundamental religious quandary known as great doubt, a doubt in which the very nature of one’s being, and that of all others, is fundamentally called into question. On the other hand, a unique literature of koan cases and commentaries developed to probe and express awakening from the dream world or nightmare of isolation and opposition. Particularly in Japan, koan practice has been formulated into curricula both to foster awakening and to refine it in all facets of life. Modern scholarship has examined koan practice, including its historical development, literary texts, sociopolitical contexts, and sectarian rivalries. While taking critical scholarship into account, this chapter clarifies what koans are and how they are used in authentic practice.