

The contemporary Zen master Yasutani introduced a Western student to one of the most famous koans with the following words: They are designed precisely to stop the thought process and thus to make the student ready for the non-verbal experience of reality.

The irrational wording and paradoxical content of these riddles makes it impossible to solve them by thinking. Koans are carefully devised nonsensical riddles which are meant to make the student of Zen realize the limitations of logic and reasoning in the most dramatic way. Zen Buddhists have a particular knack for making a virtue out of the inconsistencies arising from verbal communication, and with the koan system they have developed a unique way of transmitting their teachings completely non-verbally.
#DEFINE ZEN KOAN FULL#
Even though Ch'an says that at the time of enlightenment, your outlook is the same as of the Buddha, you are not yet a full Buddha. You should have enlightenment experiences again and again and support them with continuous practice. After seeing your self-nature, you need to deepen your experience even further and bring it into maturation. Satori is considered a "first step" or embarkation toward Buddhahood:Ĭh'an expressions refer to enlightenment as "seeing your self-nature". The Sōtō school rejects this emphasis, and instead emphasizes "silent illumination" through the practice of zazen. This view is typical of Rinzai, which emphasizes satori. Therefore every contrivance, disciplinary and doctrinal, is directed towards satori. Satori is the raison d'être of Zen, without which Zen is not Zen. ĭistinct from this first insight, daigo-tettei is used to refer to a "deep" or lasting realization of the nature of existence. While the terms have the same meaning, customarily satori is used to refer to full, deep experience of enlightenment (such as of the Buddha), while kenshō is used to refer to a first experience of enlightenment that can still be expanded. Kenshō refers to the perception of the Buddha-nature or emptiness. Satori is often used interchangeably with kenshō. Satori and kenshō Japanese characters for satori It is really another name for Enlightenment ( anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi)". looking into one's nature or the opening of satori" and said "This acquiring of a new point of view in our dealings with life and the world is popularly called by Japanese Zen students 'satori' ( wu in Chinese). Suzuki, a Japanese author of books and essays on Buddhism, Zen and Shin that were influential in the West, described ". While the term satori is derived from the Japanese verb "to know" ( satoru), it is distinct from the philosophical concept of knowledge as it represents a transcendence of the distinction between one that knows and knowledge. It is often considered an experience which cannot be expressed in words. Satori means the experience of awakening ("enlightenment") or apprehension of the true nature of reality. Satori and kenshō are commonly translated as enlightenment, a word that is also used to translate bodhi, prajñā and Buddhahood. Ken means "seeing," shō means "nature" or "essence". In the Zen Buddhist tradition, satori refers to a deep experience of kenshō, "seeing into one's true nature". It is derived from the Japanese verb satoru. Satori ( 悟り) is a Japanese Buddhist term for awakening, "comprehension understanding".
