Kō-an

Kō-an ; From the Chin. Kung-an, a public document. A technical term in Rinzai Zen Bsm.

A word or phrase of non-sensical language which cannot be ‘solved’ by the intellect but which holds its attention while a higher faculty takes over.

Used as an exercise for breaking the limitations of thought and developing the intuition (q.v.), thereby attaining a flash of awareness beyond duality (Kenshō),

and later Satori (q.v.). This exercise, and its companion the Mondō, is not used in Sōtō Zen. See Suzuki, Essays in Zen Buddhism, Second Series, Essay I (1933).