~ Enoralia ~

Koans are specific to Zen Buddhism, although they can be incorporated and used in the spiritual practices of most practitioners. A Koan has two specific uses. The first use is as a spiritual exercise for the practitioner. The second use is as a test to gage the enlightenment and spiritual attainment of the practitioner.

When Koans have entered into Western practices, they have unfortunately been misrepresented in what they are meant to be and how they are meant to be used. A Koan will usually come in the form of a question. Sometimes it will also have an answer to the question. Often times this question and answer will be phrased into a very short story. A koan will, at a glance, appear to be nonsense or have no meaning. However it will actually have a very deep meaning. This meaning can only be determined through spiritual attainment, and often times koans are meditated on in order for the meaning to be derived.