What are kōans?

Bright on Buddhism Episode 32 - What are kōans? What is the doctrine behind them? How are they used? Resources: Kevin Trainor: Buddhism: An Illustrated Guide; Donald Lopez: Norton Anthology of World Religions: Buddhism; Chan Master Sheng Yen: Orthodox Chinese Buddhism; Nagarjuna: Verses of The Middle Way (The Madhyamakarika); Conze, Edward, trans. The Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines and Its Verse Summary. Bolinas, CA: Four Seasons Foundation, 1973.; The Bodhisattva Vow: A Practical Guide to Helping Others, page 1, Tharpa Publications (2nd. ed., 1995) ISBN 978-0-948006-50-0; Flanagan, Owen (2011-08-12). The Bodhisattva's Brain: Buddhism Naturalized. MIT Press. p. 107. ISBN 978-0-262-29723-3.; Williams, Paul, Mahayana Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations, Routledge, 2008.; Hori, Victor Sogen and Hori, Victor Sogen. Zen Sand: The Book of Capping Phrases for Koan Practice. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2003. https://doi.org/10.1515/9780824865672; Aitken, Robert Baker (1991). The Gateless Barrier: The Wu-Men Kuan (Mumonkan). New York: North Point Press/Farrar.; Besserman, Perle; Steger, Manfred (2011). Zen Radicals, Rebels, and Reformers. Wisdom Publications.; Bodiford, William M. (1993). Sōtō Zen in Medieval Japan. University of Hawaii Press.; Foulk, T. Griffith (2000). The form and function of kōan literature. A historical overview. In: Steven Heine and Dale S. Wright (eds.)(2000), The Kōan. Texts and contexts in Zen Buddhism. Oxford University Press.; Griffith Foulk, T. (2000). The Form and Function of Koan Literature. A Historical Overview. In: "The Kōan. Texts and contexts in Zen Buddhism", Steven Heine and Dale S. Wright, eds. Oxford: Oxford University Press.; Shields, Leland E. “Zen Koans as Myths Reflecting Individuation.” Jung Journal: Culture & Psyche 4, no. 4 (2010): 65–77. https://doi.org/10.1525/jung.2010.4.4.65.; Heine, Steven. “Kōans in the Dōgen Tradition: How and Why Dōgen Does What He Does with Kōans.” Philosophy East and West 54, no. 1 (2004): 1–19. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1399859.; Barry Stephenson. “The Kōan as Ritual Performance.” Journal of the American Academy of Religion 73, no. 2 (2005): 475–96. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4139806.; VAN SCHAIK, SAM. The Spirit of Zen. Yale University Press, 2018. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv8jnzg7.; HEINE, STEVEN. Zen Koans. University of Hawai’i Press, 2014. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt13x1jvp. Do you have a question about Buddhism that you'd like us to discuss? Let us know by tweeting to us @BrightBuddhism, emailing us at [email protected], or joining us on our discord server, Hidden Sangha https://discord.gg/tEwcVpu! Credits: Nick Bright: Script, Cover Art, Music, Voice of Hearer, Co-Host Proven Paradox: Editing, mixing and mastering, social media, Voice of Hermit, Co-Host