Word of the Week #8

Nicole Decker
Mass Com 100W T/Th 10:30 a.m.
Word #8

Word: koan
Source: Choke, by Chuck Palahniuk, page 69
How it was used: “My life makes about as much sense as a Zen koan.”

Definition:
Noun

1. a nonsensical or paradoxical question to a student for which an answer is demanded, the stress of meditation on the question often being illuminating
2. A puzzling, often paradoxical statement or story, used in Zen Buddhism as an aid to meditation and a means of gaining spiritual awakening
3. a paradoxical anecdote or a riddle that has no solution; used in Zen Buddhism to show the inadequacy of logical reasoning
4. A Zen teaching riddle. Classically, koans are attractive paradoxes to be meditated on; their purpose is to help one to enlightenment by temporarily jamming normal cognitive processing so that something more interesting can happen (this practice is associated with Rinzei Zen Buddhism). Hackers are very fond of the koan form and compose their own koans for humororous and/or enlightening effect.

My sentence: The English teacher had her students write a journal entry on what they thought of a traditional Zen koan.