koan
/ˈkoʊ.ɑn/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.06 in modern English
8
Scrabble Score
4
Letters
1
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A story about a Zen master and his student, sometimes like a riddle, other times like a fable or parable, which has become an object of Zen study, and which, when meditated upon, may unlock mechanisms in the Zen student’s mind leading to satori.
noun
A riddle with no solution, used to provoke reflection on the inadequacy of logical reasoning, and to lead to enlightenment.
noun
A therapy technique used by Traditional Chinese medicinal physicians or medical practitioners to break a presenting patients habitual pattern of thinking that has been diagnosed as the primary cause of an illness or disease.
Example Sentences
- "Zen, with its absurdist koan, laughs at life much the way the Marx brothers did. What exactly can you make of a philosophical system whose teacher answers the question, "How do you see things so clearly?" with the seeming one-liner, "I close my eyes"?"
- "Gibberish. Or else a koan that Achtfaden isn’t equipped to master, a transcendent puzzle that could lead him to some moment of light."
- "As always the koan “Why, Why am I here, why here” begins in her head, but she beats it back like a housewife with a broom."
Etymology
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: 公案, -
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈkoʊ.ɑn/
- British English: /ˈkəʊ.ɑːn/