What was the purpose of the Zen koan?

Question

Were people really supposed to come up with intelligent answers
for these stupid questions? Isn't Zen about overcoming the EGO?
Or was it supposed to get the student's brain to shut down and
reach a meditative state? Where he might actually attain
enlightenment? Which is a "knowing, or feeling"? Not something
that can be intellectualized?

Answer 1

The koan is intended to sever the strong holds that logic, temporality, cause-and-effect, and material have on thought and being.

A koan has no logical answer, no answer that makes sense in terms of cause-and-effect, no answer that follows the laws of physics, and so forth. A koan is intended to "explode" the mind--to open it up to perceiving things that are not bound by the laws we believe are true, to perceiving things that we cannot see but know are true once we can access them.

In other words, the koan causes the mind to reach for that which is not bound by the laws of time and space.

Enlightenment cannot be intellectualized, you're right. Enlightenment is beyond the intellect. It is a whole other plane entirely. Enlightenment does not take place in the mind but in the soul. It is when the eye of the soul opens...and the eye of the soul supercedes the eye of the mind.

Answer 2

My thoughts are that the Koans are meant to make you look within to get the answer. Going inside takes you away from the real world and makes you search inside yourself for the answer.

Pretty cool how they figured all that out way back then.

Alex

Answer 3

wow if thats what u think quran is all about brain washing and fantasy, then i would suggest u read the quran for once, just this surah im posting below and tell me what so fantasy based here and where is my quran brain washing u.

Al-Fatiha | 7 verses | The Opening سورة الفاتحة
Sura #1 | Makkah

1 In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.
2 Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds,
3 The Beneficent, the Merciful.
4 Master of the Day of Judgment,
5 Thee (alone) we worship; Thee (alone) we ask for help.
6 Show us the straight path,
7 The path of those whom Thou hast favoured; Not the (path) of those who earn Thine anger nor of those who go astray.

Al-Ikhlas | 4 verses | Absoluteness سورة الإخلاص
Sura #112 | Makkah

1 Say: He is Allah, the One!
2 Allah, the eternally Besought of all!
3 He begetteth not nor was begotten.
4 And there is none comparable unto Him.



An-Nas | 6 verses | The mankind سورة الناس
Sura #114 | Makkah

1 Say: I seek refuge in the Lord of mankind,
2 The King of mankind,
3 The god of mankind,
4 From the evil of the sneaking whisperer,
5 Who whispereth in the hearts of mankind,
6 Of the jinn and of mankind.

Al-Falaq | 5 verses | The day break سورة الفلق
Sura #113 | Makkah

1 Say: I seek refuge in the Lord of the Daybreak
2 From the evil of that which He created;
3 From the evil of the darkness when it is intense,
4 And from the evil of malignant witchcraft,
5 And from the evil of the envier when he envieth.

Answer 4

Was that last post a koan?

Answer 5

Koans are intended to 'disconnect' one from 'normal' modes of thought.