Does this have value for Christians?

Question

Topic is Koan Practice:
Here is a well known koan: Two hands clap and there is a sound. What is the sound of one hand?



"...in the beginning a monk first thinks a koan is an inert object upon which to focus attention; after a long period of consecutive repetition, one realizes that the koan is also a dynamic activity, the very activity of seeking an answer to the koan. The koan is both the object being sought and the relentless seeking itself. In a koan, the self sees the self not directly but under the guise of the koan...When one realizes ("makes real") this identity, then two hands have become one. The practitioner becomes the koan that he or she is trying to understand. That is the sound of one hand." — G. Victor Sogen Hori, Translating the Zen Phrase Book[10]

So do any Christian find value in this type of awareness/introspection? What is a Christian equivalent?

Answer 1

Sure, I think the Christian equivelant would be "search, ponder & pray."

That deep introspection, (which can be done through meditation) is an important part of pondering a question, and listening for an answer after the prayer is said.

Thanks

Answer 2

The Christian equivalent is this: pray without ceasing. In this we are able to stay close to God's will and plan and be available for opportunities to serve. A sample of a meditation used to attain this God-cosnsciousness is Psalm 1:

1 Blessed is the man
who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked
or stand in the way of sinners
or sit in the seat of mockers.

2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night.

3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither.
Whatever he does prospers.

Answer 3

I think this is the same as their prayer. They seek the answers for their problems from an outside Devinne source. When they get answers to their problems they think it comes from an out side source but it actually is only coming from with in them selves. We all have the answers to our own problems with in our selves, most people just need help finding them. We all get this help in different ways.

Answer 4

To me it's the religious equivalent of a toy my nephew received for his birthday. The gears go round and round, and you can take the parts out and put them back together, but what does it DO? What is its purpose? To make the gears go round and round, of course. One hand clapping.

Answer 5

No