Koan – A riddle without a solution, used in Zen Buddhism to demonstrate the inadequacy of logical reasoning and provoke enlightenment. What does this mean?

Question

This sounds very intriguing. Problem is, I don’t really get it. In particular, I really don’t understand what is the inadequacy of logical reasoning? What does that mean?

In: Other

Answer 1

Zen draws on the Buddhist tradition of belief that the world as we experience it — both individually and between ourselved — is an illusion, and that gain a true understanding of what is, what it is like, and so on requires disengagement from the illusion. Logical thinking demands interaction with the illusion. Koans are meant to present situations/questions/etc. that are nonsensical in terms of logical understanding, the underlying goal being to push the ponderer to abandon logic and thus disengage with the illusion that is the world.