Each koan is a window that show the whole truth but just from a single vantage. It is limited in perspective. One hundred koans give one hundred vantages. When they are enriched with insightful comments and poems, then you have ten thousand vantages. There is no end to this process of enrichment.
Quotes about koan (7 Quotes)
A koan literally ' a public case' is a description of an entire situation, usually of a dialogue between a Zen master and his disciple the hwadu is only the central point of the exchange which is then singled out as a topic for meditation.
Koan. A presentation of the harmony of the Universal and the Particular a theme of Zazen to be made clear. A classic Mondo, or a Zen story.
A koan is a Zen presentation in the form of a Zen challenge.
A koan is simply the time and place where Truth is manifest. From the fundamental point of view, there is no time or place where Truth is not revealed every place, every day, every event, every thought, every deed, and every person is a koan. In that senses, koans are neither obscure nor enigmatic. However, a koan is more commonly understood as a tool for teaching true insight.
In the past, kong-an (koan) practicing meant checking someone's enlightenment. Now we use kong-ans to make our lives correct.... You must use kong-ans to take away your opinions. When you take away your opinions, your mind is clear like space, which means from moment to moment you can reflect any situation and respond correctly and meticulously.
'Doshitemo ikanakereba do suru ka' 'Nothing will do. What do you do' He called this the fundamental koan i.e., the koan that is the common denominator of the thousands of extant koans.