“What is the sound of one hand clapping?”
~ Zen Koan
When I hear a question, I look for an answer. In fact, I look for the one correct, rational, and logical answer. My brain goes into spasms when there is more than one correct answer. My brain goes into mush if there is no answer. It turns out that this place of mush is also called enlightenment. Well, actually, there are a few intermediary steps.
Zen koans can often bring us to this place of brain mush with an unsolvable enigma. For me, it’s like an alarm clock going off in my head that I can’t turn off. The koan stories set up a problem to figure out. As I wallow in the anxiety of trying to solve the problem, I exhaust all brain power; suddenly I give up and release the anxiety. When faced with real world uncertainty and the subsequent anxiety, I now have a model to help me let go. I can take a break from the anxiety without having to numb myself with some unhealthy habit. I don’t always need to find an answer… but I still like having one! Maybe I have some steps to go before enlightenment.
What is a Koan?
A koan is “a paradox to be meditated upon that is used to train Zen Buddhist monks to abandon ultimate dependence on reason and to force them into gaining sudden intuitive enlightenment.”
~ Miriam-Webster Dictionary
How do Zen koans help us deal with uncertainty?
Watch the TED Ed video, Zen Koan: Unsolvable enigmas designed to break your brain
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