Discover the four reasons for practice, from a Zen perspective.

Waking Up In House

Henry Shukman

by Henry Shukman

The Koan Way consists of guided meditations as well as short talks providing context on koan practice.
What are&nbsp;Koans and Why Practice Them? 
A koan is a question or phrase&nbsp;used in Zen practice to help reveal greater truths about the nature of the mind. Koans are often derived from the biographies of awakened practitioners and typically record something a Zen master either said or did.
A koan&nbsp;may seem paradoxical at first, but its purpose is to facilitate the discovery of&nbsp;certain aspects of consciousness. It's in this discovery that the practitioner can be said to have understood the koan.