koan

/koh-ahn/US // ˈkoʊ ɑn //UK // (ˈkəʊæn) //

语录,侃侃而谈,侃大山,公理

Definitions

n.名词 noun

1
plural ko·ans, ko·an.Zen.
- : a nonsensical or paradoxical question to a student for which an answer is demanded, the stress of meditation on the question often being illuminating.

A famous koan asks the novitiate to describe her face before she was born.
This is one of the meanings of the famous Zen koan, “If you see the Buddha on the road, kill him.”
This is a Zen koan of American political thought, a perfect yin and yang.
The question of how to combat 9/11 amnesia while moving forward can feel like a Zen koan.