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What is a koan?

What is a koan? Here are some definitions.

Noun
  1. (Buddhism) A story about a Zen master and his student, sometimes like a riddle, other times like a fable, which has become an object of Zen study, and which, when meditated upon, may unlock mechanisms in the Zen student’s mind leading to satori.
  2. A riddle with no solution, used to provoke reflection on the inadequacy of logical reasoning, and to lead to enlightenment.
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I have to admit, that remains a bit of a koan for me, not only in the sense that it's not resolved, but also in the sense that it concerns me.
Like the ponderer of a Zen koan, the viewer must come to terms with this paradox.
An alternative to words from the founding charter could be a short haiku or poem such as a Buddhist koan.
I took it as a koan, and commenced to bite and chew on it day and night from every conceivable angle.
Don't think that the koan and its solution are themselves wisdom and truth.
The goal of the Zen koan is enlightenment, which is a profound change of heart.

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