koans

(This post has been taken from a post by me on Orkut).

A koan (pronounced /ko.an/) is a story, dialog, question, or statement in the history and lore of Chan (Zen) Buddhism, generally containing aspects that are inaccessible to rational understanding, yet that may be accessible to intuition.

It is said that koans are the way of Zen for expressing that which cannot be expressed in words (or the truth).

This is supposedly the most famous koan:
"Two hands clap and there is a sound. What is the sound of one hand?"

It is said that the one who can hear the sound of one hand is a Buddha or the Enlightened one. It is also said that it takes sometimes three years [http://www3.tky.3web.ne.jp/~edjacob/koan.html] to realize a koan, because essentially, to realize a koan you have to stop your mind from thinking and simply realize the truth of koan. Hence, koans are the means used by Zen Masters to train and test their pupils.


Abbott's gift
A Zen monk, early in his training, is preparing to leave the monastery and switch locations, for that is common in the Zen practice. Before he leaves he goes to the abbot of the monastery to say goodbye. He does so, but the abbot says he has a gift for him. Now, it is part of the Japanese way to accept gifts and be appreciative; to do otherwise is rude and, therefore, wrong. The abbot takes a pair of tongs and picks up a red hot coal from the adjacent fire pit on which he has a tea kettle.

The young monk starts to contemplate what he should do, and after a few moments, runs out of the hall distressed, for he cannot figure out what he is supposed to do. He can take the coal and be burned, or he can refuse the gift of the abbot. Both, in his mind, are things he cannot do.

He meditates on the problem for the next week, and comes back to say goodbye. However, the same scene is played again, and the same frustration is found when he tries to figure out what the abbot wants him to do.

He meditates further on the subject and feels he has discovered how to respond to the abbot's gift. He returns, for the third time, to say goodbye to the abbot, and as before the abbot picks up a red hot coal and presents it as a gift to the young monk. The young monk simply replies, "Thank you."

The abbot breaks a grin, nods his head, and returns the coal to the fire pit. "You may go now," he says.

How does one explain this koan? What message does it give? I have some ideas, will post a continuation (hopefully) in a few days.