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Zen Koans S T E V E N H E I N E Zen Koans Dimensions of Asian Spirituality Shinto: Th e Way Home Th omas P. Kasulis Chan Buddhism Peter D. Hershock Korean Spirituality Don Baker Socially Engaged Buddhism Sallie B. King Dharma Alf Hiltebeitel Neo- Confucian Self-C ultivation Barry C. Keenan Karma Johannes Bronkhorst Sikhism Doris R. Jakobsh Th eravada Buddhism: Th e View of the Elders Asanga Tilakaratne Zen Koans Steven Heine Zen Koans STEVEN HEINE university of hawai‘i press Honolulu DIMENSIONS OF ASIAN SPIRITUALITY Douglas Berger, General Editor Th is series makes available short but comprehensive works on specifi c Asian philosophical and religious schools of thought, works focused on a specifi c region, and works devoted to the full articulation of a concept central to one or more of Asia’s spiritual traditions. Series volumes are written by distinguished scholars in the fi eld who not only present their subject matter in historical context for the non- specialist reader, but also express their own views of the contemporary spiritual relevance of their subject matter for global citizens of the twenty- fi rst century. © 2014 University of Hawai‘i Press All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America 19 18 17 16 15 14 6 5 4 3 2 1 Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data Heine, Steven, author. Zen koans / Steven Heine. pages cm.—(Dimensions of Asian spirituality) Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 978- 0- 8248- 3973- 4 (hardcover : alk. paper)— ISBN 978- 0- 8248- 3974- 1 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Koan. I. Title. BQ9289.5.H45 2014 294.3'443—dc23 2014002567 University of Hawai‘i Press books are printed on acid- free paper and meet the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Council on Library Resources. Series design by Rich Hendel Printed by Sheridan Books, Inc. Contents Editor’s Preface vii Ac know ledg ments ix Introduction: Th e Koan Is My Koan 1 1. Origins, Functions, and Modern Receptions of Koans: Classic and Contemporary Perspectives 7 2. Developmental Stages and Rhetorical Strategies: A Historical Overview 36 3. On Methods to the Madness of Koans: A New Th eory of Interpretation 70 4. Personal Transformation: Cases Refl ecting Doubt, Experience, and Expression 97 5. Monastic Transmission: Cases Refl ecting Mythology, Monasticism, and Succession 129 6. Whither Koans, or Wither? Current Trends and Possible New Directions 160 Appendix: Koan Case Cata log 189 Suggested Readings 193 Editor’s Preface One of the terms from the Zen Buddhist tradition most familiar to the general public in the West is “koan.” And it is not surprising that this is so. Everything from the relatively accessible pres ent at ions of East Asian Buddhism that date back half a century, written by au- thors like D. T. Suzuki and Alan Watts, to telev is ion series and fi lms have off ered exposures of various levels of sophistication to koans. Th e Western reader or connoisseur of pop u lar culture may even know the content of some of them in the form of one- line, paradoxical ques- tions such as “What is the sound of one hand clapping?” or “What did your face look like before your parents w ere born?” Perhaps it is even generally acknowledged that, in some elusive way, these koans are supposed, when properly understood, to facilitate an enlighten- ment experience in the person to whom they are addressed, prompt- ing a sudden realization of either the true nature of the world or its meaninglessness, or maybe even both. Unfortunately, for Western readers as well as some modern East Asian ones, oft en little e lse is comprehended about koans. Th e Japa- nese term used to identify these “enlightening enigmas” may mask the fact that they w ere likely fi rst formulated in the Chinese Bud- dhist tradition, as well as the degree to which they w ere studied and encountered in the most existentially serious of ways by Korean Bud- dhist monastics through the centuries. Th e extent to which koans represented an incredibly innovative pedagogical technique in the history of Buddhism, emphasizing interaction and transformative interpersonal encounter, oft en at the expense of doctrinal pre ce dent, may not be obvious in the widely disseminated depiction of these “cases” either. Finally, without an intimate knowledge of East Asian and Buddhist history, cultural symbols and genres of both literature and personal communication, it is hardly surprising that koans will strike those who come across them as ambiguous and elusive, and leave them wondering to what their purposes for life might really amount. viii Editor’s Preface In this contribution to the Dimensions of Asian Spirituality se- ries, Professor Steven Heine of Florida International University off ers a lucid and superbly informed overview of the history, meanings, and practices of koans in the Chinese, Korean, and Japan ese Buddhist traditions. He also delves in the following pages into how the recep- tion and interpretations of koans, in East Asia and the West, have been turned toward the existential, philosophical, and social dilem- mas of the modern world. Professor Heine’s several de cades’ worth of scholarship on the many facets and some of the greatest collectors and commentators in the long heritages of koan literature make him an ideal guide for both novices and peers through the multilay- ered and fascinating genres, settings, and functions that are their legacies. We are confi dent that the audiences of Dimensions volumes, from the undergraduate student and instructor to the interested lay- person and to those immersed in koan learning and practice, will fi nd trea sures in this addition to the series. Douglas L. Berger Ac know ledg ments Th is book is dedicated to my wife, Th erese Sollien. As soon as I met her in 2008, I knew she had already tasted the Zen waters and knew for herself. I also thank Pat Crosby and Doug Berger for their support and guidance, in addition to Maria Sol Echarren, who assisted in preparing the manuscript and images.
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