Table Of ContentZen 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.
