koan

IPA: kˈoʊʌn

(Zen 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.
A riddle with no solution, used to provoke reflection on the inadequacy of logical reasoning, and to lead to enlightenment.
A therapy technique used by Traditional Chinese medicinal physicians or medical practitioners to break a presenting patients habitual pattern of thinking that has been diagnosed as the primary cause of a illness or disease.

Examples of "koan" in Sentences

4 The koan is the principal form of meditation practiced by the Rinzai sect.
A koan is a Zen riddle, the answer to which—if, in fact, there is an answer—is largely immaterial.
I suppose you could say that it was like the sudden solution to a koan, which is not an intellectual affair, but more of a breakthrough into the ground of being.
The Zen scholar and teacher, Daisetz Suzuki (1870 - 1966), once explained that the origin of the term koan was a kind of certifying document that, in ancient times, was used to test one's understanding of Zen.
Whether you think of it as a Buddhist riddle termed a "koan", a mystical allegory, or an inner-world travelogue; if you're in the right frame of mind, you will surely be fascinated by Bae's highly intelligent, visually arresting film.