Grade: 5/5 Teacher comments: Great description of a Zen koan. Also, your analysis of the Not the Flag koan is insightful. Great work! 2/22/22 A Zen koan is a “paradoxical riddle designed to astound the mind” (Brodd, p. 179). Zen koans are used by the Zen Buddhism sect of Mahayana Buddhism. Zen Buddhists believe that by meditating on a zen koan “the rational mind falters, allowing awareness to settle into a deeper, intuitive experience of one’s own nature as Buddha nature” (Brodd, p. 179). This process can lead to satori which is sudden enlightenment. Enlightenment leads to nirvana which is the ultimate goal of Buddhism. Not the Wind, Not the Flag In this koan the sixth patriarch tells the two monks that are arguing that it’s not the flag or the wind that is moving. The patriarch tells them that it is their mind which I interpreted to mean it is their perception of the flag and wind in their mind that causes them to see movement. Buddhist believe that nothing is permanent and that all...
Documenting my journey to a Bachelors of Art in Religious Studies.