Victor Sogen Hori on Koan Introspection

“(K)õan practice is first and foremost a religious practice, undertaken primarily not in order to solve a riddle, not to perfect the spontaneous performance of some skill, not to learn a new form of linguistic expression, not to play cultural politics, and not to carry on scholarship. Such ingredients may certainly be involved, but they are always subservient to the traditional Buddhist goals of awakened wisdom and selfless compassion.” Victor Sogen Hori, Zen Sand

In my view the scholar and Zen priest Victor Sogen Hori’s introduction to his book Zen Sand remains the best brief introduction to koan introspection in the English language.

You can read it here.

You’re welcome.