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"Whatever happened to good old koans? Just because they're tricky doesn't mean they were an accident." Koans are hardly omnipresent throughout Buddhism. They'r
by jonhendry 16y ago
"Whatever happened to good old koans? Just because they're tricky doesn't mean they were an accident."
Koans are hardly omnipresent throughout Buddhism. They're a pretty late addition. The Buddha wouldn't have had a clue what you were talking about.
- silentbicycle 16y agoYeah, but "Buddhism" in the US means Soto and (especially) Rinzai Zen, since the Beats (esp. at the San Francisco Zen Center) did so much to popularize it. Otherwise, Buddhism has mostly stayed in local ethnic enclaves.
- cylinder714 16y agoInsight meditation, a.k.a. "vipassana", has made big strides, thanks to Insight Meditation Society in Massachusetts and Spirit Rock in California, as well as S.N. Goenka's centers around the country. Regarding Zen, koans are a feature of Rinzai, whereas Soto centers on just sitting.