"Koans"

Koans
"There may be thousands of koans,yet meditation includes them all.The ultimate koan is you." Zen Tradition
Indeed there are thousands of koans, but what are koans for? A koan is a paradoxical statement that is designed to stop the mind. Koan analysis is futile and ultimately mentation ceases. It is this cessation of the mind that delivers peak experience as we shift to a more subtle level of perception. A koan, in this understanding, is a focusing technique as is a mantra, and affirmation or a breath technique. All are designed to stop the mind and allow us to transcend it altogether as we shift to the subtle dimension beyond it and experience unification within our consciousness.
Meditation includes all koans as it is the premier focusing technique. As we progress in meditation, the mind becomes still and the subtle shift naturally happens.
The truth, that any meditator can validate, is that the ultimate koan is you. You are the paradox that the mind cannot solve through endless analysis. It is only in the stillness of the mind that the paradox is transcended and the ultimate truth of who you are is revealed. Indeed, all human beings are koans and our mastery is found in the meditative process that takes us beyond our paradoxes.