Koan

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A kōan (/ˈkoʊæn, -ɑːn/ KOH-a(h)n;^[1] Japanese: 公案; Chinese: 公案; pinyin: gōng'àn [kʊ́ŋ ân]; Korean: ganhaw; Vietnamese: công án) is a story, dialogue, question, or statement from the Chinese Chan-lore, supplemented with commentaries, that is used in Zen Buddhist practice in different ways. The main goal of kōan practice in Zen is to achieve kenshō ("seeing one's true nature").

Extended study of kōan literature as well as meditation (zazen) on a kōan is a major feature of modern Rinzai Zen. They are also studied in the Sōtō school of Zen to a lesser extent. In Chinese Chan and Korean Seon, meditating on a huatou, a key phrase of a kōan, is also major Zen meditation method.