Note f142 — THE MEDITATION HALL, AND THE IDEALS OF THE MONKISH DISCIPLINE

Kung-an is a question or theme given to the student for solution. It literally means “public document,” and, according to a Zen scholar, it is so called because it serves as such in testing the genuineness of enlightenment a student claims to have attained. The term has been in use since the early days of Zen Buddhism in the T‘ang dynasty. The so-called “cases” or “dialogues” (mondo) are generally used as kō-ans. A special chapter devoted to the subject will be found in the second series of The Essays.