For me, contemplating Zen koans for too long can make my brain “hurt”.
Does a dog have Buddha-nature or not? Show me your original face before your mother and father were born. If you meet the Buddha, kill him. Look at the flower and the flower also looks.
I find it interesting because, unlike coding a program or solving a math equation or playing chess, it doesn’t seem like koans have a well-defined problem/goal structure or a clear set of rules and axioms. Some folks might even call them nonsensical. So I’m not sure to what extent the notion of (in)efficient optimization is applicable here; and yet it also appears to be an example of “thinking hard”. (Of course, a Zen instructor would probably tell you not to think about it too hard.)
For me, contemplating Zen koans for too long can make my brain “hurt”.
Does a dog have Buddha-nature or not? Show me your original face before your mother and father were born. If you meet the Buddha, kill him. Look at the flower and the flower also looks.
I find it interesting because, unlike coding a program or solving a math equation or playing chess, it doesn’t seem like koans have a well-defined problem/goal structure or a clear set of rules and axioms. Some folks might even call them nonsensical. So I’m not sure to what extent the notion of (in)efficient optimization is applicable here; and yet it also appears to be an example of “thinking hard”. (Of course, a Zen instructor would probably tell you not to think about it too hard.)
They have a well defined structure, they are less exciting once you know it.
http://bearlamp.com.au/zen-koans/