Applying Zen Kōans In Business

Merging spirituality And Commerce

Many business people who are also students of spiritual philosophy know the phrase Zen kōan and know it is a path of profound and subtle wisdom. Yet, they have never been able to decipher what exactly a kōan is.

On a basic level, a Kōan is a story, dialogue, utterance, question, riddle, body movement, or statement used in Zen practice to provoke the “great doubt”?—?the nature of?reality.?

Of course, the great business books, motivational speakers, and thought leaders will use story, dialogue, utterance, question, riddle, movement of the body, or statement to provoke the “great doubt”?—?in what is generally considered best business practices.?

A Kōan can be used for many purposes including as a spiritual exercise to practice or test a student’s progress in Zen. In many schools of Zen, embracing and exploring Kōans is an essential element of Zen practice.

So one might say to a newbie that a Kōan is a riddle or question. Yet, it is not just an ordinary riddle or question. In ordinary life, a riddle has an answer. Yet, a Kōan has no single logical answer. The purpose of a kōan is not to find an answer but to open the door of the student’s mind to authentic wisdom. How does one do this? By pondering over the very nature of the riddle.?

Kōans are, usually directed at breaking our pre-formed assumptions and notions by challenging the very basics of our thought patterns. Ultimately, solving the Kōan sheds light on many facets of thought that are not usually explored in ordinary life. Essentially a Kōan has no answer, but it can be resolved on a personal level. This happens by presenting crucial insights on the nature of life, and reality to the individual exploring the Kōan!

For example, in one of the great classic Kōans, a teacher asks a student “Tell me what was your face before your parents were born.” Here the teacher is not asking the student to describe their face, but is asking this student to think about the concept of ‘identity’ and ‘self-recognition’. Again, since this Kōan has no right, wrong, or even a direct answer, it motivates the student to wonder and ponder the solution.?

In an ordinary situation, a student would intuitively go about figuring out an intellectual or ‘clever’ answer to the Kōan.

Here is a classic Kōan

A group of students was gathered with the great Master Ummon and another teacher Shishin

Ummon asked an advanced student to share some wisdom with the group.

The student told Ummon - “Brilliancy of Buddha illuminates the whole universe.”

Before he finished the phrase, Ummon asked: “You are reciting another’s poem, are you not?”

“Yes”, answered the student.

“You are sidetracked,” said Ummon.

Afterward, another teacher, Shishin, asked all the pupils: “At which point did that student go off the track?”

So, in Zen, the student sits and sits trying to imagine ‘their face before their parents were born’. Eventually, they realize this can’t be done! The student then realizes that the concept of identity is not dependent on facial features or relationships, but something totally different! The moment this is realized the student understands they did not ‘exist’ before their parents were born. Now the student begins to ponder the concept of ‘individuality’ and ‘existence’.

The Takeaway

Rather than accepting individuality as a fact…the mind of the student begins a roller coaster ride of self-discovery and self-doubt. Useless thought patterns, left-brain intellectual and rational thinking as well as old prejudiced notions and borrowed information are broken, creating experience-based wisdom. This leads to wise business decisions.

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