New Koans

from "Free Koan and Riddle Service"


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Zen Riddle #8-well :
Looking in a well a man without shadow is drawing water. Why?
Here's the answer....(Show/Hide)

Want more riddles? Choose one!
#5-ghost #21-karma #12-stone mumonkan

Requests to answer Zen-Riddles or New Koans were sent to me by e-mail through Message me or "Free Koan and Riddle service".

These questions were often well-known Zen Koans, sometimes a little changed.
Others were more general questions about Zen.

Looking just for how to answer Koans in Zen? Go here or here.
The introduction to my free e-book "Miscellaneous Koans" Part 1 gives you further information about solving these riddles.



General Questions about Riddles, Koans and Zen


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    Do you think you can become enlightened by just using Koans alone?
    ........(show/hide the answer)



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    Is it possible to achieve Zen through Self-Mutilation? Anything you have to offer would be "wunderbar" ........(show/hide the answer)



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    I don't know what I think...... I hope I didn't just step on another karma landmine
    ........(show/hide the answer)


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    Where is Buddha when we meditate ?
    ........(show/hide the answer)



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    Is this a Koan: Does a grasshopper need wings to jump?
    ........(show/hide the answer)



Introductory Riddles and Koans

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    What is the difference between a cat?
    ........(show/hide the answer)



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    Why is there grass?
    ........(show/hide the answer)



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    The mouse eats cat food, but the cat bowl is broken. What does this mean?
    ........(show/hide the answer)



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    You are travelling with a friend. You come upon a bandit. He tells you that one of you must die so that the other can live.
    You must make a choice. If you do not choose, both of you will die. What do you do?
    ........(show/hide the answer)

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    How can it be that the Bodhi tree is a tree and it isn`t?
    ........(show/hide the answer)



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    The water is like a mirror. It's sound is clear. The dust on it's surface reminds you to reflect yourself.
    ........(show/hide the answer)


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    The secret of the universe is here in my hands. Yet if I try to grasp it, it eludes me and I hold nothing. Therefore, I let it rest.
    ........(show/hide the answer)

Questions from Traditional Koan Collections

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    You're on the top of a mountain and you can not move anywhere. What is your next step?
    ........(show/hide the answer)


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    Why does Bodhidharma have no beard?
    ........(show/hide the answer)



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    What is Bodhidharma's original face?
    ........(show/hide the answer)



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    A monk once asked Chao-chou, "Does a dog have a Buddha-nature?" Chao-chou answered, "Mu!" (No)
    ........(show/hide the answer)



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    A monk once asked Chao-chou, "I have just entered the monastery. Please teach me, Master."
    Chao-chou said, "Have you had breakfast?"
    "Yes, I have," replied the monk.
    "Then," said Chao-chou, "wash your bowl."
    ........(show/hide the answer)

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    "Give me the best piece of meat you have," said the customer.
    "Everything in my shop is the best," replied the butcher. "You cannot find any piece of meat here that is not the best."
    ........(show/hide the answer)

End

Click here to download all questions and answers as e-book: "New Koans"