user-1: Or must we just count our breaths and repeat the phrase?
I was asked I think "what is your original face" - and I think it's the way / tao, but that's just something that occurred to me, I wrote down on a computer and it seemed alright.
It's not that I want to be a part of some tradition or church, really. But all I got out of counting breaths was a lot of leg pain, somewhat (but not completely) offset with some nice feelings and lots of stuff like this /<<<^^^^^

user720: Say you're learning some complex kind of science, maths, or something, and at the end of the chapter there are some questions. In something like history there might be an essay or something. There's no test, or anything, the problems aren't very realistic. Actually, the causes of World War Two are pretty well known and Pythagoras' theorem well and truly proved for some Millennia, not only is an eighth-grader from rural Colorado unlikely to add anything to that body of knowledge, it's unlikely to be of any use to the eighth-grader in later life, either.
But the authors always tell you how really important it is to do them, and not to cheat, and the students never believe them. The teachers, they say that there's something which isn't the direct object of the exercise which happens if you do them. Not only can you recite bits of important texts for the test, but you really get the idea. You can tell the difference between a kid who's memorised a textbook and one who just gets it, right?
Don't treat them like an Agatha Christie novel, though, nor something with a one sentence answer, or a single number. Don't break them into parts or analyse them: just constantly bear the problem in mind -- sleep on them.

user70: That type of koan is called a breakthrough koan. It is meant to lead to a sudden, initial insight that is direct awareness.
I have heard practice of breakthrough koans described as, "becoming one with the koan", which implies concentrating on it like a mantra.
The insight it leads to is beyond concepts. So by becoming one with the koan, in a flash, you will actually experience "Mu"/tao/the way. As opposed to just conceptualizing it.
Wuzu Fayan said, “It is like an Ox that passes through a latticed window. Its head, horns, and four legs all pass through. So, why can’t its tail also pass through?”
The ox, being conceptual thought, has been transcended; "Mu"

I think it's the way

Don't think. Transcend thinking. That is the way.
edit: Venerable Chong An Sunim explains there are different ways to approach koans. His suggestion is to do regular meditation (e.g., mindfulness of breathing). Sometime later, either while meditating, or just in everyday life, you will have an epiphany in regards to the true meaning of the koan.

-1: <p>Or must we just count our breaths and repeat the phrase?</p>

<p>I was asked I think "what is your original face" - and I think it's the way / tao, but that's just something that occurred to me, I wrote down on a computer and it seemed alright.</p>

<p>It's not that I want to be a part of some tradition or church, really. But all I got out of counting breaths was a lot of leg pain, somewhat (but not completely) offset with some nice feelings and lots of stuff like this /&lt;&lt;&lt;^^^^^</p>
 720: <p>Say you're learning some complex kind of science, maths, or something, and at the end of the chapter there are some questions. In something like history there might be an essay or something. There's no test, or anything, the problems aren't very realistic. Actually, the causes of World War Two are pretty well known and Pythagoras' theorem well and truly proved for some Millennia, not only is an eighth-grader from rural Colorado unlikely to add anything to that body of knowledge, it's unlikely to be of any use to the eighth-grader in later life, either.</p>

<p>But the authors always tell you how really important it is to do them, and not to cheat, and the students never believe them. The teachers, they say that there's something which isn't the direct object of the exercise which happens if you do them. Not only can you recite bits of important texts for the test, but you really <em>get</em> the idea. You can tell the difference between a kid who's memorised a textbook and one who just <em>gets</em> it, right?</p>

<p>Don't treat them like an Agatha Christie novel, though, nor something with a one sentence answer, or a single number. Don't break them into parts or analyse them: just constantly bear the problem in mind -- sleep on them.</p>
 70: <p>That type of koan is called a breakthrough koan. It is meant to lead to a sudden, initial insight that is direct awareness.</p>

<p>I have heard practice of breakthrough koans described as, "becoming one with the koan", which implies concentrating on it like a mantra.</p>

<p>The insight it leads to is beyond concepts. So by becoming one with the koan, in a flash, you will actually experience "Mu"/tao/the way. As opposed to just conceptualizing it.</p>

<p>Wuzu Fayan said, “It is like an Ox that passes through a latticed window. Its head, horns, and four legs all pass through. So, why can’t its tail also pass through?”</p>

<p>The ox, being conceptual thought, has been transcended; "Mu"</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>I think it's the way</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Don't think. Transcend thinking. That is the way.</p>

<p>edit: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRl5ML0pW5I&amp;feature=youtu.be&amp;t=1m30s" rel="nofollow">Venerable Chong An Sunim</a> explains there are different ways to approach koans. His suggestion is to do regular meditation (e.g., mindfulness of breathing). Sometime later, either while meditating, or just in everyday life, you will have an epiphany in regards to the true meaning of the koan.</p>
