[koh-ahn] 
| a nonsensical or paradoxical question to a student for which an answer is demanded, the stress of meditation on the question often being illuminating. |
| ko·an (kō'än') n. A puzzling, often paradoxical statement or story, used in Zen Buddhism as an aid to meditation and a means of gaining spiritual awakening. [Japanese kōan : kō, public (from Middle Chinese kəwŋ) + an, matter.] |