The Strawberry Koan

In the practice of Zen, koans are often considered as a way to trigger enlightenment. There are many people who believe that koans are not meant to be solved with reason. The consensus seems to be that koans are not like mathematics puzzles, as they have no solution. I beg to differ.

The more I study the Zen koans, the more I discover that they can be explained and solved rationally. Koans are not created to frustrate the intellect as D. T. Suzuki may have suggested. But to solve these koans requires keen insight and a solid understanding of the Chinese mind, which is very different from the Indian mind. Zen embodies much more the Taoist spirit than the Indian Buddhist spirit. As an example, I would use my favorite one — the koan of the wild strawberries. Here is the gist of the story:

A traveler runs into a tiger. The tiger keeps chasing him until he comes to a precipice. Holding on to the root of a wild vine, he swings over the edge. Looking down, the man sees another tiger far below, waiting to eat him. The vine is the only thing that keeps him alive. But his problem does not end there. Two mice, one white and one black, are gnawing at the vine. Right at that moment, the man sees a delicious strawberry near him. Grasping the vine with one hand, the man plucks the strawberry with the other hand. How sweet it tastes!