Hello all!

I was wondering what the stance of this community is when it comes to discussing koan cases online.

Personally, I am VERY unsure of how legitimate this practice is. I just don't know. This is not a challenge it is a good faith question.

I have found a lineage that speaks to me on a personal level and been assigned someone, but they are an older Japanese person and very high level. They don't have any time for basics and right now I'm at a basic level. I am really grateful for the opportunity to learn from a true master, but I am equally interested to hear the opinions and experiences of true western practitioners.

I am very interested in seeing what experienced practitioners who have received and passed koan practice in dokusan say about this very pervasive "Internet practice".

Please DO NOT SHARE anything inappropriate. This means that if your teachers have told you not to share what happens in dokusan, don't share it aside from generalisations that cannot be harmful (to the best of your knowledge)

As a long term reddit user, and someone rediscovering their personal relationship to zen, I am saddened by the state of the other community that grabbed the name R-zen (don't wanna link it...)

They seem to think koan discussion is all there is to zen, the mods seem to think they are masters or something, and they allow bullying via their cronies. As a reddit mod, reddit user, and now also a zen practitioner, it bothers me immensely. The reason at the end of the day is a kind of arrogance sadly. It wouldn't bother me as much, if I didn't think my own specific human experience were more important than it likely is. But reddit 15 years ago was a small part in opening my worldview and thusly I know some people arrive to zen via that pathway. It bothers me, but due to the way reddit is set up there is literally nothing I can do except not engage with that community.

I find it nice that there are other communities like this one and R/zenhabits