The Emptiness or Vacuity of words is the target, as these are the adept's principal impediment to liberation. The words must be exposed and the experiences behind those words revealed.
One of the methods entails establishing what is called a koan during a pre-preparation in which the student must understand clearly the question and its syntax.
What the student must do is attempt to generate an answer, and this must be generated as a result of reaching the last conceptualization of the question or text presented.
Here the last conceptualization is not upon the cognitive meaning of the particular words themselves but upon the subtle context which makes up the koan. The response is to be realized not from conscious intellect, but aroused during a programmed discernment directed to memory during the unconscious state in contemplation.
The same method of attack is used here as with Yunmen, with words and also physical correction. The difference with Yunmen is shown by the action of these physical and mental blows, which act like forceps destroying the current flow of cognitive error, pulling out from the koans the Vacuity of Cognitive Verbal activity and the phenomena generated by word images.
It would be inappropriate here to reveal the form of the true responses, but it must be made clear that the current practice in Linji/Rinzai Zen centers of using a stock answer text is a grave error. The correct koan responses are spontaneous and arise from the unconscious experience.