04:24 pm - Contest: Oxendo
GAME OVER: BETAVEROS WINS!
Please view the comments for the solution, &c. (I'm leaving the main entry text spoiler-free for posterity).
Valid koans are 4×4 grids of letters in the word 'OXEN'.
These grids have the Buddha-nature:
NOXE NEOX EXON NNNN NNNN NNNN NNNN NNNN
EXON ENXO NOXE NNNN NONN NONN NNON NOXN
ONEX XOEN XENO NNNN NNON NNNN NOON NENN
XENO OXNE ONEX NNNN NNNN NNNN NNNN NNNN
ONNO XNNX NXNN ENXO ONOX NNNN ONOO OXEN
NNNN NNNN NNXN XOEN XONO NXXN OXXN ONON
NNNN NNNN XNNN OXNE NOXO NXXN NXXO XNXN
ONNO XNNX NNNX NEOX OXON NNNN OONO XNXO
NNNN
NNON
NNNN
NNNN
These grids do not have the Buddha-nature:
OXEN OXEN OXEN OOOO OXOX OXEN OXEN XXXX
ENOX ENOX NEXO XXXX XOXO XONE XENO EOXN
OEXN XENO XONE EEEE NENE ENOX ENOX EXON
EONX NOXE ENOX NNNN ENEN NEXO NOXE XXXX
ONEX OOOO ENEN XXXX EEEE NONO OOXN OXEN
NOXE OOOO NONO XXXX EEEE NONO OXEN XENE
EXON OOOO OXOX XXXX EEEE NONO XEEN ENEX
XENO OOOO XEXE XXXX EEEE NONO NNNN NEXO
EEEE NNNN OXEO NOEX ONOO OOOO NNNN NNNN
ENEE OOON XNNE ONXE OXXO ONNO NOON NOON
EENE OOON ENNO EXNO NXXO ONNO NOON NOON
EEEE NOON OEXO XOEN OOON OOOO NOON NNON
XONE
ENOX
OXEN
NEXO
The Buddha-nature is animal related.
All suppositional koans and guesses at the Buddha-nature must be presented here as comments - emails, private messages, &c. will not be considered. One koan per person per sweep limit, with "sweep" defined as when I get around to updating this entry with everyone's koans. (This should be roughly daily.) If you guess at the Buddha-nature [there is no prerequisite for this - there is no Mondo nor are there guessing stones here], you may not present a koan in the same sweep, and if the guess is incorrect you may not present koans nor guesses until two more sweeps have been performed. If the guess is correct (and you're the first to do so), well, then you win... something. I haven't decided yet. This whole affair is intended to be fun and informal.
And in case you're wondering, yes, Grant Fikes was again indirectly responsible for this. I got the idea for this at MIT before the Hunt started when I saw devjoe piecing together an image for a "pixel Zendo" game mathgrant was running somewhere. It was the first I'd heard of Zendo, actually. I just figured I'd put this out here and see what happens. - ZM