Something vast opens up beyond the slot canyon of intellection. Required fields are marked *. The surgeons replaced my human mitral valve with a valve made of bovine tissue. As Robert Aitken put it, in working with Mu: “…breath by breath, you will realize the buddhahood that has been yours from the beginning.”, This post seems to be deliberately provocative but somewhat terse. Either by repeating, how the Master showed himself as a Person: "MUUUUUUU". You), and including a brief dialogue searching for the reason; and (3) several versions combining the positive and negative responses with or without the follow-up dialogues, and with the No answer appearing either prior or subsequent to the Yes answer. The most studied Mu koan has a monk ask Zhaozhou, the Chinese Zen master, “Has a dog Buddha-nature or not?”. The realization of Mu often sparks an enlightenment experience. There is really no right answer. The 8th century Chinese Zen Master, whose Japanese name is Jôshû, is asked by a monk whether or not a dog has the Buddha nature. One tradition is to work with the koan at first as a concentration meditation. Ha ha ha ha Ha! (2020, August 25). When I regained my consciousness I shouted “Moo”. Your email address will not be published. The logic came after. The reason the answer is neither yes-nor-no is because the question sets up misleading categories, similar to Avyaakatain the sutras, that which do not apply to the situation being examined. What is the alternative? Yet, historical studies demonstrate quite persuasively that an overemphasis on this single approach to one version of the kōan is somewhat misleading. A famous example is the "Mumonkan", a book with 48 Koan, published by Chan master Wumen Huikai (jap.Mumon Ekai). Of course, Buddhism has many other means of opening the student to realization; this is just one particular way. Master Wumen himself worked on Mu for six years before he realized it. In your heart and mind there is just 'Mu', until everything is 'Mu' around you and inside you. Generations of Zen teachers have found Mu to be a particularly useful tool for breaking through the conceptual fog most of us live in. Mu is usually translated "no," although the late Robert Aitken Roshi said its meaning is closer to "does not have." Two points. […] Dogen’s death permalink buy this book read more Posted on Saturday, September 22nd, 2012 at 6:30 am […]. Although the student may work alone most of the time, checking one's understanding against that of a teacher now and then is essential for most of us. This would be a spontaneous and startling response to the monk that might awaken the prepared mind from the confines of logical thinking, ego and identity. And a dog certainly is a "being." He is said to have had a quiet teaching style, saying much in few words. Barbara O'Brien is a Zen Buddhist practitioner who studied at Zen Mountain Monastery. By Barbara Hoetsu O'Brien Mar 17, 2017 Ha ha! The koan: The coin lost in the river is found in the river. Something remarkable happens when one gives oneself to Mu over and over (sometimes over several years) while working closely with a teacher. In Buddhism, "all beings" really does mean "all beings," not just "all humans." The Mu Koan (or Wu Gongan in Chinese pronunciation), in which master Joshu says “Mu” (literally “No,” but implying Nothingness) to an anonymous monk’s question of whether a dog has the Buddha-nature, is surely the single most famous expression in Zen Buddhist literature and practice. The Mu koan. I was heavily sedated when they did this. Day and night, without ceasing, keep digging into it. Having read several books on Zen in my youth, I recall an interpretation which I have not seen here or elsewhere. Why the recently reissued The Sound of the One Hand: 281 Zen Koans With Answers may not give Zen students the answers they’re looking for. He replies with one syllable, one ideograph, Mu (無) which can mean “nothing.” that roshi is a rascal! I thought Robert Pirsig was describing Mu. Congrong lu, Jpn. Not have. Learn Religions, Aug. 25, 2020, learnreligions.com/what-is-mu-in-zen-449929. The Person, th Being, who's dealing with the Koan, is "Buddha Nature". But because western Zen has been largely shaped by Japanese teachers, we in the West tend to use Japanese names and terms.). The most studied Mu koan has a monk ask Zhaozhou, the Chinese Zen master, “Has a dog Buddha-nature or not?”. This, that and everything is Mu! Each of those names is a mythic character, and each mythic character is a name of the Tathagata precisely because the mythic qualtiy of the character is pointing to the root suchness. O'Brien, Barbara. Conceptual Entanglements are Wrong. First, "Mu" is the shorthand name of the first koan in a collection called the Gateless Gate or Gateless Barrier (Chinese, Wumengua; Japanese, Mumonkan), compiled in China by Wumen Huikai (1183-1260). He has published two dozen books, including Did Dogen Go to China? For 12 centuries, students of Zen Buddhism who engage in koan study have confronted Mu. Yes and no are both correct and incorrect. It is a mistake to think of a koan as a question that has an answer. Mu is a call for the question to be unasked. For me, this interpretation implies that the story (this koan) is irrelevant to the enlightenment of the monk. In Zen Buddhism Mu is used to imply that the question being asked is wrong. He's always tricking people with his 'Mu, Mu, Mu'!.. The dog has Buddha nature! Most of the 48 koans in the Gateless Gate are fragments of dialogue between real Zen students and real Zen teachers, recorded over many centuries. He is the editor of Dogen: Textual and Historical Studies. In this style, you take up that one word 'Mu' and match it to your breathing, and go very, very deep with it -- the way you would with any other concentration meditation. There’s a tradition of koan study to transform your heart and the way you move in the world. I wouldn’t want to keep misattributing it to him if it’s something I read elsewhere. During the Song dynasty (960–1297) the use of gongans took a decisive turn. The monk's question came from a fragmented, one-sided perception of existence. @seeker242: thanks for the information about the gates in koans. the teacher of Lin-chi, who is usually thought of as the founder of the koan tradition. Zhaozhou’s answer to the question was “Wu” (or, in Japanese, Mu). Linji) school of China and Taiwan, and the Japanese Soto sect. She is the author of "Rethinking Religion" and has covered religion for The Guardian, Tricycle.org, and other outlets. There is no answer, as Jiang says. While there is an endless amount of deconstruction that you can do once you have the answer, the correct answer itself is not deconstruction, but a simple answer. In it, the answer of "negative", mu, is clarified as although all beings have potential Buddha-nature , beings who do not have the capacity to see it and develop it essentially do not have it. Six years ago, acting on strongly worded advice from a cardiologist, I chose to have the mitral valve cut out of my heart. Otherwise, it's too common for the student to latch onto some shiny idea of what the koan is saying that really is just more conceptual fog. Does a dog have Buddha nature? There’s a deer in the yard. This Koan is one of the oldest and most famous of the Zen Koans although the “sound of one hand clapping” is probably known more popularly. In one example, a Zen master says simply, “Daie affirms No, but I affirm Yes.” It becomes clear that the head-word device is rooted in a particular era of Chinese religious and cultural history. B A N G ! The fundamental question in this koan is about the nature of existence. Before you dismiss this as simply a bit of cleverness or a waste of time, let me tell you about the rest of the meditation. Myth Two. A myth is not just a falsehood, but is a story that has numinous and profound effect in directing our attention to the source rather to the myriad differentiations. I just have a question. A Zen master might present this koan to a student, and the student would ponder it for a while, and try to reason through the apparent contradiction at the heart of the piece. These would include things like Mu or Nansen Cuts the Cat in Two. Only one book sets out the specific questions that apply to each koan: "The Whole World Is A Single Flower" by Zen Master Seung Sahn (link below). "Practicing Mu" is synonymous with practicing Zen, and "sitting with Mu" is an apt description all Zen meditation. Steven Heine is an authority on Japanese religion and society, especially the history of Zen Buddhism and the life and works of Dogen. (I think Hakuin breaks koans into five classes, but this is the general gist.) NO! The reason for apparent misconceptions is the extent to which one specific view of the case has been portrayed in numerous writings as the only valid approach by leading contemporary scholar-practitioners who represent three different schools — Korean Zen, the Rinzai (Chn. What's going on here? So as to Mu in this answer: what is it? What Is Mu? I realized something, the answer to the koan, basically "not-seperate" which is in itself, a koan! There’s a tradition of koan study to transform your heart and the way you move in the world. the answer is three!” They wait for you to open enough to allow the space necessary for them to enter into your depths—the inner regions beyond knowing. I remember reading Zen And The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance, and a phrase in it which has stuck in my soul ever since, “the question does not attain to the answer”. It seems clear that the full implications are not revealed by translations/interpretations focusing exclusively on the emphatic “No” response, which is sometimes given with an exclamation point or a transliteration of the Sino-Japanese original for stress (as in “Mu!” or “無!”). Aitken Roshi said, "When someone begins a koan presentation by saying, 'Well, I think the teacher is saying ...,' I want to interrupt, "Mistaken already!". Master Chao-chou used Mu as a hammer to break up the monk's conventional thinking. Observing the phrase. However, in conducting research for a new monograph titled Like Cats and Dogs: Contesting the Mu Kōan in Zen Buddhism, I have been surprised to find how little seems to be known about the origins and implications of the koan case record. Traditionally the teacher offers the student one koan at a time, and the student then meditates on the koan for weeks, months, or even years until a suitable answer finally arrives. Our Privacy Policy sets out how Oxford University Press handles your personal information, and your rights to object to your personal information being used for marketing to you or being processed as part of our business activities. Shoyoroku) in addition to the “Bussho” or “Buddha-nature” fascicle of Dogen’s Shobogenzo, both of which are available in several English translations, reveal multiple possibilities for interpreting one or more versions of the case, especially the rendition that has both positive and negative responses as well as additional dialogues about each of these alternatives. I can’t believe I made it up, so perhaps a Zen scholar will enlighten me as to the source. One of the very first ones for this to happen with was the koan `Mu'. Zen teachers often say that the point of a Koan is to feel the meaning in the essence of your being, rather than in your mind. You'll find ancient Koan examples with answers at Zen Koans or choose the 48 Koans (with answers) of Mumonkan (chin. also i read that koan about dog having Buddha-nature - it was having the answer - Mu. Oxford University Press'sAcademic Insights for the Thinking World. This interpretation is that by shouting “Mu!”, Joshu was imitating the sound of a barking dog, an affirmation and at the same time a negation. OUPblog » Blog Archive » Remembering Dogen’s death, 136. For example, the famous Mu koan (when asked if a dog has Buddha-Nature, Chao-Chou said, "Mu") has three questions: 1. No. That was a spontaneous and startling act which enlightened the boy. If student pass, master assigns another koan but if the answer is inadequate, teacher may give a hint to enlighten the student. Home › Buddhism › Mu, by Maezumi Roshi. Koan 1 of the Mumonkan. But why not try to decode these puzzling riddles by yourself! It is quite simple. It took Tenryū’s spontaneous and startling one-finger to awaken him (and still, it seems the best he could do as a Zen teacher was to imitate Tenryū until he cut the finger off his boy attendant. Or subscribe to articles in the subject area by email or RSS, Mu as a phenomenon unique to Zen only makes sense in the context of engaged practice. All Existence is Buddha Nature - Glasgow Zen Group. The main interpretations suggest that the term Mu puts an abrupt end to any discourse or analysis of the meaning of the question and response. U, Chn. Yes, I know, the answer to a koan is supposed to be beyond logic, but rest assured that the answer came intuitively. Most of the 48 koans in the Gateless Gate are fragments of dialogue between real Zen students and real Zen teachers, recorded over many centuries. Chao-chou Ts'ung-shen (also spelled Zhaozhou; Japanese, Joshu; 778-897) was a real teacher who is said to have realized great enlightenment under the guidance of his teacher, Nan-ch'uan (748-835). However, other important texts from the era, such as the Record of Serenity (Chn. And the lovely thing about so many of these koan cases is that even the ‘answer’ is not the answer. Koans are not merely black and white riddles that our minds figure out suddenly and proclaim, “Aha! Your email address will not be published. Dahui Zonggao (1089–1163) introduced the use of kanhua, "observing the phrase".In this practice students were to observe (kan) or concentrate on a single word or phrase (huatou), such as the famous mu of the mu-koan.In the eleventh century this practice had become common. It is a mistake to think of a koan as a question that has an answer. This is a fragment of Case No. For us, ten centuries later, the challenge is to uncover the full spectrum of the Koan, its breadth and depth. In this style, you take up that one word 'Mu' and match it to your breathing, and go very, very deep with it -- the way you would with any other concentration meditation. I suppose that is to whet the appetite for the monograph when it is released. Nobody can. Daie’s comments on the koan probably originally targeted an audience of lay disciples whom he accumulated during his abbacy stints in both the remote countryside, while he was exiled for political reasons for over fifteen years of his career, and the capital, when he regained the favor of the authorities during the final period of his life. Mu is not as unusual as it first seems. A Parable. Subscribe to the OUPblog via email or RSS. In this commentary on the koan Mu, Master Mumon says, ‘Concentrate yourself into mu, making your whole body, with its 360 bones and joints and 84,000 pores, one great question. The Mu koan. The koan serves as a surgical tool used to cut into and then break through the mind of the practitioner... Koans aren’t just puzzles that your mind figures out suddenly and proclaims, “Aha! is to perform an action, the answer to this koan is an action. I appreciate the research and scholarship of Mr. Heine, but I don’t think it refutes the current uses of Mu as the first koan in the Gateless Gate. A koan is a little healing story, a conversation, an image, a fragment of a song. O'Brien, Barbara. The next point is the most difficult, which is to argue it you have already lost, i.e to reach for it is to never be able to seize it. It took such an audacious act for Gutei to be spontaneous and startling, a reawakening for Gutei in awakening the boy. Doctrine of Unapologetic Denial. Many of these do support the head-word method, while countless others, which prefer one of the other versions of the case, tend to bypass, disagree with, or even contradict that outlook. The other most famous zen koan, has a distinct and correct answer that is not mu . Muichimon means without pennies, penniless, for instance. A monk once asked Joshu, “Does a dog have Buddha nature?” Joshu answered “Mu.” All our practice, indeed all spiritual practice, is summed up, contained in, Joshu’s Mu. Living an awakened life is a skill. But Chao-chou said, Mu. The 8th century Chinese Zen Master, whose Japanese name is Jôshû, is asked by a monk whether or not a dog has the Buddha nature.