The Text of The Mu-koan
The Gateless Gate, which is a 13th-century collection of Chan or Zen kōans, uses the word wu or mu in its title (Wumenguan or Mumonkan 無門關) and first kōan case ("Joshu's Dog" 趙州狗子). Chinese Chan calls the word mu 無 "the gate to enlightenment". The Japanese Rinzai school classifies the Mu Kōan as hosshin 発心 "resolve to attain enlightenment", that is, appropriate for beginners seeking kenshō "to see the Buddha-nature"'.
Case 1 of The Gateless Gate reads as follows:
| Chinese | English translation |
|---|---|
|
趙州和尚、因僧問、狗子還有佛性也無。州云、無。 |
A monk asked Zhaozhou Congshen, a Chinese Zen master (known as Jōshū in Japanese), "Has a dog Buddha-nature or not?" Zhaozhou answered, "Wú" (in Japanese, Mu) |
The koan originally comes from the Zhaozhou Zhenji Chanshi Yulu (Chinese: 趙州真際禪師語錄), The Recorded Sayings of Zen Master Joshu, koan 132:
| Chinese | English translation |
|---|---|
|
僧問：狗子還有佛性也無？ 師云：無。 問：上至諸佛，下至螻蟻皆有佛性，狗子為什麼卻無？ 師云：為伊有業識在。 |
A monk asked, "Does a dog have a Buddha-nature or not?" The master said, "Not !" The monk said, "Above to all the Buddhas, below to the crawling bugs, all have Buddha-nature. Why is it that the dog has not?" The master said, "Because he has the nature of karmic delusions". |
The Book of Serenity Chinese: 從容録; pinyin: cóngrónglù, also known as the Book of Equanimity or more formally the Hóngzhì Chánshī Guǎnglù Chinese: 宏智禪師廣錄, has a longer version of this koan, which adds the following to the start of the version given in the Zhaozhou Zhenji Chanshi Yulu.
| Chinese | English translation |
|---|---|
|
僧問趙州，狗子有佛性也無。 州云，有。 僧云，既有為什麼卻撞入這箇皮袋。 州云，為他知而故犯。 |
A monk asked Master Joshu, "Does a dog have Buddha Nature?" Joshu replied, "Yes." And then the monk said, "Since it has, how did it get into that bag of skin?" Joshu said, "Because knowingly, he purposefully offends." |
Read more about this topic: Mu (negative)
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