What is the mu koan?

What is the mu koan?

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.

What is an example of Zen koan?

A characteristic example of the style is the well-known koan “When both hands are clapped a sound is produced; listen to the sound of one hand clapping.” Sometimes the koan is set in question-and-answer form, as in the question “What is Buddha?” and its answer, “Three pounds of flax.”

What is the purpose of a Zen koan?

A koan is a riddle or puzzle that Zen Buddhists use during meditation to help them unravel greater truths about the world and about themselves. Zen masters have been testing their students with these stories, questions, or phrases for centuries.

Is the koan found within Zen practices?

Koans are one of the most meaningful practices in Zen Buddhism.

What does MU mean Zen?

not have; without
The Japanese and Korean term mu (Japanese: 無; Korean: 무) or Chinese wu (traditional Chinese: 無; simplified Chinese: 无), meaning “not have; without”, is a key word in Buddhism, especially Zen traditions.

What is your original face Zen koan?

There is a Zen koan that says: “Show me your original face before you were born.” A variation is: “Without thinking of good or evil, show me your original face before your mother and father were born.” This koan asks us to stretch towards our real and authentic self — the self we are/were before we were born.

How do you use a koan?

To practise koans, find a quiet space – similar to the one you do your normal meditation in – and think about the question you’re asking yourself, letting your mind wander but always trying to come back and focus on the specific koan. You can practice koans at any time and you can ponder them for as long as you’d like.

What is the first koan?

What is Mu? 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).

What is a koan designed to do?

What is a koan designed to do? Give an example of koan. – A koan is a verbal puzzle designed to short circuit the workings of the rational, logical mind. – It is used especially in Rinzai Zen as a means of triggering satori. Koan is designed to frustrate the thinking process.

Do koans have an answer?

There are no “answers” to koans because koans are not the questions or puzzles.

Does a dog have Buddha nature Mu?

The master said, “Because he has the nature of karmic delusions”….The Mu-kōan.

What does Mu mean in a Zen koan?

The fundamental question in this koan is about the nature of existence. The monk’s question came from a fragmented, one-sided perception of existence. Master Chao-chou used Mu as a hammer to break up the monk’s conventional thinking. “The barrier is Mu, but it always has a personal frame.

What is the resolution of Mu in Zen Buddhist practice?

In Rinzai Zen, the resolution of Mu is considered to be the beginning of Zen practice. Mu changes the way the student perceives everything. Of course, Buddhism has many other means of opening the student to realization; this is just one particular way.

Where does the name Mu come from in Zen Buddhism?

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). 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.