Joshu’s Mu

E940297

Joshu’s Mu is a famous Zen koan centered on the Chinese master Zhaozhou’s (Joshu’s) enigmatic response “Mu” to a monk’s question about whether a dog has Buddha-nature, used to provoke insight beyond rational thought.

All labels observed (2)

Label Occurrences
Joshu’s Mu canonical 3
Joshu’s Dog Koan 1

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (50)

Predicate Object
instanceOf Buddhist teaching story
Zen koan
aimsAtRealizationOf Buddha-nature
non-duality
appearsAsCaseNumber Case 1 of the Mumonkan
appearsIn Mumonkan
The Gateless Gate
linked to: Gateless Gate
associatedMaster Joshu Jushin
Zhaozhou Congshen
associatedSchool Zhaozhou school of Chan
associatedTradition Chan Buddhism
Zen Buddhism
linked to: Zen
canonicalAnswer Mu
centralWord Mu
commentedOnBy D. T. Suzuki
Hakuin Ekaku
Koun Yamada NERFINISHED
Wumen Huikai
coreQuestion Does a dog have Buddha-nature?
hasAlternativeName Joshu’s Dog Koan
linked to: Joshu’s Mu

The Dog Koan
Zhaozhou’s Mu
linked to: Zhaozhou Congshen
hasLanguage Classical Chinese
historicalPeriod Tang dynasty China
linked to: Tang dynasty
influenced modern Zen practice in the West
keyTheme Buddha-nature of all beings
direct experience over doctrine
transcending yes-and-no thinking
meaningOfMu No
Not
Un-ask the question
pedagogicalRole gateway to koan curriculum
initial koan for students
philosophicalFunction to cut off dualistic thinking
to provoke direct insight
to undermine conceptual understanding
practiceMethod concentrating on the word Mu
raising great doubt through Mu
regionOfOrigin China
relatedConcept Buddha-nature
linked to: Tathagatagarbha

emptiness (śūnyatā)
great doubt
non-conceptual wisdom
studiedBy Buddhist scholars
Zen practitioners
philosophers of religion
transmittedTo Japan
usedFor Zen meditation practice
koan introspection
kōan study in Rinzai Zen

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (4)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Gateless Gate hasNotableKoan Joshu’s Mu
Joshu’s Mu hasAlternativeName Joshu’s Dog Koan
linked to: Joshu’s Mu
Mumonkan hasNotableKoan Joshu’s Mu
Joshu Jushin hasKoan Joshu’s Mu